About a decade ago the A380 seemed like the next great thing that would change aviation. Unfortunately over time that perception has changed, and aside from Emirates, most airlines flying the A380 don't seem very pleased with it. For a couple of years there has been speculation that Airbus would discontinue the A380 program, given…
Continue reading: Singapore Airlines Is Getting Rid Of Their First A380
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They could have a UAE consulate in every city if they converted the 380's into them hehe..
There have been plenty of second hand A380s for sale already - MH and TG have been trying to sell theirs for some time. The reason this hasn't been news is because nobody wants to buy them. Airbus can't sell new ones dirt cheap so who would anyone buy a second hand one.
Agree it would make a fantastic hotel. If they could tow it somewhere off the runway at Singapore it would make an amazing airport hotel.
@JamesP, Gene:
Ha!
Good one. But no. If Delta wanted large planes they could have kept their 744s in service, or picked up more used ones for super cheap.
A380s work well for EK because they can scissors hub Australia and India markets. They are kinda OK if you're SQ, LH, BA, AF because you're really able to flow traffic into a superhub (SIN, FRA, LHR, CDG). But DL doesn't have anything remotely resembling a superhub: JFK and LAX are fragmented and so you want lots of O/D rather than hub operations, ATL kinda but even that doesn't work when you have hubs in NYC, DTW, MSP, LAX, SEA to go with it; why would you preferentially flow traffic to ATL on a PDX/SMF-CDG itinerary?
@ Lucky, a typo: "which another five aircraft on order." I presume that should be "with another ..."
There has been some talk that a small sub fleet of A380s (5-6) would be good for UA to replace the 744 on SFO-Asia routes (I.e. HKG and NRT) so could possibly see that as an option, especially if they use the 773 out of EWR but since they got rid of slots there there is less of a reason to have on high capacity EWR flight vs 2 frequencies.
I could also see this going to FX or UP as cargo, if they could get it cheap, they cancelled their original A380F orders due to cost. Final option could be something like Atlas to replace their 744s
First airline that came into mind was Delta- I see I'm not the only one! The 744 argument is a good one but it is not taking into account that the A380 offers a larger capacity at a much lower fuel consumption per seat than the B744. That and taking Delta's recent growth andunique business model could translate into Delta becoming the first US Airline flying the big bird.
@Brad B, I was think UA as well. Very unlikely but would be a welcome replacement for those 744s.
Has to be a high traffic price inelastic or landing slot restricted route or someone with oil so Shanghai -LHR or Moscow LAX....
CBS can buy one for the Zoo.
If RA is still head of DL, he would have bought one in some unknown condition(even without engines) for $10 Million and announce at a big press conference to set future A380 resale value, just to screw EK. He did that with B777 just before retiring.
Code F is big no no for many airlines
High maintenance costs,
High cabin reconfiguration costs, not many can keep SQ/EK interior
Huge cabin crew requirement (EK apparently has 100 CC per A380, still short)
Ability to recover trip cost still unclear
Why don't we all pool together and buy it ourselves? OMAAT Airlines.
I'll have it Monday's and Saturdays as it was my idea...
Any news on what SQ routes will lose the A380 as a result? What are some of your speculations?
This was always the gamble so many years ago; point to point or hub to hub. Boeing nailed it with the 787. The question I wonder is how do you make such a decision so far in the future.
Why would they necessarily lose any current routes when they have 5 more on order? I would imagine the new ones would just take over the routes of the abandoned aircraft.
A normal practice for the earliest delivery models of a brand new aircraft. Wonder who would lease it now - won't be surprised if airlines such as AI, TK or DL take delivery to invest on their growing revenue routes.
This also isn't a new development: http://www.ausbt.com.au/malaysia-airlines-puts-its-entire-airbus-a380-fleet-up-for-sale
Its coming off SIN - AKL . I'm booked for December 7th Business Class so they will probably replace it with the 777-300 they use during our winter months.
Thought I'd throw in my personal experience on the SQ a380 back in July. I flew from SIN-NRT-LAX. The first leg I had an entire row to myself, and the rest of the plane was pretty empty as well. Tokyo to Los Angeles was packed however. I was unable to look into Business Class or Suites Class there were only a few empty seats in economy. I'm honestly surprised that SQ and others are having trouble filling up the a380 given how populated Asia is. I was doubly surprised that they were taking it off the LAX route, 'cause I feel that it is the most well-known flagship a380 route of any airline. I wanted to take my Japanese mother on a trip in Business Class or ideally Suites Class when she retires in a few years. I have to say I'm quite saddened that I won't be able to take her in SQ Suites to her home country and on to Singapore because she loves that country. Hopefully the SIN-FRA-JFK route will still be around then and we'll be able to take that back at least.
@Sean
I'm fairly sure we already know that: SQ is removing the 380 from SIN-NRT-LAX and replacing it with a 77W.
"Nonetheless this creates an interesting situation, as we’ll now see a used A380 on the market. Is there an airline that wants to take over some of the first A380s to be produced?"
Haven't we already seen used A380 on the market with no buyers? No one wanted to buy the A380 MH was unloading when they discontinued the A380 on the KUL/CDG service.
SQ has never kept aircrafts for more than 10 years
The journalist obviously is not very well informed ! The 5 new 380 on order are to replace the first 5 that next year will be 10 years old
How stupid are this journalists that have no idea what they talk about
Second largest customer with 19? Last I was in FRA on layover, walking the terminal seemed that I saw a lot of LH A380s. Anyone know LH A380 numbers?
Major step back if it is going to be replaced with a Boeing 777. Those things are much noisier to fly. The 787 is better but still inferior to 340 and 350. Not sure why Boeing has not yet mastered building more silent planes.
One would think worst case they could copy in case they can't figure it out themselves.
@ron - Boeing actually has. The GE (especially the GenX) engine noise signatures and the B787 fuselage wind drag numbers are amongst the lowest in the industry. Airbus takes a very different approach to noise dampening by using additional absorbing materials (in case you have wondered why there is such a huge gap between the wall and the exterior of the A380 - tons of noise dampening polymers). As a result, the Airbus aircraft are typically heavier per passenger loading compared to the Boeing aircraft. This is also why the 787 is more fuel efficient than the A350 per person per mile. In conclusion, Boeing incorporates noise mitigation at the source by advancing the technology (active method): wind shear and engine resonance. Airbus focuses more on absorbing the noise (passive method). My preference is for the Boeing and GE methods on addressing the problem at the root rather than trying to put a band-aid on it. RR with their spool designs just do not achieve the same level of noise mitigation as GE does with their GenX.
Iran Air would probably grab them. They were the world's best airline 1960s and now that the sanctions have been lifted, they would surely go for them. They also have 12 A380s on order and several 30+ years old A300 in their fleet..
Interesting I did not know that. It seems however that the major difference in noise level comes from the cabin pressurization system. Airbus is already a lot more silent even at the gate.
I don't think the cabin pressurization is on immediately at the gate. To the best of my knowledge (I haven't worked on an aircraft design for over 25 years now), I believe the pressure is bled slowly during the climb until the value of pressure relative to 6000 ft is reached. At this point, pressurized air is bled into the cabin through the bleed-valves in the engines for Airbus aircraft. For the 787 and 777-9X (to be introduced), the air is compressed, conditioned, humidified and then forced into the cabin (787s do not use air from the engine making the GenX quieter and efficient as a result). Based on my knowledge, the cabin insulation makes the Airbuses quieter. I was pleasantly surprised by the quiet environment on a recent A350 flight although it appears to have be choppier compared to the 787 which I fly on the same route. At the end of the day, a customer doesn't care if the A350 is archaic compared to the 787 as long as it is more comfortable.
@the aviation fans above
doesn't matter how hard Boeing and Airbus try, neither can achieve the sub-47 decibel noise signature and sea-level cabin pressure inside of a Gulstream G650 with their submarine-inspired noise reduction technology and fuselage.
Delta.
I can't think of another airline with such a mish-mash of various aircraft types & models. Yes, they get a great deal on them, many of them second-hand, but I do have to wonder about the costs and logistics of maintaining crews for all of the various aircraft they have.
It also is a bit maddening as a Delta flyer. The experience is soooo inconsistent. I'll be flying one leg on a beat Mad Dog, only to have the next be on a brand new B739-ER with even power outlets in coach. You can try to hedge your bets when booking, BUT equipment changes can easy screw you. Sometimes you get lucky and can catch an international-equipped widebody with lay-flat seats for a US domestic flight because of it.