(CNN) — Der Airbus A380 ist bei Passagieren wegen seiner Geräumigkeit und seines Komforts beliebt, bei Fluggesellschaften jedoch aufgrund seiner Betriebskosten nicht beliebt. Der Airbus A380 hat bereits seine Sonnenuntergangsjahre erreicht, obwohl er erst vor 14 Jahren auf den Markt kam.
Sein letztes Kapitel wurde diese Woche mit der Auslieferung von Airbus noch stärker in den Fokus gerückt der letzte jemals gebaute A380 an seine neuen Eigentümer, Emirates, und beendet damit die 18-jährige Produktion des Flugzeugs.
Der Superjumbo wurde zu einer Zeit konzipiert, als größere Flugzeuge mit Hunderten von Passagieren zwischen Drehkreuzen ein attraktives Angebot waren, aber zu der Zeit, als er zu fliegen begann, hatte ein anderes Geschäftsmodell – kleinere Flugzeuge, die kleinere Flughäfen verbanden – die Luftfahrtindustrie übernommen.
Das größte jemals produzierte Verkehrsflugzeug hat jedoch eine Anhängerschaft angehäuft, und obwohl ein erheblicher Teil der Flotte die Pandemie nicht überleben wird, wird die Nachricht über das Flugzeug erhalten zurück in die luft haben diejenigen elektrisiert, die bei der Flugreservierung gezielt darauf achten.
Jetzt bieten mehrere Fluggesellschaften – darunter Emirates, British Airways und Singapur – wieder Langstreckenflüge mit dem Superjumbo an.
Unabhängig davon, ob Sie einen Flug mit einem A380 planen, während Sie noch die Möglichkeit haben oder nicht, hier ist unsere Auswahl der 20 interessantesten Fakten über dieses einzigartige Flugzeug.
1. Größer denn je
Als einziges jemals gebautes Doppeldecker-Passagierflugzeug in voller Länge ist die A380 so groß, dass sie theoretisch maximal 853 Passagiere befördern könnte, wenn alle Sitze in der Economy Class wären. Allerdings hat noch keine Airline einen A380 so ausgestattet: Die höchste aufgezeichnete Kapazität beträgt 615 Personen in einer Zwei-Klassen-Konfiguration (Economy + Business).
2. Kabel für Meilen
Kabelgebunden für den Flug: Jeder A380 verfügt über mehr als 300 Meilen Kabel.
Gideon Mendel/Corbis/Getty Images
Jeder A380 enthält über 300 Meilen an Elektrokabeln und -kabeln, und deren Installation erwies sich als so schwierig, dass einige der anfänglichen Verzögerungen bei der Produktion des Flugzeugs speziell auf die Verkabelung zurückzuführen waren. Im Jahr 2009 rationalisierte Airbus den Betrieb um Beschleunigen die Installation der Halterungen, die die Verkabelung halten – in jedem Flugzeug sind es bis zu 80.000.
3. Turbulente Luft
Die Größe und das Gewicht des Superjumbos können kleineren Flugzeugen, die ihm dicht folgen, Probleme bereiten – ein Phänomen, das als “Wake-Turbulenz” bekannt ist. 2017 ein kleiner Privatjet [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Airbus_A380_Wake_Vortex_Guidance__;!!AQdq3sQhfUj4q8uUguY!zXilaacCxIidu27jLM-bNh3Np1dJaJPSTn7LpJ1cGC9q-exGwMU8drh6t-CvlTx7ulAj$” target=”_blank”>flipped in the air when it crossed paths with an A380. Recent guidelines suggest that light aircraft should wait four minutes before taking off or landing on the same runway that was just used by an A380.
4. A serious paint job
Blank canvas: It takes a lot of paint to decorate an A380.
Etienne De Malglaive/Getty Images
It takes 950 gallons of paint to cover the entire 38,000-square-feet surface of an A380. A regular layer of paint adds 1,400 lbs of weight to the plane. The process usually takes about two weeks.
5. No need to pack light
The cargo hold of an A380 can carry up to 3,000 suitcases, and two loading belts — one at the front and one at the back — can be used simultaneously to speed up the process.
6. A true globalist
Each A380 is made of 4 million individual components, produced by 1,500 companies from 30 different countries. They all used to converge via road, air and sea to Toulouse, in the south of France, where the final aircraft was assembled.
7. A chance of showers
Splashy feature: The A380 has room for showers.
Pawel Dwulit/Toronto Star/Getty Images
8. More room than a basketball court
With its full-length double deck, the A380 offers almost 6,000 square feet of usable floor space, about 40% more than the second largest airliner, the Boeing 747-8.
9. Loved by Emirates
By far the largest operator of the A380 is Dubai-based Emirates, with 123 orders, followed by Singapore Airlines with 24. In total, 14 airlines have ordered and flown the A380. When Emirates canceled an order for 39 A380s in early 2019, Airbus decided to cease production of the aircraft altogether, by the end of 2021.
10. You can own a piece of one
Drink it in: Emirates has been selling off the bar from a retired A380.
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty Images
While it has only just taken delivery of the last A380 ever made, Emirates has already retired the first one it acquired 14 years ago and handed it over to be recycled and turned into furniture items. Among items listed for pre-order at the Dubai Airshow in November were coffee tables made out of wheels, clocks made from wing fuel panels and the airplane’s entire 24-meter-tall tail. Also up for grabs was the plane’s fancy upper deck bar.
11. The secret compartment
With a cockpit crew of three and up to 21 flight attendants, the A380 has the largest crews of any airliner. The galley area has enough room for five people to work simultaneously, and crew members can rest in a “secret” area found in the third deck (the cargo one at the bottom), complete with bunk beds and a private restroom.
12. Not for everyone
Snug fit: Munich’s A380 adaptations.
Courtesy Munich Airport
The A380, due to its size, can’t be operated at all airports and many had to undertake modifications to be able to handle the superjumbo. In Munich, special hangar doors needed to be built to accommodate the aircraft’s tail. Airbus says that 140 airports worldwide are compatible with the plane, and over 400 can accept it in case of an emergency landing.
13. The longest flight
Emirates operates the A380’s longest scheduled passenger flight: Dubai to Auckland, 8,800 miles and over 17 hours in the air. In 2019, Qantas flew one of its A380s back to base in Sydney from Dresden, Germany, after refurbishment. The plane was empty and flew for over 18 hours and about 10,000 miles.
14. The shortest flight
Singapore Airlines has announced it will offer the new shortest A380 flight in the world: a quick hop of only 180 miles between Changi Airport in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Previously, Emirates held this record with a flight from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, which clocked in at around 210 miles.
15. The cargo version that never was
Cargo-only: The A380’s canceled freight version.
AFP/Getty Images
When Airbus launched the A380 in December 2000, it offered a cargo version called A380F, designed to compete with the equivalent cargo-only models of the Boeing 747. UPS and FedEx both initially placed orders for the plane, but after its release was delayed they canceled them, leading to the cancellation of the A380F program itself.
16. Flappy wings
During takeoff, the A380’s wings flutter so much that they flex upwards by as much as 13 feet. That’s a lot, but not as much as aircraft with a higher amount of composite materials, such as the Boeing 787, whose wings can flap by as much as 25 feet.
17. Jumbo depreciation
The list price of an Airbus A380 was about $450 million, without factoring in discounts, which are common. The current fleet value, however, has plummeted: one estimate says that a 2005 model is now worth just $77 million, and a like-new A380 built in 2019 just $276 million.
18. Two per wing
Thirsty workers: The A380 has four jet engines.
Frank Rumpenhorst/DPA/AFP/Getty Images
The plane’s four engines are both one of its most distinctive factors and a drawback, as they require more fuel than twin-engined jets. They are made by either Rolls-Royce in the UK or Engine Alliance in the United States, and can lift the airplane’s maximum takeoff weight of 650 tonnes to cruising altitude in 15 minutes.
19. No US buyers
One of the main reasons why the A380 was never a commercial success is the fact that not a single US airline ever bought the plane. Major European carriers such as Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa did, but in small numbers. By the time the A380 was available, US carriers had already moved away from jumbo planes and towards more fuel-efficient, twin-engined aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350.
20. A partial comeback
Lufthansa has decided to retire its A380 fleet.
Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images
The pandemic hit the aviation industry hard, and the A380 harder. Lufthansa and Air France never put their A380s back into service after they were grounded, deciding to retire their entire fleets instead, while Qatar sent half its fleet to permanent storage. On the flip side, Qantas, British Airways, Emirates, Qatar, Singapore, All Nippon and Korean Air have all announced that they are restarting A380 service.
