Over the last 18 months, there has been a lot written about the future of the Airbus A380. The largest passenger aircraft in the world is said to be on its last legs (last wings?), with airlines such as Air France deciding to retire their entire fleet.
What is often overlooked is that the superjumbo meets the needs of certain airlines, and for them it is an important money maker. Here is some recent news of more aircraft coming back into service in the very near future.
British Airways
Things seem to be gearing up at the London based carrier, with reports today that five of the 12 strong fleet will return to service from 8 November. Initial routes are planned to be to Frankfurt and Madrid, to get crews up to speed after the long break.
The plan is then to resume long-haul services, with Miami, Dubai, Dallas Fort Worth and Los Angeles starting from 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th December respectively. British Airways have always remained a staunch supporter of the aircraft, and I would expect all 12 to return eventually.
Qatar Airways
Only five months ago, Qatar’s CEO Akbar Al Baker was publicly shaming the Airbus A380, calling it a “very fuel inefficient airplane”, referencing “the damage it does to the environment”, and stating that “people who are very conscious about emissions will avoid travelling on an A380.”
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- Qatar Airways have ten in the fleet
The tables have certainly turned in the short time since then. Qatar’s Airbus A350s are currently unavailable due to a dispute between the airline and the manufacturer, so the Doha based oneworld alliance carrier is bringing back five A380s into service. As the only aircraft in the fleet with First Class it also sees the return of this to the airline.
Overall Thoughts
Reports of the Airbus A380s demise are certainly premature. While Air France, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines, and Lufthansa have retired theirs others will not. Emirates will continue to operate their fleet of well over 100 aircraft, Australia’s Qantas plans to bring back 10 of their 12 in due course and Singapore Airlines will also be operating theirs. Recent refurbishments at the latter airlines should see them in service for another ten years or so.
That means you don’t need to rush to get on board one of these aircraft. Even so, if you had the choice of an A380 flight over a 777 for example, I would be taking the superjumbo. It’s a comfortable, spacious and quiet ride, and it won’t be around forever. Korean Air and Asiana plan to retire theirs by 2026, so taking one sooner rather than later would be advisable.
What do you think about the Airbus A380? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by BriYYZ via Wikimedia Commons.
British Airways stadium shot from the book Irish Air Spectacular.
Qatar Airways by Adrian Pingstone via Wikimedia Commons.
Nice piece. I hadn’t realized that Korean was still flying the A380. I wonder if they still have the walk-up cocktail bar. I was set to fly them out of ATL when they switched to a 777. That was as close as I’ve gotten to flying one but you give me hope.
I don’t think any A380s from any airline have had a massive interior reconfiguration. There have been adjustments (QF swapping out business class seats for the new ones), but nothing major like the addition or subtraction of a major element like a bar or lounge. I think it’s safe to say that whatever was in the Korean A380 still is. Good luck getting on it – you have some time still!
In the year 2035, Delta will buy some old A380’s at a good price! Just watch!
There are a few airlines that are likely to keep using the A380 and those are Qantas and British Airways. That’s because LHR and SYD have a few very high traffic routes. So does SIN but Singapore Airlines tends to fly new planes.
Hahahaha! I think that would be the surprise of the century! 🙂 Yes, BA happily use the A380 to the States quite a lot, and Qantas of course use them for LAX and LHR. Qantas just refurbished theirs so they’ll be around a while yet – plus they depreciated the fleet, something which will help going forward.