The A380, once beloved, has struggled in
recent years, and experts thought it would die. This was no fault of the aircraft itself,
as the major airlines shifted their gaze from widebody aircrafts to smaller aircrafts,
even for long-haul travel. But Airlines are now taking certain steps with the A380’s that
might seem a bit unusual. So, what are they? You would expect that the A380 would be the
dream aircraft of every airliner due to its comfortability and high capacity. But from
airline owners’ point of view, they seemed to have their fair share of problems with it.
The onset of the COVID pandemic did little to improve the situation, and Airbus ceased to
produce more of it as the orders seemed to cease. We saw airlines go for the smaller Boeing
747, which they see as more efficient for profits. When the A380 was initially introduced, it was
what many perceived as the future of aviation. It provided the best for passengers who desired
luxury and comfort, regardless of the class they paid for. It eclipsed some of the planes that
existed before it came out by offering them lower operating and maintenance costs. It
presented some pretty impressive add-ons, such as the great walk-up bars, the first-class
bathrooms with showers, and the onboard lounges. This attracted airlines such as
Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and Etihad, which capitalized on their luxurious
offerings to create a first-class paradise for their passengers. However, demand fell for
the aircraft, and Airbus ultimately stopped its production. Emirates is the last known
buyer of the A380. The slip in demand was more of a financial cause than a problem with
the aircraft's performance. For some reason, the demand for air travel naturally decreased,
and fewer passengers meant that airlines would not necessarily need to service their A380s for
what they were worth. The A380s attracted a fairly high price on their tickets, and the competition
shifted from passengers looking for comfort to a desire for what was affordable. So, airlines were
forced to strategize to win back markets they lost to their rivals. To do this, they had to cut down
on their prices to remain competitive, resulting in dwindling profits due to the heavy investments
put into maintaining their A380s. The severe drop in air travel over the last two years has further
harmed the use of A380s, as airlines were unable to pull in as many passengers as needed to
keep the aircraft operational. We saw Singapore airlines and Air-France retire some of their A380s
along with others. And it was not until recently that things began to pick up again, which shows
that the A380's future might be getting brighter. We have begun to see changes in the demeanor
of airlines towards the A380. British Airways is one of the most forward-thinking airlines,
and the A380 provides them with exciting new opportunities. Like Emirates, this airline is
a known staunch user of the A380. While most airlines are waiting till next summer before they
resume deploying their fleet of widebody aircraft, British Airways has its eyes on the business it
can do in their winter seasons. There will be a lot of traffic shuffled between Heathrow airport
in London and Los Angeles, in the United States. That route has seen tremendous traffic, with
flights between the airways and its LA counterpart occurring approximately 11 times daily. That is a
good milestone, given what other airlines perceive as a low-demand era of air travel. British
Airways has rolled out its winter schedule, which showcases a lot of traffic expected
between December and January as passengers travel from London to the US and several other
parts of the world for the holiday season. The traffic between London Heathrow and Los
Angeles via the airline is plied twice daily aboard the 469-seat capacity A380. They have been
using the Airbus since 2013 and had a pretty good experience using the A380, except for the pandemic
when things slowed a bit. But this winter schedule is their means of getting back up to using the
A380s to full effect as air travel picks up at the end of 2022 and the winner of 2023. They join
Korean Air in considering exploring the benefits of the widebody A380s for the winter market.
Korean Air's A380s will now serve the route from Seoul to JFK airport twice and Bangkok
thrice per week. This brings the scheduled A380 flights of JFK to the same level as the
flight to Los Angeles. While both airlines, among others, are bringing back the A380s
into their fleets and streamlining their travel schedules to occupy the high-capacity
aircraft, another airline is looking to go in a completely different direction,
which is clearly not good for Airbus. It is paradoxical to think that as much
as other airlines are embracing Airbus, others seem to be taking the other way around.
Such is the case with Qantas. The airline is risking the vexation of its customers, some
of whom might prefer first-class luxury while flying across the Australian skies. Initially,
the airline had grand plans to roll out some A380 flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles,
but they have completely abandoned that plan. They replaced all routes where the Airbus A380 is
notorious, much to the chagrin of its passengers, with the Boeing 787-9. You can understand why
the customers will have something negative to say about this change, given that there
would be no massive first-class cabin, and they wouldn't enjoy the appealing
upper deck lounge of the double-decker. This has made the flight on the Boeing
787 for the airline a less appealing. The company's reasons for making the switch are
nonetheless baffling, citing the irregularities in their schedules as the reason they want to
cut down on the A380s. They are simply opting for a flight with a smaller capacity. It is viewed
as the ultimate solution to flight cancellations and delays, often experienced due to their
overreliance on the few A380s they own. When the A380s get filled up, they tend to have passengers
left hanging due to the unavailability of another flight to move. Instead, the switch to Boeing 787
Dreamliner means that they will have at least 20 aircraft, including six widebody planes, and the
A380s will exist as a contingency to forestall any sudden spike in demand. This change is a temporary
swap as they hope to increase their capacity with time, with the gradual increase in demand for
long-haul travel. The truth is Boeing 787 might be a more economical alternative to the high-capacity
Airbus A380. The company will be more confident about using its A380s once the demand for air
travel reaches its peak. However, the downside is that they have to contend with clients who paid
a lump sum to ride first class in the A380 and now have to settle for the 236-capacity Boeing 787. It
has only eight first-class seats, which means that some tickets will be reverted back to business
class, much to the distaste of their passengers. Many passengers will be lost to their rivals who
might be using the A380. From this angle, Qantas is going in the opposite direction of the progress
of other airlines. It will not just make them lose some of their local passengers, but several
international travelers would opt for an airline that gives them what they want regardless of their
interests And one of them might be Lufthansa. German airline Lufthansa, one of the few long-term
customers of the Airbus A380, used to have about 14 A380s but had to ground them during the
COVID-19 pandemic as air travel reached its lowest point in years. There was zero need to parade most
of the fleet, especially the widebody aircraft. Smaller capacity carriages were chosen to save
fleet operation money and store their larger A380s. Lufthansa sold six of its A380s during the
grounding. But, a lot is changing now that COVID has ended, as the restrictions on commercial
travel have been eased. They have eight A380s left, and they believe that more is needed to help
them contend with their international and local competitors. However, they are aware that aircraft
manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing are unable to build enough aircrafts to meet orders their
clients have already placed in over an year. So, Lufthansa’s immediate solution is to reactivate
their grounded fleet of A380s. Three of those flights will be integrated into the itinerary
to serve international flights from Munich to the United States. Lufthansa believes
that commercial air travel will be back in full force in the summer of 2023, and its
preparations are underway. Each A380 carrying as many as 509 passengers will serve the hoard
of orders they would receive in 2023. It is also equipped with a first-class section with eight
seats, which is not available on the Boeing 787s they ordered and are unable to receive
at this time. Their interest in the Boeing 787 stemmed from an inquiry to replace their aging
A340-300s; however, those efforts have stalled due to Boeing's manufacturing issues. So, the A380
is a great alternative that they are willing to capitalize on. But Lufthansa is not alone in
taking such big steps to cure travel demand.
Emirates is by far the world's largest operator of
the A380 fleet, owning 119 A380 aircrafts. Do they own a couple of Boeing aircrafts? Yes! They own
ten Boeing 777-200LRs and 124 Boeing 777-300Ers as of this recording. Their in-service A380s
and Boeing 777s can provide first-class services for their passengers. Their Boeing fleet can
have eight first-class seats, while the A380 is spacious enough for a first-class cabin with
14 seats. In addition to this luxury, they have already signed agreements with Boeing and Airbus
to retrofit 53 Boeing 777s and 67 A380s with premium economy seats to prepare for the upcoming
surge in air travel. In terms of class, many would place the A380 above the Boeing 777. It can carry
over 500 passengers, while the 777 can only carry about 350 passengers. So, it makes sense why they
are investing more money in upgrading the A380. They are relishing the opportunity to receive a
scheduled order of fifty A350-500 aircrafts of at least 400 passenger capacity. Like Lufthansa,
they are also victims of Boeing's inability to meet its supply, as they have already booked 115
Boeing 777X and 30 Boeing 787-9. At least they expect delivery in 2025, which is 2 years too
late for them to take advantage of the expected rise in air travel demand. So, it remains to
be seen how well Airbus will maintain its lead over Boeing despite its inconsistencies in
meeting its own orders for its aircrafts. However, Airbus is waging war on two fronts
against Boeing, in the sense that it is not just the A380 that seems to be threatening
to usurp some of Boeing's most competitive models in the market. Have you seen
the Airbus A350 just yet? Airlines are dying to have it enlisted among their fleet,
especially with some of the new improvements Airbus is adding to their new batch of A350s.
But what is so special about the new A350, and how is it any better than the A380
and any existing Boeing aircrafts? I know you want to hear more about this,
so just click this video right here!
