A380 Overview :

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it. Designed to challenge Boeing's monopoly in the large-aircraft market, the A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 and entered commercial service in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines. The aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX during much of its development, before receiving the A380 designation. The nickname Superjumbo has since become associated with it.

The A380 has been winning over business and leisure passengers alike since its service introduction in 2007, providing levels of comfort and reliability that have led travelers to specifically request flights on Airbus’ 21st century flagship – which is in operation with carriers around the globe.

The double-deck A380 is the world’s largest commercial aircraft flying today, with capacity to carry 525 passengers in a comfortable three-class configuration, and up to  853 in a single-class configuration that provides wider seats than its competitor. Overall, the A380’s two decks offer 50 per cent more floor surface than any other high-capacity aircraft.

With its range of 8,300 nautical miles, the A380 is the ideal solution to alleviate traffic congestion at busy airports. It has two full-length passenger levels with true widebody dimensions: a main deck and an upper deck, which are conveniently linked by fixed stairs forward and aft.

The new Airbus was initially offered in two models. The A380-800 original configuration carried 555 passengers in a three-class configurationor 853 passengers (538 on the main deck and 315 on the upper deck) in a single-class economy configuration. In May 2007 Airbus began marketing a configuration with 30 fewer passengers, now 525 passengers in three classes, traded for 370 km (200 nmi) more range, to better reflect trends in premium class accommodation. The design range for the −800 model is 15,400 km (8,300 nmi); capable of flying for example from Hong Kong to New York, or from Sydney to Istanbul non-stop. The second model, the A380-800F freighter, would carry 150 tonnes of cargo 10,400 km (5,600 nmi). The −800F development was put on hold as Airbus prioritised the passenger version and all cargo orders were cancelled. Future variants may include an A380-900 stretch seating about 656 passengers (or up to 960 passengers in an all economy configuration) and an extended range version with the same passenger capacity as the A380-800.

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