Superjumbo

[carrickharp]

Will this, pardon the pun ever get off the ground? New Airbus (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=420752)

[Ruairi]

Looks cool, excpet for the fact i'm petrified of flying.

more pics here (http://www.airbus.com/product/a380_backgrounder.asp)

[Babysis]

Watched it on the news this morning. they said they don't even know for sure that it will fly. They wont be testing it until March.

[drinkfeckarse]

Thought that was strange myself. Millions spent on marketing it and a big flashy launch today that would do the Olympics proud and it hasn't even had any trials yet :eek:

[Peadar]

Looks cool, excpet for the fact i'm petrified of flying.

This is perfect for you so then because you'll be much less aware that you're flying. Don't expect to see it on any runway in Ireland anytime soon though.


it hasn't even had any trials yet :eek:

They can simulate almost everything they need on a computer.
Gone are the days of spending billions building a plane only to realise that it wont fly. I would bet my nationality that they'll get this baby to fly.

[Babysis]

London heathrow are ploughing money in to ensuring they can accomodate it.
Would expect to see it at Gatwick too, they were pushing for major development when I worked there.

[Peadar]

London heathrow are ploughing money in to ensuring they can accomodate it.

Terminal 5 is to be bigger than Gatwick Airport.
Can't see Gatwick making that much of an investment.
If they get the plane to land there it will stay on the tarmac.

[Babysis]

Well Im only going by what the talk was amongst the staff, internal memos, and the amount of builders in there. They are really doing the place up, with a view to getting more flights/airlines etc

[Peadar]

as enviromentally 'sound',as say yer average small factory........... :(

But it should work like having one plane instead of having two separate planes so perhaps the environmental impact would be negated.

[Babysis]

But it should work like having one plane instead of having two separate planes so perhaps the environmental impact would be negated.

Not if there is going to be that bad boy plus 2 others in the air. Richard Branson said it "could" hold up to 900, but "would" only be flying about 500, with the rest of the room being used for shops casinos, beauty parlours etc.

[Pat O' Banton]

with the rest of the room being used for shops casinos, beauty parlours etc.

I take it Ryanair won't be looking to invest in a couple of them then!

[Peadar]

Richard Branson said...

It depends on the individual airline really.
Airlines are driven by cost so you can bet if increased capacity is what covers the cost, there wont be too many of these aircraft fitted out with casinos and the like.

[fosterdollar]

I'm not too keen on the idea of developing modern air equivalents to the ocean liners of old. Most of the time people just want to get from A to B in a satisfactory level of comfort. I think Airbus are definitely winning the battle for market share over Boeing in all the categories of commercial airplanes though. They have another competitor to Boeing's new 7E7 on the way in the form of their A350 as well.

Personally, i would prefer if both companies concentrated on reduces trans-atlantic and trans-world flight times.

[Babysis]

It depends on the individual airline really.
Airlines are driven by cost so you can bet if increased capacity is what covers the cost, there wont be too many of these aircraft fitted out with casinos and the like.

But isnt there only one at the moment. Also, I cant see the tickets for this being too cheap. Is it not just an exclusive means of travel to take over from concorde, appealing to the rich etc, at least until there are more of them up and running?

[Macy]

Airbus passed Boeing in market share a couple years ago afaik.

From what they were saying this morning, the biggest problem coming in the industry is the limited amount of slots. Obviously you'd get more on a limited number of flights using one of these things.

[fosterdollar]

Yeah, apparently the number of planes in the skies is approaching a detrimental number under current aviation control/monitoring/management system limits. This plane may be an answer but, seriously, casinos and beauty parlours? Hate that way of looking at things. Customer wants to go to wherever so why not stick him/her in an overpriced restaurant/bar/casino/spa while he/she is on the way. All i want is a seat, a beer and a decent flick on the way.

[Peadar]

Is it not just an exclusive means of travel to take over from concorde, appealing to the rich etc, at least until there are more of them up and running?

No because Concord was never intended to be as "exclusive" as it was.
The streamlined fuselage meant less room for fuel, less room for cargo and less room for passengers. This meant that Concord provided a very poor return on investment. British Airways and Air France were forced to recoup most of the running costs and investment costs from passenger fares.

The A380 should avoid all those problems and there would be no reason for greatly increased air fares.



Not what the scientists were saying on the radio mind........

I was making an asumption not based on any specific data but scientists love to complain about stuff.

[pete]

Can fit 800 seats into if fully fitted out for economy.

Ryanair are probably seeing if can land one of them into Charleroi,

:eek:

[ken foree]

do the seats face backward? supposedly much safer

[Peadar]

do the seats face backward? supposedly much safer

I'd say now if this thing drops out of the sky it wont matter which direction you're facing!

[fosterdollar]

I'd say now if this thing drops out of the sky it wont matter which direction you're facing!
hehe, yeah your @rse will still be the last thing that goes through your mind. :D

[ken foree]

hehehee yea i suppose... though they've tested big aircraft and found seats facing backward are much safer (since the most dangerous moments in flight are takeoff and landing) so the difference between life and death could be something so simple - just too expensive for airlines to re-fit their planes. :rolleyes: