A380
28% Economy Class & Beyond
24% God Save the Points
23% One Mile at a Time
25% Other
The Airbus A380 is the world’s largest passenger airliner, known for its two full decks and impressive range.
Design and Capacity
- Up to 615 passengers can be accommodated in today’s typical configurations.
- Airbus once envisioned a stretched all‑economy layout that could hold 966 seats. 🔗
- The theoretical maximum design limit is 853 economy seats, with proposals for 840 seats by Air Austral.🔗
Operational History
- Production of the A380 ended in 2021 after a total of 251 aircraft were built.
- The final A380 was delivered to Emirates on December 16, 2021.
- Airbus officially announced the end of the A380 program in February 2019, citing a lack of demand and no backlog.
Recent Developments
- Etihad Airways plans to reintroduce four A380s in the summer of 2023 for routes between Abu Dhabi and London.
- Emirates continues to operate its A380 fleet, having relaunched services to London and Paris in 2020 and expressing interest in a new A380 design. 🔗
- The “A380plus” study proposed larger winglets and an additional 80 seats, targeting a 4 % reduction in fuel burn.🔗
Notable Incidents and Perceptions
- In October 2024 a British Airways A380 became stuck after making a wrong turn while taxiing in Boston.
- Passengers often praise the A380 for its quiet cabin, spacious interior, and unique amenities such as onboard showers and bars.
Miles to Memories 13%
Etihad Airways Will Bring Back Four Airbus A380s
The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger airliner in the world. However, Airbus stopped production of the four-engine jumbo jet at the end of 2021 due to low demand from carriers. The A380 is only profitable with a high load factor, and only the world’s largest airports have facilities to handle it. But at least one airline is making a U-turn and adding the aircraft back to its fleet. Etihad Airways has said that it will reintroduce four of its A380s starting from the summer of 2023 to meet the surge in travel demand. They will operate between
God Save the Points 14%
Airbus Envisioned A380 With 966+ Economy Seats
The Airbus A380 rarely needs much introduction. And yes, for those unsure, it’s the plane with two decks the entire way, carrying up to 615 passengers in today’s many configurations that looks kind of like a giant whale. It’s also the one with some of the more unique features found in the sky, like bars, or showers on board. But it appears Airbus had different ideas for the behemoth, often referred to as “The Whale”, which may have changed its legacy. An absolutely fascinating Airbus passenger layout sheet suggests the manufacturer had plans to make the already massive plane
One Mile at a Time 14%
My 6 Favorite Commercial Airplanes, From Regional Jets To Jumbo Jets
Us avgeeks can often have pretty strong aircraft preferences. Sometimes our picks are rational (like based on a plane’s capabilities, passenger comfort, etc.), while other times we just like the way a plane looks or sounds. In this post, I’d like to share my favorite aircraft, and then I’d love to hear what planes OMAAT readers like most. In this post: In this post, I want to share my six favorite types of commercial aircraft. Before I do so, a few things to note: Below are my favorites, roughly in order (starting with my favorite)… I
God Save the Points 10%
Airbus Officially Ends “Golden Age” A380 Super Jumbo Program
Rumors swirled and now word is out: the Airbus A380 program is officially ending. Once toted as the future of the skies, the double decked engineering marvel failed to ever reach its full potential. After a $4bn flurry of aircraft order cancellations and swaps to more fuel efficient twin engine aircraft, Airbus has announced retirement plans for the program just over 11 years since its triumphant launch. The world of aviation is shifting, and “big” is not the operating word du jour. “As a result of this decision we have no substantial A380 backlog and hence no basis to
Economy Class & Beyond 18%
Paris Air Show: Airbus announces the A380plus study
It’s been teased about the past few days by Airbus with images sneaking out with their an A380 with a high winglet. Well – it has a name – The Airbus A380plus The uplet and downlet of the A380plus (non flying version fitted to MSN004) – Image, Airbus The Airbus A380plus – Rendering Airbus. The A380plus pulls together a lot of the ideas have been putting out recently – namely the 80 extra seats you can place aboard the plane, whilst increasing efficiency and economics – and introducing larger winglets. So the most
Economy Class & Beyond 10%
Your next flight to Dante’s Inferno – Operated by Air Austral
The Airbus A380 – Sometimes called a WhaleJet or a BlunderBus, it does have redeeming features in the carriers that have so far implemented it – least of all in First, Business or even down the back where there have been innovations throughout. However, Airbus quote a theoretical 853 ultra-dense all Economy layout of an A380 as the maximum design limit. Well it seems Air Austral is going to take up with a passenger payload of 840 all economy seats which was confirmed at the Dubai Air Show (and first reported in January this year). Yes –
Traveling for Miles 12%
Emirates Brings Back Its A380 To London & Paris
Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission that helps contribute to the running of the site. Traveling For Miles has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Traveling For Miles and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. For more details please see the disclosures found at the bottom of every page. The Airbus A380 may be the world’s largest
One Mile at a Time 9%
Emirates Wants Airbus To Design A New Kind Of A380
Emirates President Tim Clark is one of the brightest and most reasonable guys in the airline industry. When he talks, it’s worth listening. Along those lines, he has just made some interesting comments about the future of “superjumbo” air travel. In this post: Why the Airbus A380 was such a failure Back in the 2000s, many believed that the Airbus A380 represented the future of air travel. As the demand for global air travel continues to increase, and as airports are increasingly capacity constrained, higher capacity jets are needed. Unfortunately that’s not how things have played out.