With a capacity equivalent to that of a Boeing 777 and an Airbus A340 combined, but with costs less than 20%, A380, the plane called to revolutionize commercial aviation, with permission from the Boeing 747, fly again after many months as a result of the pandemic.
The airlines are now beginning to uncover their aircraft, or in many cases, such as that of British Airways, to have them return home from airports such as Madrid Barajas while planning training for flight crews to reacquaint themselves with the plane. Others, like Emirates, already transport hundreds of passengers in two characteristic floors of seats on routes like the one that joins Dubai with Madrid.
A380.
A FLIGHT FULL OF TURBULENCE
Called to change the future of aviation, the commercial theory under which the A380 was born was perfect although, in practice, Airbus' predictions for this aircraft model and its mission in a future air scenario were wrong: they bet on proposing few intercontinental routes that they concentrate most of the air traffic when the market has imposed the opposite; many more routes with lower volume of traffic and smaller, more efficient aircraft, hello, A350 Y B787.
In an aviation-for-dummies context, basically the error on the part of the manufacturer was to predict that, in a few years, airlines would concentrate their intercontinental traffic from a single origin airport (Air France in Paris, British Airways in London or Lufthansa in Frankfurt), thus grouping together their long radius flights in the same airport, that would be fed with short and medium range routes.
Therefore, in this case, it was essential to have an aircraft as large as possible to assume the traffic of the airport, and thus become a HUB: all these transit passengers had to fill the almost 600 seats (depending on the configuration of the airline) offered by the A380 in its two desired bridges.
And what has happened so that the A380 has stopped being so attractive to airlines? Well, in a real scenario has prevailed the comfort that it supposes for the passenger do not make scales If I live in Madrid and want to go to Los Angeles, Why fly to London if I have a direct flight from my city? This is a real example of what has happened in most cases, although there are exceptions.
EMIRATES, THE MAIN SUPPORTER OF THE A380
As expected, Emirates, in its role as the world's largest Airbus A380 operator, is the airline that is making the most A380 flights, including the route linking Dubai with Madrid. As of May 1, it will also do so to Barcelona, which at the moment is operated with a B777.
Yes there are something true in the history of the A380 is that the aircraft may not have met the commercial expectations for which it was built, although it has has managed to win the hearts of its passengers. Everyone loves the A380.
A380, this is how you fly in the business class of the largest aircraft in the world.
THE BUSINESS CLASS EXPERIENCE
The success of the Gulf Airline product is largely based on the comfort and space that the plane offers in its two floors and four classes (economy and premium economy on the ground floor and business class and first class on the top floor). And although some airlines are having a hard time starting their post-pandemic services, this is not the case for Emirates, which continues to offer five-star service in two of its most luxurious classes: Business and First.
Business class on the Emirates A380 is located on the second floor of the aircraft sharing the second floor with the luxurious First cabins. has no loss, the fabulous staircase that joins the two bridges and that is illuminated as if each flight were the Oscars Gala, leads to them. And here are the 76 brand new Emirates A380 Business Class seats.
With a 1x2x1 configuration, each of the seats includes your own minibar with a selection of non-alcoholic soft drinks. The alcoholic beverage service can be requested through its menu, a portfolio that has little to envy to that of the most sophisticated bar on the mainland with Moët & Chandon champagne, cocktails of all kinds or a good selection of international wines These are some of the references that any member of the friendly crew brings to the seat.
The lounge 'on board' of the A380.
Although if it is about enjoying a good cocktail, in this case it would be best to do it in the most photogenic area of the plane, its bar. Conceived as a place to have a drink, chat and even a snack (chocolate-dipped strawberries are almost an object of desire), the A380 bar is the heart of the plane... and from the Instagram of aviation addicts.
That here the paradise of aerial luxury is located on the top floor is something that no passenger doubts, although the fact that the seat folds down and becomes a completely flat bed, which dinner is served on Royal Doulton fine china plates or the traveler can select their own menu from more than 3 options of starters (the traditional Arabic mezze is the firm winner) and first courses, help to reinforce the fact that the flight experience on board the aircraft's business class world's largest passenger car is truly unforgettable.
And no matter how many flight hours lie ahead, because not only the comfort of the business space, bar or gastronomy on board add, also its award-winning on-board entertainment system, which has more than 3,500 channels (movies, series, games, live TV, etc.), which makes it virtually impossible to get bored on board an Emirates aircraft, let alone enjoying yourself through a huge 23-inch screen.
First class cabin on the first flight of Pan Am's Boeing 747, 'Upper Class'
DEMOCRATIZING COMMERCIAL AVIATION
And even though the end of four-engine aircraft is drawing near, the truth is that in the case of the Airbus A380, it seems that thanks to the extensive flight schedule for 2022 by airlines it has, to the delight of many passengers, delayed its disappearance.
Although the great bet of Airbus to the future of aircraft has already ceased to be produced, there are still airlines such as Emirates, the main supporter of both the aircraft model and the aviation model for which it was created there are others, like air France, who have taken advantage of the forced break during the pandemic to say definitely au revoir the largest passenger plane in the world.
Something similar, although much more nostalgic, happens with what is known as the ‘Queen of the skies', the Boeing B747 model, which just over 50 years after his first flight, and taking great credit for democratizing aviation, Today it is no longer part of any commercial aviation fleet. The pandemic has thus put an end to the supersonic hope for which this super ‘jumbo’ was born.
It sounds like a lot, but you only have to go back to 1965, the year in which boeing developed the idea of designing a giant passenger plane. Encouraged by Pan Am, who wanted bigger planes for its numerous overseas routes, by 1966 Boeing already had 25 orders from the airline. This is how the 747 was born, the most famous jet plane that has crossed the sky but that now, and after the pandemic, has limited its use to cargo.