Further continuation of programme[edit]

At the July 2016 Farnborough Airshow Airbus announced that in a "prudent, proactive step,"
starting in 2018 it expected to deliver 12 A380 aircraf t per year, down f rom 27 deliveries in 2015.
The f irm also warned production might slip back into red ink (be unprof itable) on each aircraf t
produced at that time, though it anticipated production would remain in the black (prof itable) f or
2016 and 2017. "The company will continue to improve the ef f iciency of its industrial system to
achieve breakeven at 20 aircraf t in 2017 and targets additional cost reduction initiatives to lower
breakeven f urther." [126][127] Airbus expected that healthy demand f or its other aircraf t would allow it
to avoid job losses from the cuts.[128][129]
As Airbus expected to build 15 airliners in 2017 and 12 in 2018, Airbus Commercial Aircraf t
president Fabrice Brégier said that, without orders in 2017, production would be reduced below
one per month while remaining prof itable per unit and allowing the programme to continue f or 20
to 30 years.[130] In its 2017 half -year report, Airbus adjusted 2019 deliveries to eight aircraf t .[131] In
November 2017, its chief executive Tom Enders was conf ident Airbus would still produce A380s
in 2027 with more sales to come, and f urther develop it to keep it competitive beyond
2030.[132] Airbus was prof itable at a rate of 15 per year and is trying to drive breakeven down
f urther but will take losses at eight per year.[133]
An order f rom Emirates f or 36 A380s would have ensured production beyond 2020, but the
airline wanted guarantees that production would be maintained f or 10 years, until 2028: reducing
output to six a year would help to bridge that period and would support second -hand values while
other buyers are approached, but the programme would still be unprof itable.[134] If it had f ailed to
win the Emirates order, Airbus claimed that it was ready to phase out its production gradually as
it f ulf illed remaining orders until the early 2020s.[135] In January 2018, Emirates conf irmed the
order f or 36 A380s, [136][137] but the deal was thrown back into question in October 2018 over a
disagreement regarding engine f uel burn.[138]
To extend the programme, Airbus of fered China a production role in early 2018. [139] While state-
owned Chinese airlines could order A380s, it would not help their low yield, as it lo wers
f requency; they do not need more volume as widebody aircraf t are already used on domestic
routes and using the A380 on its intended long haul missions would f ree only a f ew airport
slots.[140]
Af ter achieving ef f iciencies to sustain production at a lower level, in 2017 Airbus delivered 15
A380s and was "very close" to production breakeven, expecting to make additional savings as
production was being f urther reduced: it planned to deliver 12 in 2018, eight in 2019 and six per
year f rom 2020 with "digestible" losses. As of February 2018, Enders was conf ident the A380
would gain additional orders f rom existing or new operators, and saw opportunities in Asia and
particularly in China where it is "under-represented".[141]

End of production[edit]
In February 2019, Airbus announced it will end the A380 production by 2021, af ter its main
customer, Emirates, agreed to drop an order f or 39 of the aircraf t, replacing it with 40 A330-900s
and 30 A350-900s. Airbus will build 17 more A380s bef ore closing the production line – 14 f or
Emirates and three f or All Nippon Airways – taking the total number of expected deliveries of the
aircraf t type to 251. [142][143] Airbus would have needed more than $90 million prof it f rom the sale of
each aircraf t to cover the estimated $25 billion development cost of the programme. However,
the $445 million price tag of each aircraf t was not suf f icient to even cover the production cost, so
with Airbus losing money on each A380, and orders evaporating, it made economic sense to shut
down production.[144][145] Enders stated on 14 February 2019, "If you have a product that nobody
wants anymore, or you can sell only below production cost, you have to stop it. "[146]
One reason that the A380 did not achieve commercial viability f or Airbus has been attributed to
its extremely large capacity being optimised for a hub-and-spoke system, which was projected by
Airbus to be thriving when the programme was conceived. However, airlines underwent a
f undamental transition to a point-to-point system, which gets customers to their destination in one
f light instead of two or three. The massive scale of the A380 design was able to achieve a very
low cost f or passenger seat-distance, but efficiency within the hub -and-spoke paradigm was not
able to overcome the ef f iciency of fewer f lights required in the point -to-point system. Specifically,
US based carriers had been using a multihub strategy, which only justif ied the need f or a handf ul
of VLAs (very large aircraft with more than 400 seats) such as the A380, and having too f ew
VLAs meant that they could not achieve economy of scale to spread out the enormous f ixed cost
of the VLA support inf rastructure.[147] Consequently, orders f or VLAs slowed in the mid -2010s, as
widebody twin jets now of fer similar range and greater f uel ef f iciency, giving airlines more
f lexibility at a lower upf ront cost.[148][149][150][151]
In September 2020, Airbus completed assembly of the f inal A380 f uselage. Nine aircraf t remain
to be delivered (eight f or Emirates, one f or All Nippon Airways) and production operations
continue to f inish those aircraf t.[152]

Design[edit]

The characteristic ovoid fuselage

Overview[edit]
The A380 was initially of fered in two models: the A380-800 and the A380F.
The A380-800's original conf iguration carried 555 passengers in a three-class conf iguration[153] or
853 passengers (538 on the main deck and 315 on the upper deck) in a single-class economy
conf iguration. Then in May 2007, Airbus began marketing a conf iguration with 30 f ewer
passengers (525 total in three classes)—traded f or 200 nmi (370 km) more range—to better
ref lect trends in premium-class accommodation.[154] The design range f or the A380−800 model is
8,500 nmi (15,700 km); [155] capable of f lying from Hong Kong to New York or f rom Sydney
to Istanbul non-stop.
The second model, the A380F f reighter, would have carried 150 t (330,000 lb) of cargo over a
range of 5,600 nmi (10,400 km).[156] Freighter development was put on hold as Airbus prioritised
the passenger version, and all orders f or f reighters were cancelled.
Other proposed variants included an A380-900 stretch – seating about 656 passengers (or up to
960 passengers in an all-economy conf iguration) – and an extended-range version with the same
passenger capacity as the A380-800.[7]

Engines[edit]
Engine Alliance GP7200 engine waiting for installation

The A380 is of fered with the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 (A380-841/-842) or the Engine Alliance
GP7000 (A380-861) turbof an engines.[157] The Trent 900 is a combination of the 3 m (118 in) f an
and scaled IP compressor of the 777-200X/300X Trent 8104 technology demonstrator derived
f rom the Boeing 777's Trent 800, and the Airbus A340-500/600's Trent 500 core. The
GP7200 HP core technology is derived from GE's GE90 and its LP sections are based on
the PW4000 expertise. [158] At its launch in 2000, engine makers assured Airbus it was getting the
best level of technology and they would be state-of -the-art f or the next decade, but three years
later Boeing launched the 787 Dreamliner with game-changing technology and 10% lower f uel
burn than the previous generation, to the dismay of John Leahy .[159]
Due to its modern engines and aerodynamic improvements, Luf thansa's A380s produce half the
noise of the Boeing 747-200 while carrying 160 more passengers.[160] In 2012, the A380 received
an award f rom the Noise Abatement Society.[161]
London Heathrow is a key destination f or the A380. [7] The aircraf t is below the QC/2 departure
and QC/0.5 arrival noise limits under the Quota Count system set by the airport.[162] Field
measurements suggest the approach quota allocation f or the A380 may be overly generous
compared to the older Boeing 747, but still quieter.[163][164] Rolls-Royce is supporting the CAA in
understanding the relatively high A380/Trent 900 monitored noise levels .[165] Heathrow's landing
charges having a noise component, the A380 is cheaper to land there than a Boeing 777-200
and -300 and it saves $4,300 to $5,200 per landing, or $15.3M to $18.8M of present value over
15 years. Tokyo Narita has a similar noise charge.[166]
Suf f icient braking capacity allowed f or thrust reversers to be installed on only the inboard
engines.[167][168] The outboard engines lack them, reducing the amount of debris stirred up during
landing.[169] The reversers are electrically actuated to save weight, and f or greater reliability than
pneumatic or hydraulic equivalents. [170]

Wings[edit]

Planform view showing moderate wing aspect ratio and the undercarriage
Composite photo of a structural loading test on the left wing box

The A380's wings are sized f or a maximum takeof f weight (MTOW) over 650 tonnes to
accommodate these f uture versions, albeit with some internal strengthening required on the
A380F f reighter.[7][171] The optimal wingspan f or this weight is about 90 m (300 f t), but airport
restrictions have limited it to less than 80 m (260 f t), thereby lowering the aspect ratio to 7.8
which reduces f uel ef f iciency [113] by about 10% and increases operating costs a f ew
percent,[172] given that f uel costs constitute about 50% of the cost of long -haul aeroplane
operation.[173]
The common wing design approach sacrif ices f uel efficiency on the A380-800 passenger model
because of its weight, but Airbus estimates that the aircraf t' s size and advanced technology will
provide lower operating costs per passenger than the 747–400. The wings incorporate wingtip
f ences that extend above and below the wing surf ace, similar to those on the A310 and A320.
These increase f uel ef f iciency and range by red ucing induced drag. [174] The wingtip f ences also
reduce wake turbulence, which endangers f ollowing aircraf t.[175]

Materials[edit]
While most of the f uselage is made of aluminium alloys, composite materials comprise more than
20% of the A380's airf rame.[176] Carbon-f ibre reinf orced plastic, glass-fibre reinf orced
plastic and quartz-f ibre reinf orced plastic are used extensively in wings, f uselage sections (such
as the undercarriage and rear end of f uselage), tail surf aces, and doors.[177][178][179] The A380 is the
f irst commercial airliner to have a central wing box made of carbon–fibre reinf orced plastic. It is
also the f irst to have a smoothly contoured wing cross –section. The wings of other commercial
airliners are partitioned span-wise into sections. This f lowing continuous cross section reduces
aerodynamic drag. Thermoplastics are used in the leading edges of the slats.[180]
The hybrid f ibre metal laminate material GLARE (glass laminate aluminium reinf orced epoxy) is
used in the upper f uselage and on the stabilisers' leading edges .[181] This aluminium-glass-
f ibre laminate is lighter and has better corrosion and impact resistance than conventional
aluminium alloys used in aviation.[182] Unlike earlier composite materials, GLARE can be repaired
using conventional aluminium repair techniques. The application of GLARE on the A380 has a
long history, which shows the complex nature of innovations in the aircraf t industry . [183][184]
Newer weldable aluminium alloys are used in the A380's airf rame. This enables the widespread
use of laser beam welding manuf acturing techniques, eliminating rows of rivets and resulting in a
lighter, stronger structure.[185] High-strength aluminium (type 7449)[186] reinf orced with carbon f ibre
was used in the wing brackets of the f irst 120 A380s to reduce weight, but cracks have been
discovered and new sets of the more critical brackets will be made of standard aluminium 7010,
increasing weight by 90 kg (198 lb). [187] Repair costs f or earlier aircraf t are expected to be around
€500 million (US$629 million).[188]
It takes 3,600 L (950 US gal) of paint to cover the 3,100 m2 (33,000 sq f t) exterior of an
A380.[189] The paint is f ive layers thick and weighs about 650 kg (1,433 lb) when dry. [190]

Avionics[edit]
The A380 employs an integrated modular avionics (IMA) architecture, f irst used in advanced
military aircraf t, such as the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning
II,[191] and Dassault Raf ale.[192] The main IMA systems on the A380 were developed by the Thales
Group. [193] Designed and developed by Airbus, Thales and Diehl Aerospace, the IMA suite was
f irst used on the A380. The suite is a technological innovation, with networked computing
modules to support different applications.[193] The data networks use Avionics Full-Duplex
Switched Ethernet, an implementation of ARINC 664. These are switched, f ull-duplex, star-
topology and based on 100baseTX f ast-Ethernet.[194] This reduces the amount of wiring required
and minimises latency. [195]
A380 flight deck

Airbus used similar cockpit layout, procedures and handling characteristics to other Airbus
aircraf t, reducing crew training costs. The A380 has an imp roved glass cockpit, using f ly-by-
wire f light controls linked to side-sticks. [196][197] The cockpit has eight 15 by 20 cm (5.9 by
7.9 in) liquid crystal displays, all physically identical and interchangeable; comprising two primary
f light displays, two navigation displays, one engine parameter display, one system display and
two multi-f unction displays. The MFDs were introduced on the A380 to provide an easy -to-use
interf ace to the f light management system—replacing three multif unction control and display
units.[198] They include QWERTY keyboards and trackballs, interf acing with a graphical "point-
and-click" display system.[199][200]
The Network Systems Server (NSS) is the heart of A380s paperless cockpit; it eliminates bulky
manuals and traditional charts. [201][202] The NSS has enough inbuilt robustness to eliminate
onboard backup paper documents. The A380s network and server system stores data and of fers
electronic documentation, providing a required equipment list, navigation charts , perf ormance
calculations, and an aircraf t logbook. This is accessed through the MFDs and controlled via the
keyboard interf ace.[195]

Systems[edit]

A380 20-wheel main landing gear

Power-by-wire f light control actuators have been used f or the f irst time in civil aviation to back up
primary hydraulic actuators. Also, during certain manoeuvres they augment the primary
actuators.[203] They have self -contained hydraulic and electrical power supplies. Electro -
hydrostatic actuators (EHA) are used in the aileron and elevator, electric and hydraulic motors to
drive the slats as well as electrical backup hydrostatic actuators (EBHA) f or the rudder and some
spoilers.[204]
The A380's 350 bar (35 MPa or 5,000 psi) hydraulic system is a signif icant difference f rom the
typical 210 bar (21 MPa or 3,000 psi) hydraulics used on most commercial aircraf t since the
1940s. [205][206] First used in military aircraf t, high-pressure hydraulics reduce the weight and size of
pipelines, actuators and related components. The 350 bar pressure is generated by eight de-
clutchable hydraulic pumps. [206][207] The hydraulic lines are typically made f rom titanium; the
system f eatures both f uel- and air-cooled heat exchangers. Self -contained electrically powered
hydraulic power packs serve as backups f or the primary systems, instead of a secondary
hydraulic system, saving weight and reducing maintenance. [208]
The A380 uses f our 150 kVA variable-f requency electrical generators,[209] eliminating constant-
speed drives and improving reliability.[210] The A380 uses aluminium power cables instead of
copper f or weight reduction. The electrical power system is f ully computerised and
many contactors and breakers have been replaced by solid -state devices for better perf ormance
and increased reliability.[204]
The auxiliary power comprises the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), the electronic control box (ECB),
and mounting hardware. The APU in use on the A380 is the PW 980A APU. The APU primarily
provides air to power the Analysis Ground Station (AGS) on the ground and to start the engines.
The AGS is a semi-automatic analysis system of flight data that helps to optimise management
of maintenance and reduce costs. The APU also powers electric generators that provide auxiliary
electric power to the aircraf t.[211]

Passenger provisions[edit]
Main article: Seat configurations of Airbus A380

10 across economy class seating

The A380-800's cabin has 550 square metres (5,920 sq f t) of usable f loor space,[212] 40% more
than the next largest airliner, the Boeing 747-8. [213]
The cabin has f eatures to reduce traveller f atigue such as a quieter interior and higher
pressurisation than previous generations of aircraf t; the A380 is pressurised to the equivalent
altitude of 1,520 m (5,000 f t) up to 12,000 m (39,000 f t).[214][7]:129 It has 50% less cabin noise, 50%
more cabin area and volume, larger windows, bigger overhead bins, and 60 cm (2.0 f t) extra
headroom versus the 747–400. [215][216] Seating options range f rom 3-room 12 m2 (130 sq f t)
"residence" in f irst class to 11-across in economy.[217] A380 economy seats are up to 48 cm
(19 in) wide in a 10-abreast conf iguration,[218] compared with the 10-abreast conf iguration on the
747-400 that typically has seats 44.5 cm (17.5 in) wide. [219] On other aircraf t, economy seats
range f rom 41.5 to 52.3 cm (16.3 to 20.6 in) in width. [220]
The A380's upper and lower decks are connected by two stairways, one f ore and one af t, with
both being wide enough to accommodate two passengers side by side; this cabin arrangement
allows multiple seat conf igurations. The maximum certif ied carrying capacity is 853 passengers
in an all-economy-class layout, [50] Airbus lists the "typical" three-class layout as accommodating
525 passengers, with 10 f irst, 76 business, and 439 economy class seats .[154] Airline
conf igurations range f rom Korean Air's 407 passengers to Emirates' two-class 615 seats [221] and
average around 480–490 seats.[222][223] The Air Austral's proposed 840 passenger layout has not
come to f ruition. The A380's interior illumination system uses bulbless LEDs in the cabin, cockpit,
and cargo decks. The LEDs in the cabin can be altered to create an ambience simulating
daylight, night, or intermediate levels. [224] On the outside of the aircraf t, HID lighting is used f or
brighter illumination.
Airbus's publicity has stressed the comfort and space of the A380 cabin,[225] and advertised
onboard relaxation areas such as bars, beauty salons, duty-f ree shops, and
restaurants.[226][227] Proposed amenities resembled those installed on earlier airliners, particularly
1970s wide-body jets, [228] which largely gave way to regular seats f or more passenger
capacity.[228] Airbus has acknowledged that some cabin proposals were unlikely to be
installed,[227] and that it was ultimately the airlines' decision how to conf igure the
interior.[228] Industry analysts suggested that implementing customisation has slowed the
production speeds, and raised costs.[229] Due to delivery delays, Singapore Airlines and Air
France debuted their seat designs on dif ferent aircraf t prior to the A380.[230][231]
Initial operators typically configured their A380s f or three-class service, while adding extra
f eatures f or passengers in premium cabins. Launch customer Singapore Airlines introduced
partly enclosed f irst class suites on its A380s in 2007, each f eaturing a leather seat with a
separate bed; center suites could be joined to create a double bed . [232][233][234] A year later, Qantas
debuted a new f irst class seat-bed and a sof a lounge at the f ront of the upper deck on its
A380s, [235][236] and in 2009 Air France unveiled an upper deck electronic art gallery .[237] In late 2008,
Emirates introduced "shower spas" in f irst class on its A380s allowing each f irst class passenger
f ive minutes of hot water,[238][239] drawing on 2.5 tonnes of water although only 60% of it was
used.[110]
Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways also have a bar lounge and seating area on the upper deck,
while Etihad has enclosed areas f or two people each.[240] In addition to lounge areas, some A380
operators have installed amenities consistent with other aircraf t in their respective f leets,
including self -serve snack bars,[241] premium economy sections,[231] and redesigned business class
seating.[230]
The Hamburg Aircraf t Interiors Expo in April 2015 saw the presentation of an 11-seat row
economy cabin f or the A380. Airbus is reacting to a changing economy; the recession which
began in 2008 saw a drop in market percentage of f irst class and business seats to six percent
and an increase in budget economy travellers. Among other causes is the reluctance of
employers to pay f or executives to travel in First or Business Class. Airbus' chief of cabin
marketing, Ingo Wuggestzer, told Aviation Week and Space Technology that the standard three
class cabin no longer ref lected market conditions. The 11 seat row on the A380 is accompanied
by similar options on other widebodies: nine across on the Airbus A330 and ten across on
the A350.[242]