If you’ve seen any of the latest developments in passenger jets then chances are you’ll know about the enormous A380, the giant of the skies. The A380 can seat 450 people in varying degrees of prestige from economy, premium economy, business class and first-class.
The size of this aircraft is a sight to behold with it nearly being the full length of a football pitch; the wingspan would easily poke into the seating of a football stadium too. The A380 has three floors to it with a full length middle floor housing the majority of the seating; a stair case toward the front of the plane ascends to the first-class floor.
The lower floor is expected to be set aside by many airlines as cargo storage but some plans being formulated by some flight companies have converted these into sleeping areas or a child care facility.
Compared to the current airlines and passenger aircraft the A380 can accommodate 30-50% more passengers on board and its credentials seem to make it the logical choice for flights in the future. Airbus, the company who created the A380, claims to have developed such a technological advance that makes the A380 more economical and environmentally friendly that the current fleet of Boeing 747s despite its size.
Airbus say their A380 runs on 20% less fuel which is a major sticking point for cheap flights providers these days, they also claim it runs quieter and cheaper too. The flights and tourism industry has suffered many setbacks in the past 12 months with the cost of fuel running higher it has meant many cheap flights companies have been forced to bow out of the holiday market.
With a larger capacity and more economical energy usage the A380 may become a more viable option for many airlines and not surprisingly 66 airlines companies signed up to order some A380s to their army of aircraft. Australian flights company Qantas bought twenty for their flights to Australia with recent test flights from France to Australia being completed recently there are plans to open up flights going between London and Melbourne as well as to Los Angeles.
As the new king of the airways can the A380 reignite the ailing flights industry? The numbers on paper look favourable but will airlines still be able to pay their fuel bills by the time their new toys arrive? Only time will tell.
