IS THERE A FUTURE FOR THE A380?

December 18, 2022

We thought he was dead and now he is resurrected. All forecasters agreed that following their grounding during the disastrous Covid period, the Airbus 380s would never fly again. They also predicted that air transport would suffer a period of decline and that the arrival on the market of new, more modern aircraft and above all less fuel consuming, in short, more environmentally friendly, would make large four-engine jets good for scrap.

And then they come back on the tarmac of airports. To date, and if I am to believe some serious media, 134 aircraft are back in operation or will be put back into service next spring. To any lord any honor, the palm still goes to Emirates which flies 85 for the moment out of the 119 liveries. The Dubai airline is followed, but by far by British Airways: 12 aircraft in service and Singapore Airlines 10 of the 24 delivered. Asian carriers were the first to follow suit. All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Korean Air and Qantas have taken their flag planes out of the hangars.  Ethiad Airways is preparing to do the same, which will make a total of 134 A 380s in flight next spring.

Why this return to grace of a device condemned by many experts who consider it impossible to make money with such a machine? The first answer was provided by Tim Clark, the iconic leader of Emirates. In essence, he notes that most operators do not know how to make money with the A 380 while it has become a real cash machine for his company.

It is true that if this device is not liked by many important company managers, it is widely acclaimed by customers. They appreciate the space, the silence because it makes 2 times less noise than the Boeing 747/400 and the quality of its pressurization at 1,520 m altitude which makes the trip much more comfortable. I also note that the Gulf companies have all arranged their devices in a fun way by creating different spaces at least for  the "first" and "business "  classes  ranging from bathrooms, lounges and up to the   bar, which the European companies did not want to do. And customers especially those of the high contribution are very sensitive to a comfort that they are willing to pay a good price.

The three Gulf operators have kept a configuration of their long-haul aircraft in 3 classes while the " first" has gradually disappeared from the equipment offered by Western companies. This drift towards the low end is felt not only on the seats, even if those in business classes have been greatly improved over time, but also on the quality of service. In one way or another, we pay for the search for mass to the detriment of comfort and a certain art of living that air transport can offer.

I also note that the A 380 has never been used to its full potential, unlike the Boeing 747 of which no less than 8 versions have been proposed. For example, we have never attempted a configuration in 853 seats yet validated by the manufacturer and the aeronautical authorities. This would make it possible to reduce the cost price per seat/kilometre very seriously. Only Gérard Ethève in his time president of Air Austral had proposed to equip his company with this type of aircraft equipped in high density. It was not followed, had to leave its place and we saw what became of the profitability of the Reunionese carrier. Certainly we can say that such a density would make the journey uncomfortable for a long flight, but I note  that one  of the versions of the A 350/1000, the last Airbus jet is indeed in 480 seats, which makes it a density equivalent to that of an A 380 in 850 seats.

If, as we can hope and as we can see, traffic picks up again, especially for personal trips, it will be necessary to choose between a multiplication of flights with twin-engine aircraft of 280 to 400 seats and the use of the capacities of Airbus 380 in high density. The France and Great Britain are very well placed to operate this type of capacity in the context of serving their distant territories.

There are still a few hundred A 380s left unused, this is a ready-made tank if only to save CO² emissions, because a single aircraft will always emit less CO² than two large jets.