After the A380: Long-Haul Aviation Still Takes Flight
A global pandemic, fuel costs and traveler preferences led to an early demise for the superjumbo jet. Yet other new commercial aircraft prove that long-haul air travel is still popular.
When Airbus unveiled its new A380 jet in Toulouse, France in January 2005 it represented a bold effort to match and surpass its American rival, Boeing, the leading commerical aircraft manufacturer in the world. But by 2019, with a mix of short-haul single-aisle (A320, A321) and long-haul (A330, A350) jets, Airbus would surpass Boeing as the leading jet manufacturer in terms of commercial jet orders.
The A380’s inaugural test flight occured on 27 April 2005. The revolutionary double-deck passenger jet was equipped with four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, later versions of the A380 included General Electric/Pratt & Whitney GP7200 engines. At 983,000 lbs., the A380 was the heaviest passenger commercial jet to fly. By comparison, the 747–100 (inaugural version in 1969) maximum takeoff weight was 735,000 lbs.
The A380 superjumbo jet was meant to reinforce a hub-and-spoke feeder system for major airlines, with the A380 designed to carry hundreds of passengers very long distances; say, Adu Dhabi to London or Frankfurt to Bangkok (4,866 nautical miles).
The straight line distance from London (LHR) to New York City (JFK) is 3,452 miles, or 3,000 nautical miles — a distance that is considered long-range in aviation-speak, not “extra longe-range.”
While over 1,500 Boeing 747 planes have been delivered to airlines across the globe over five decades, the era of four-engine jumbo passenger jets like the 747 and A380 is coming to a close. Bigger and more efficient jet engines have been developed and aircraft are being manufactured with more composite parts that are lighter in weight.
October 2022 will see the final closure of 747 production with the final handful of jets scheduled for delivery to UPS and Atlas Air. The 747 became a successful cargo carrier, the A380 did not.
Airbus made the decision to halt A380 production in February 2019. The final A380 was delivered to Emirates Airlines in December 2021 — production is finished. Emirates, in fact, purchased 120 of the double-deck jets, nearly half of all A380 jets that were manufactured. Post-pandemic health considerations, high aviation fuel prices and a customer preference for direct non-stop flights, the future of long-haul aviation is undergoing more change. Many A380 jets that were taken out of service in 2020 during the pandemic will not return to service.
The online aviation news source Simple Flying has identified the 2022 status of all 254 A380 jets that were manufactured. Air France, for instance, decided to retire its ten A380 jets by the end of 2019.
Some A380 aircraft will fly again (British Airways and Emirates Air, among others, are committed to keep the A380 in service), some will be used for spare parts for other A380 jets and some will be completely disassembled and their component parts sold.
New Jets & Long(er) Distance
While the jumbo 747 and superjumbo A380 will fade into aviation history a host of new and existing long-range jets are currently in service (or will shortly enter service in 2022/2023) that will reinforce the importance of long range and extra long-range air service. They may seat modestly fewer passengers but these jets will be more fuel efficient.
The wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner began service in October 2011 with a long distance capability of 8,500 nautical miles. The 787–9 variant seats between 290 to 400 passengers in various cabin configurations and has a non-stop flight range of 7,633 nautical miles. A Qantas 787 route — Dallas, TX to Sydney — is 7,450 nautical miles.
The Boeing 777–200LR (Long Range) entered service in 2006. It can travel nonstop 8,550 nautical miles. Airbus A350–1000 can seat 410 passengers and fly distances of 8,700 nautical miles.
Even single-aisle jets of modest size are being manufactured to fly long distances. The Airbus A321XLR (long-range version, part of the Airbus A320 family) will have a range of 4,700 nautical miles. It will be the longest range narrow-body commerical aircraft when it likely enters service in early 2024. For example, from Tokyo it could fly nonstop to Vancouver, Seattle, or San Francisco.
Boeing 737 MAX jets, too, are slowly returning to service globally. Ryan Air is the largest customer for 737 MAX jets in Europe. 737 MAX-7 has a range of 3,850 nautical miles. The plane will present budget airlines with numerous options for long distance travel that do not justify use of larger wide-body jets.
The A380 is a beautiful design, but the first superjumbo jet will not have a long career in commercial air service. It was a revolutionary design and represented an investment in long-range aviation service — a commitment that still drives aircraft design innovation. The aviation channel Melbourne Aviation captures A380 jets taking off and landing:
*JULY 12 UPDATE: Commerical aviation has experienced a dramatic rebound over the course of the spring and summer 2022 — across the globe. Long delays at many large airports, cancelled flights, customer service challenges will likely continue throughout the summer as airlines look to expand capacity. While airlines wait for more widebody jets to be delivered to meet demand, some airlines have brought their retired A380s back into service: Read more!
