A380 - Production to Halt in 2021

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#2181210 16-Feb-2019 11:13

networkn:
Handle9:

It's not surprising but unfortunate. It was a great solution for a problem which didn't exist anymore.

It's still my favourite plane while in the air - it's so much quieter than anything else.

I didn't find it quieter than the 787, however I do like how big it is so turbulence seems less sharp.

I would very much like to take an A350 at some stage, I hear they are amazing. I am not sure any route I am flying any time soon has them.

I flew in that last year.

Pleasant but in my view the Dreamliner still holds the crown from a passenger point of view.

Geektastic

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#2181211 16-Feb-2019 11:18

SirHumphreyAppleby:
nathan:

Batman:

When I first heard of the A380, I thought to myself - that seriously requires A LOT of bums to keep the flights going. I guess not enough bums to fill the seats huh. I really thought the 747 capacity was the maximum you'd want on a route. Sometimes bigger isn't always better.

Now what does that mean for the 747-8 ... anyone flown that before?

747-8 is mainly cargo

It's unlikely we'll see an uptake in 747-8 orders with the A380 programme ending. Not many airlines were interested in either the 747 or A380. The 777 handles most of those routes more efficiently, and the 777-10 will carry almost as many passengers.

nathan:

Trumps plane is a 757-200

I think he's referring to Air Force One (to be replaced by two modified 747-8i aircraft). According to Wikipedia, 536 747 aircraft are still operating, including 12 of the -100 variant.

British Airways still fly them to the USA. A family friend is a pilot flying the San Diego route.

sbiddle

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#2181214 16-Feb-2019 11:34

nathan:

the plane will still be in service for 20-25-30 years, so no need for any disappointment, especially against an airline

If Airbus had listened to its customers and re-engine onto a more fuel efficient engine, they might still have orders in their orderbook

I'd be surprised to see large numbers of A380's flying by the end of the next decade.

A number of airlines including Emirates and Singapore typically don't refurbish their aircraft - they keep them for ~15 years and then get rid of them which is why many have such old cabins. With zero demand for 2nd hand A380's we've already seen the first one scrapped for parts and the others will all follow.

The numbers for an A380neo simply didn't stack up. There was no way the A380neo was ever going to be as economical as newer aircraft, and whether Emirates ever really needed the planes was always open to debate. They talk themselves and have launched plenty of routes based on the A380 but the aviation industry downturn is even hurting them now.

At numerous stages last year Emirates had large numbers of aircraft parked up (30+ at one point) including a lot of A380s because they had more aircraft than they required.

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#2181969 18-Feb-2019 13:01

SirHumphreyAppleby:

nathan:

technically that's a VC-25. AF1 is any plane El Presidente is on

Yes.

So when the VP or Secretary of State fly to Europe or the Middle East do they use Boeing 757s and or long range Boeing 737s? In all the news clips I have only seen footage showing engines next to the stairs, never the full plane. Am I right to assume that the VP would never get to use the B747 'Air Force One' plane?

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#2181979 18-Feb-2019 13:11

Air Force Two is the air traffic control call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the U.S. Vice President, but not the President. The term is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified 757 which is most commonly used as the Vice President's transport.

There is no law that prevents VPotus and POTUS to travel in the vehicles, but it's not often done for a couple of (hopefully) obvious reasons. Less obvious reasons include scheduling differences

jarledb

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#2181981 18-Feb-2019 13:16

amiga500:

So when the VP or Secretary of State fly to Europe or the Middle East do they use Boeing 757s and or long range Boeing 737s? In all the news clips I have only seen footage showing engines next to the stairs, never the full plane. Am I right to assume that the VP would never get to use the B747 'Air Force One' plane?

Its actually two VC25-C (Military version of 747) that are the largest planes used to carry the US President. When one of them is being used to carry the President, its callsign is "Air Force One".

From what I understand "Air Force One" can also be a 757 or 737 if the President is travelling somewhere where the VC25s won't be able to land. Those planes are also the typical planes that the Vice President travel in. When in use by the Vice President their call sign are "Air Force Two".

Here is a Wikipedia article about it, it also includes other countries air transport for their heads of state.

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networkn

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#2181987 18-Feb-2019 13:24

According to a report I watched, there are smaller planes, modified gulfstreams that transport both to smaller airfields from time to time.

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#2182058 18-Feb-2019 15:50

networkn:

According to a report I watched, there are smaller planes, modified gulfstreams that transport both to smaller airfields from time to time.

Drifting OT a bit here :P

But in line with that - A number of which have visited here (CHC) and Welly. One recently bringing a high ranking officer who offloaded straight onto a C130 to antartica for a day trip and left following.

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#2182071 18-Feb-2019 16:09

The problem is it was released right at the beginning of the GFC when airlines weren't buying aircraft. So it had bad luck right from the start. Quite a few NZ airports seem to have modified their runways to cater for it at huge cost. But the future seems to be smaller, more fuel efficient aircraft, that airlines can fill more easily, and can be used at smaller airports.

networkn

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#2182077 18-Feb-2019 16:16

mattwnz:

The problem is it was released right at the beginning of the GFC when airlines weren't buying aircraft. So it had bad luck right from the start. Quite a few NZ airports seem to have modified their runways to cater for it at huge cost. But the future seems to be smaller, more fuel efficient aircraft, that airlines can fill more easily, and can be used at smaller airports.

I read earlier in the thread that they did this for the 777 aircraft, but I was surprised to read this, as any airport runway increases I have read about have referenced the A380 as the reason. I have never heard a peep about the 777 requiring it, and the 777 has been around a fairly long time, certainly, in my memory, the 777 were servicing NZ with the "older" runway configs?

The A380 wouldn't have released intentionally during 2008, I thought it was slated for a long prior release date? Secondly, don't they require a certain number of pre-orders before they can manafacture, so committments were certainly prior to the GFC. I guess post release orders may have been slower...

Oblivian

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#2182083 18-Feb-2019 16:26

mattwnz:

The problem is it was released right at the beginning of the GFC when airlines weren't buying aircraft. So it had bad luck right from the start. Quite a few NZ airports seem to have modified their runways to cater for it at huge cost. But the future seems to be smaller, more fuel efficient aircraft, that airlines can fill more easily, and can be used at smaller airports.

Once upon a time, akl had 2 bridges.

Then there was 4 (planes visiting) a day with overlap. Expansion of terminal + more bridges? + parking area.

Then poof. All dried up and almost excess to requirement (bar the 5 year plan upgrades underway now)

CHC had to re-do the entire taxiway/pushback areas as mentioned earlier. Add a proper dual-disembark bridge, ground power unit to save the planet..

And use to (possibly still need?) an escort past the fire stn due to its clearance proximity on paper. Al the while rumors are EQ is possibly hinging on going seasonal 380/777x

Oblivian

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#2182086 18-Feb-2019 16:36

networkn:

I read earlier in the thread that they did this for the 777 aircraft, but I was surprised to read this, as any airport runway increases I have read about have referenced the A380 as the reason. I have never heard a peep about the 777 requiring it, and the 777 has been around a fairly long time, certainly, in my memory, the 777 were servicing NZ with the "older" runway configs?

The A380 wouldn't have released intentionally during 2008, I thought it was slated for a long prior release date? Secondly, don't they require a certain number of pre-orders before they can manafacture, so committments were certainly prior to the GFC. I guess post release orders may have been slower...

A380 falls into code F (with the 747-8) - it's dead weight and potential lift capability noted - can degrade landing areas and parking spots if left too long :D Wingpsan also needs more clearance from the tips, so safety fences needed to widen, virtual zones widened. Physical tarmac widened. But, when it was introduced here was some 'exceptions' for code E airfields (chc being AKL alternate) I believe.

Some of the technical requirements for your viewing pleasure https://www.caa.govt.nz/aerodromes/A380paper.pdf

C 24 m but < 36 m 6 m but < 9 m BOEING 737-700 / AIRBUS A-320 / EMBRAER ERJ 190-100

D 36 m but < 52 m 9 m but < 14 m B767 Series / AIRBUS A-310

E 52 m but < 65 m 9 m but < 14 m B777 Series / B787 Series / A330 Family

F 65 m but < 80 m 14 m but < 16 m BOEING 747-8 / AIRBUS A-380-800

Handle9

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#2182098 18-Feb-2019 16:51

networkn:

I read earlier in the thread that they did this for the 777 aircraft, but I was surprised to read this, as any airport runway increases I have read about have referenced the A380 as the reason. I have never heard a peep about the 777 requiring it, and the 777 has been around a fairly long time, certainly, in my memory, the 777 were servicing NZ with the "older" runway configs?

That was referencing the point load not the width of the runway. The 777 runs 2 bogies with 12 wheels so has a higher point load compared to the A380 which has 4 bogies with 20 wheels (2 x 6 and 2 x 4 wheels). The 777 has higher load per bogie compared to the A380

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#2183708 19-Feb-2019 15:29

Dingbatt:
The next big change for airliners will either be speed, or constraints forced by environmental concerns.

It won't be speed; aircraft have been getting slower since the 80s, settling in around Mach 0.85, or around 800-850km/hr in still air. Reasons being fuel economy and ease of maintenance. Of course, for passengers the trade off was supposed to be 'the flight is a bit slower but at least you'll be comfortable'... So much for that.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

dafman

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#2183710 19-Feb-2019 15:32

This sums it up nicely ... click on thumbnail for full size image

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