Commercial

Airbus A380

Manufacturer: Airbus

The Airbus A380 is a four-engine, large wide-body airliner and the only jet airliner with two full-length passenger decks. Airbus produced the type from 2003 to 2021; it is the world’s largest passenger airliner.

Aircraft Facts

Type Key
airbus-a380
Class
Commercial
Registry Count
5
Example Registration
FWWOW

Specifications

Wingspan
79.8 m / 261.8 ft
Length
72.7 m / 238.6 ft
Height
24.1 m / 79.1 ft
Max Speed
1020 km/h / 634 mph
Cruise Speed
903 km/h / 561 mph
Range
14800 km / 7991.36 nmi
Ceiling
13136.88 m / 43100 ft
First Flight
2005-04-27
Production Start
2007-10-25
Production End
2021-12-16
Total Built
254

Aircraft Overview

History

Airbus studies for a very large airliner began in 1988, the A3XX program was launched in December 2000, and the first A380 flew on 27 April 2005. European and U.S. certification followed on 12 December 2006. Singapore Airlines received the first delivery on 15 October 2007 and introduced the aircraft to service later that month. Manufacturing ended in 2021 after 254 aircraft were built.

Design

The A380 combines a full-length double-deck fuselage with four turbofan engines. The source gives typical seating for 525 passengers and a maximum certified capacity of 853. The passenger aircraft was offered with Engine Alliance GP7200 or Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.

Variants

The production passenger model is the A380-800. Airbus also proposed an A380F freighter, but suspended that program after customers cancelled or converted their orders while Airbus concentrated on the passenger version.

Operations

Singapore Airlines was the launch operator. The A380 went on to serve long-haul networks for airlines including Emirates, Qantas, Lufthansa, Air France, Korean Air, and Qatar Airways.

Notable Facts

  • The A380 first flew on 27 April 2005.
  • It remains the only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
  • Typical seating is 525 passengers, while the maximum certified capacity is 853.
  • Production peaked at 30 aircraft in both 2012 and 2014.
  • Airbus completed 254 A380s before manufacturing ended in 2021.

Variants

  • A380-841- 5 registrations - Example F-WWOW

Machine-Readable Resources

Sources