Oversize Expectations for the Airbus A380. (The New York Times, 8/9/2014)
No U.S. buyers yet. The A380 was also Airbus’s answer to a problematic trend: More and more passengers meant more flights and increasingly congested tarmacs. Airbus figured that the future of air travel belonged to big planes flying between major hubs. “More than simply a big airplane,” one industry analyst wrote when the first A380 was delivered to Singapore Airlines in 2007, “the newest industry flagship will change forever the way the industry operates.”
The prediction hasn’t exactly come true.
Airbus facts and figures:
- Cost of development: $25,000,000,000
- Cost per plane: $400,000,000 (though big discounts are now available).
- Number of orders: 380. (140 to Emirates)
- Planed delivered: 138 to 11 airlines
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