Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger airliner, with two full-length decks and four engines. Airbus designed it for dense long-haul routes between major hubs.[1]
Specifications
The principal family-level specifications are shown in the information panel. Values vary by variant, cabin, engine and operating rules; the linked manufacturer material is the controlling reference.
Development history
Airbus developed the A3XX during the 1990s and launched it as the A380 in 2000. The prototype flew in 2005, certification followed in 2006, and Singapore Airlines opened commercial service in 2007. Final assembly ended after the last delivery to Emirates in 2021.[1]
Variants
The only production model was the passenger A380-800. Airbus studied stretched versions and launched an A380F freighter, but the freighter was suspended before production.
Current and former operators
Current operators include Emirates, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Korean Air and ANA. Former operators include Air France, Malaysia Airlines, Thai Airways and China Southern. Lists are representative rather than exhaustive.
Engines
Operators selected either the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance GP7200, both four-engine installations developed for the A380.
Orders and deliveries
Airbus delivered 251 production A380s. The programme is closed, so the manufacturer’s historical orders-and-deliveries workbook is the stable reference for the final total.[2]
Accidents and incidents
The type has had no fatal passenger accident. Its best-known serious incident was Qantas Flight 32 in 2010, when an uncontained Trent 900 failure damaged multiple aircraft systems; the Australian Transport Safety Bureau traced the initiating failure to an oil-feed pipe.[3]
Compare with
Direct primary sources
A380 — Airbus
Airbus orders and deliveries — Airbus
Qantas Flight 32 final investigation report — Australian Transport Safety Bureau