On December 16, Emirates received the 123rd Airbus A380 (code A6-EVS). The plane was delivered from the Airbus base in Hamburg. At the same time, it was the 251st A380 delivered by Airbus and the last. With this delivery, Airbus ends its super-jumbo production. It will continue to provide technical support and parts for existing A380 aircraft in operational service, but no further A380s will be assembled.
The history of the A380 is closely linked to Emirates, the airline with the largest super-jumbo fleet. It all started in 2000, when Airbus announced the only full-deck plane. The A380 program came at a time when airports were very crowded. The new aircraft was to carry more passengers to / from major global hubs.
The A380 has so far operated 800 flights
Thanks to its geographical position, Emirates had the ambition to fly the A380 from the Dubai hub to all the world's airports, such as Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, São Paulo, Singapore or Sydney. Emirates' appetite for the A380 is undeniable. With 123 A380 delivered, 50 serviced destinations and 12 service centers, Emirates is without a doubt an important customer for this aircraft model.
Emirates evolved with the A380, and Airbus was able to innovate and launch new related products thanks to this air carrier. Emirates was the demanding customer who pushed the engineering boundaries to another level. This is how the new elegant and comfortable cabins appeared, which were later adopted by other companies. Emirates has managed to carry an impressive number of passengers with its A380 fleet of aircraft, offering unique experiences that are not found in other aircraft.
The A380 fleet has so far carried over 300 million passengers!
The A380 is a pioneer in many ways. The experience gained by Airbus on the A380 was used in the modernization of the other aircraft families in the portfolio, but especially in the development of the new A350. For the first time, Airbus teams used a Digital Mock-Up (DMU) as a 3D representation of an aircraft.
The A380 has introduced new advanced materials, such as carbon fiber and glare-reinforced plastics (fiberglass and aluminum), providing better anti-corrosion and wear properties, as well as weight reduction.
Airbus is still testing the A380, especially to improve flight systems. At the same time, biofuel tests are being carried out and the optimization and improvement of fuel consumption are being sought, at the same time research is being done to reduce CO2 emissions.
Unfortunately, too much fuel consumption, but also the pandemic led to the withdrawal of several A380 aircraft from operational service. Some planes are preserved at various airports in Europe, the USA and the Middle East, others have been dismantled. The future is not rosy at all for four-engine planes.
Since its launch in 2007, the iconic Airbus A380 has flown over 800000 flights carrying over 300 million passengers. At the moment, The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger aircraft in the world. Emirates, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France are just some of the companies that have resumed flights with the A380.