Celebration Amid Sorrows
The Airbus A380 is perhaps the most hard-won aircraft for the European manufacturer. Due to difficulties with its production, more than one Airbus director lost their positions, and delays in delivering the first A380 to customers led to a crisis at the company, a drop in its stock price, and, most importantly, loss of ground in the battle with its main competitor – American Boeing.
European manufacturers were 18 months late with deliveries – for an extra year and a half they made the aircraft more comfortable, safer, and better. The overall result was a truly unique airliner with record payload capacity and completely exclusive features – for example, in special first-class cabins on the A380, two full double beds are installed.
The organizers turned the first commercial flight of the airliner into a real show. Tickets for the flight were sold on the eBay online auction. 455 people paid about $1.32 million for them. The most expensive ticket cost more than $100,000, while the cheapest went for $560. All proceeds will go to charity.
The airline did everything to make the passengers who paid huge sums for their tickets feel like they were at a celebration. On board, two chefs served a unique dinner: they prepared foie gras, shrimp, special ravioli, duck, and black cod, while flight attendants poured champagne for anyone who wanted it.
It is therefore not surprising that passengers preferred not to sleep but to watch the unique flight. For example, Canon Ling, one of those who bought tickets at auction, said that he could hardly sleep, even though the flight lasted more than seven hours. 'I want to be part of history,' Ling explained.
After the flight, passengers noted the low noise level, comfort, and smooth landing at Sydney Airport. Even the oldest passenger, a 91-year-old retiree, felt no complications during the flight. He got on board because his son, William Leong, decided to take the whole family for a ride on the A380.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The Airbus A380 can be configured in various versions: from a luxury version with all the pleasures of la dolce vita to a budget version that allows airlines to save on fuel because up to 850 passengers are lifted into the air at once.
Naturally, this aircraft turned out to be much larger than all its competitors. For comparison, the length of the Airbus A310 is 46.66 m, while the A380 is 73 m. The height of the European manufacturer's new creation is also impressive – 24.1 m versus 15.8 m for the A310. The dimensions of the A380 are both an advantage and a weakness of the European aircraft, because not every airport in the world can accommodate such a giant. In some places, special hangars or even runways will have to be built for the new Airbus – otherwise, the use of the A380 will have to be abandoned.
Interestingly, Boeing did not compete with Airbus in producing huge aircraft. The American manufacturer has a different strategy - Boeing believes that more and more new routes will open up in the world, which will require not giant airliners, but ordinary-sized aircraft. Therefore, Boeing's latest creation, the 787 Dreamliner, can only carry 200-300 passengers. But thanks to an improved configuration and new technologies, it can save much more fuel than all existing counterparts. Which of the global aircraft manufacturers' strategies is more justified, time will tell.
The Work Ahead
After the festive flight for Singapore Airlines, the factories of Airbus will face tough workdays. The Europeans need to produce at least 165 airliners – that is how many firm orders for the A380 exist so far. The lion's share of them will go to the Middle East – just the airline Emirates has ordered 55 new aircraft. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines will remain the only operator of the A380 until August 2008 – that is when the European manufacturer will begin delivering the airliner to other airlines.
Production of the first A380s is complicated by the fact that the electrical wiring, which caused the delay in initial deliveries, will have to be installed manually. Only after 20 airliners are built does Airbus plan to switch to more modern equipment.
Airbus engineers also cannot relax, because by 2012 they plan to put into service the A350 – an aircraft capable of carrying up to 350 passengers for almost 16,000 km, while consuming 30% less fuel than its counterparts. This airliner must be better than the Dreamliner, otherwise customers will choose the American aircraft – simply because its operation will begin several years earlier.
Alexander POLIVANOV.
Lenta.ru