How many a380 in the world

Elsewhere, fellow Oneworld operator Qantas has said that it is likely to fly its As again — but not for some time. Qantas plans to return As to service, but not until international markets recover.

Malaysia Airlines — which has for years struggled to find a role for its six examples of the type — operated some A cargo flights in the early months of the pandemic, but most carriers have focused such operations on their twin-engined widebodies. And cargo-focused airports are unlikely to have invested in the infrastructure to accept A flights. Hi Fly converted its A to a cargo configuration but it was later withdrawn from service. Of the chances for further second-hand sales of the type, most industry analysts suggest that such opportunities will be few and far between.

Rather than returning to service with other carriers, Sobie reckons most retired airframes are likely to end up as spare parts. The consensus among analysts is, however, that while the A will be seen in some markets for the next few years, the focus will be very much on ramping down fleet sizes. Air France nine As in pre-pandemic fleet : The SkyTeam carrier announced in May that it would retire its As immediately, rather than in as previously scheduled. ANA two : The operator took delivery of its third and final A in October last year and immediately placed it into storage.

Asiana six : With the Star Alliance carrier in the process of merging with compatriot Korean Air, details on future fleet plans have been sketchy. British Airways 12 : Chief executive Sean Doyle says the type has a future with the Oneworld carrier, with no retirements announced. Emirates : President Tim Clark says the type will play a key role for some time.

Lufthansa 14 : The German carrier has not explicitly said its As will not fly again, but has repeatedly downplayed chances of a return. Boeing has similarly all but given up on the as a passenger jet, which will end production in With early production As coming to the end of their year leases, Airbus will likely have to contend with competition for its own used planes.

However, early signs for the second-hand market aren't promising. German investment firm Dr. Peters Group has decided to sell its off-lease As for spare parts after it couldn't find any takers for the plane. Emirates Airline president, Sir Tim Clark, has for years pushed Airbus to make a more cost-effective version of the plane with upgraded aerodynamics and a new fuel-efficient engine called the Aneo.

That hasn't happened. Airbus has been reluctant to invest the kind of money needed to develop a new version of the A In , Airbus offered its customers a moderately updated version of the plane, called the A Plus, with room for 80 more people and new winglets for better fuel economy.

So far, there have been no takers. Unlike with the Boeing , the A freighter never came to fruition, so Airbus won't be able to subsist on sales of a cargo variant while it waits for passenger-plane sales to rebound. In January , Emirates ordered 20 additional As that would have kept the A production line moving for the next decade. However, that deal fell apart. In the end, even the A's most loyal customer couldn't hold on any longer. Emirates cut 39 As from its original order of planes and bought smaller twin-engine Airbus Aneos and As instead.

In , Singapore Airlines became the first airline to retire an A, the first of five to be taken out of service. One has been scrapped so far, while another has entered service with leasing company Hi-Fly.

In November , Air France became the second. The airline quietly took the plane out of service after a flight from Johannesburg to Paris. The airline previously announced it would retire its 10 As by Other airlines have grounded most of the planes, electing to keep just one or two in service.

Air France decided to speed up its retirement of the fleet due to the pandemic, pulling them from service in May , two years earlier than it had planned. It was the first airline to retire the plane type due to the pandemic. Since Air France's A retirement, Germany-based Lufthansa has put its superjumbos into long-term storage.

The airline said the planes would remain grounded unless there is an unexpected surge in travel demand. Korean Air has also decided to retire the double-decker jet. CEO Walter Cho confirmed the fate of the A when he revealed the company would drop them within five years. With the loss of the jet, customers will no longer have access to the A exclusive cabin known as the "The Residence," which were flying apartments with three rooms, a butler, caviar, chauffeur service, and champagne.

While the pandemic has sped up the retirement of many airlines' As, some carriers have faith in the jet and do not plan on ditching it quite yet. In early , Doha-based Qatar Airways said it was retiring half its superjumbo fleet, but has since backtracked on that decision. Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker said in an interview to FlightPlan in July that there was a small chance the company would bring back five of its As, even though he personally dislikes the jet.

Al Baker said the A was Qatar's biggest mistake, and though there is a slight possibility the company will operate it again, it is not likely to survive long in the post-pandemic industry. In addition to Qatar, All Nippon Airways has maintained its As, with two flying to Hawaii and a third having been delivered to the airline on paper, but still remains in the care of Airbus.

British Airways has also committed to the A, having extended the jet's maintenance contract with Lufthansa Technik for another five years. CEO Sean Doyle confirmed the double-decker would be back despite the pandemic. China Southern has continued to operate the fleet during the pandemic, though the fate of the five-jet fleet is still uncertain.

Guoxiang Wu, an executive at the airline, said the future of the A is under review even as it continues to fly. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has confirmed the superjumbo will not be leaving the fleet, saying the A is the "perfect vehicle" for high-demand cities like Heathrow and Los Angeles.

Singapore Airlines is shuttling its As back to Singapore from the Australian desert and expects them to return to service when demand increases. The airline has even invested in a new cabin for the jets, retrofitting them with new first-class suites and updated economy class seats and inflight entertainment. In September , Emirates announced it would be receiving the final A aircraft from Airbus in November, with three total being delivered, completing its A fleet.

The final As will have a 4-cabin configuration with Emirates' sophisticated Premium Economy section, complete with wide, spacious seats, a leg rest, and greater recline. There are further reasons to keep the A flying longer, in addition to the A replacement delays. The Airbus A has been around for a long time, dating back to the dawn of the jet age. An engine failure during the flight was a fairly common occurrence in the early days.

With four engines, the plane could either keep flying or divert to the nearest accessible airfield. Pin it 0. Share 0. Kim Lim Park. You May Also Like. E Europe. Read More 2 minute read. Read More 1 minute read.