Airbus A380 – The Boeing 747 Killer

The Airbus A380 was designed for a very important mission – to kill off the legendary Boeing 747, the Jumbo Jet that had dominated the high capacity long haul market since it was launched in 1969. Such was its popularity that nothing quite came close to it. McDonnell Douglas tried with the DC-10, then the MD-11 only to fail so badly that they were eventually acquired by Boeing. The Boeing 747 continued to dominate unconquered until Boeing’s very own 777 started to take-over that market with the massive -300 version. But it wasn’t quite a Jumbo Jet.

Airbus at the time decided to launch an aircraft that would completely take over that market with the double-deck A380, a concept considered and rejected by both Boeing and McDonnell Douglas in the past. Nothing would come close to it ability to carry passengers – close to 900 – in a theoretical all economy cabin. It was the next Super Jumbo and it did, to a certain extent kill-off, the Boeing 747. The 5th generation of the 747, the 747-8i never quite found buyers except for freighters. But while the A380 achieved its mission, the world changed around it. Four engines lost popularity and two engines became more reliable, more efficient and therefore, more popular.

And to seal the A380’s fate, the much lighter composite aircraft was launched, first with the Boeing 787 followed by an equally effective Airbus A350. Suddenly, airlines did not need to fill big planes up to get lower operating costs per seats. And flying point to point became far more feasible, rather than the hub and spoke network the Jumbos and Super Jumbo’s were designed to support. The A380 achieved its mission of being the dominant Super Jumbo, but by then no one really needed them. It effectively is the last of the old generation aircraft, and the best one. It has operated reliably and safely since its launch in 2005, with not a single hull loss event in nearly 12 years of operations. The A380 is the greatest aircraft that should have never been made.

When Airbus finally announced its premature end, it did not come as a surprise. Airbus had hoped to make 1,500 of these aircraft to recover the EUR 25 billion spent in developing it. All other modifications to make it more popular failed and it remained a niche market operator, largely connecting super-hubs. As things stand, when the production ends in 2021, only 274 A380s will have been made over 16 years. It is likely to drop further with more order cancellations. There is almost no second market for it, neither has anyone shown interest in using it as a freighter. Most airlines plan to retire it as soon as it hits 10 years flying, in line with the conventional lease terms.

The most ironic twist in this story, however, is that the 747 will be produced as a freighter till 2022 and close its 50+ year production run at an impressive 1,572. The aircraft that the A380 was designed to kill will actually end up outliving it.

This article is based on personal research done out of interest for this subject and represents my opinion. I would be happy to know your views and thoughts on this.