The pride of the European aviation industry, a giant composed of four million components from thirty different countries, is coming to an end. The hangar of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has left the last model of the A380, the largest airliner in the world. Another will not be produced by Airbus, the reason being the low demand of airlines.
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While the first jumbo, produced by 1,500 companies, was removed by Singapore Airlines in 2007, the last A380 will expand Emirates’ fleet. All that remains of the machine is to paint and install motors on it. Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, currently using 115.
Production is thus terminated fifteen years after its start. The development of a unique machine for up to 853 passengers, while Airbus cost an astronomical $ 25 billion.
The last one ! ????Initial assembly of msn 272, the last #Airbus # A380 is completed, it was transferred from station 40 to station 35 this morning. ???????? #AvGeek #Toulouse pic.twitter.com/wvKDqKyLil
— Aviation Toulouse (@Frenchpainter) September 23, 2020
“It is a painful decision. We have invested so much effort, resources and sweat in the plane, ”said Airbus boss Tom Enders last February. The manufacturer erroneously estimated the requirements of the market. By 2019, it had delivered 234 A380s, less than half of the estimated six hundred.
“It turns out that the A380 and the superjumba concept have not prevailed and will be replaced by much more efficient and smaller types of aircraft,” Petr Kováč, an aerospace industry expert from EY, commented for E15 earlier.
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The fate of the A380 was decided by the weak demand of carriers even before the coronavirus crisis, but the retreat of these large aircraft was accelerated by the pandemic, he says.
“A good example is Air France-KLM. The airline is definitively decommissioning the A380. Although this will mean an accounting write-off of about five hundred million euros, the saved lease payments will currently strengthen the airline’s key liquidity, “he added.
Take a look at the photos of the E15 Diary from the Emirates airline training center:
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