Airbus A380
The largest passenger aircraft ever built — a four-engine double-deck superjumbo.
History & background.
The Airbus A380 is aviation’s most audacious gamble of the 21st century. Designed to alleviate congestion at slot-constrained hub airports by moving more passengers per flight, the double-deck superjumbo seats up to 555 passengers in a standard two-class layout — or up to 853 in an all-economy configuration never seriously used in practice. It is the only commercial aircraft ever built with a full-length double passenger deck.
Development cost Airbus an estimated €15 billion and was marked by significant production delays caused by wiring harness incompatibilities between manufacturing sites in France and Germany. The A380 entered service with Singapore Airlines in October 2007, more than a year late. Despite the delays, the aircraft proved genuinely popular with passengers: its wider fuselage (7.14 m interior width) enables eight-abreast seating in economy with wider seats than any competitor.
The A380 programme ended in 2021 after 251 deliveries — a commercial disappointment compared to the hundreds of aircraft Airbus had projected. Emirates, which operates by far the largest fleet with over 115 aircraft, kept the programme alive for years after other airlines cancelled orders. The aircraft’s failure to sell in large numbers reflected airlines' preference for the long-range twin-engine flexibility of aircraft like the Boeing 777X and A350.
Specifications & performance.
| cruise speed | 903 km/h (Mach 0.85) |
| engine | 4× Rolls-Royce Trent 970 or GP7200 (340 kN each) |
| first flight | April 27, 2005 |
| length | 72.72 m |
| max speed | 903 km/h (Mach 0.85) |
| mtow | 575,000 kg |
| range | 15,200 km |
| seating | 555 passengers (2-class typical) / 853 max |
| service ceiling | 13,136 m (43,097 ft) |
| status | In service (2007–present; production ended 2021) |
| wingspan | 79.75 m |