Fifteen years after its debut in the passenger market,
the Airbus A380 remains one of the best aircraft - not in terms of sales,
but in terms of passenger experience! With this superjumbo reputation in mind,
we thought we would look at the top ten interesting facts about the Airbus A380.
#1: It’s Bigger than ever!
Depending on the cabin configuration selected by the airline, the A380 can
seat up to 853 passengers in a single class configuration.
Every aircraft must pass the safety certification, which mandates the
evacuation of all passengers within 90 seconds with half of the available emergency exits.
During the A380 certification, something Airbus thankfully made a video on - all 853
mock passengers were able to safely exit the aircraft using 8 out of a total of 16 exits
in less than 90 seconds. While none of the A380 operators chose the 853 configuration,
Emirates has the highest density A380s with the occupancy of 615 passengers on select aircraft.
#2 The A380 has Millions of individual components
The size and design of the A380 allowed the use of nearly 4 million individual components.
The aircraft is made of more than 2.5 million unique part numbers,
which come from 30 countries around the world.
The A380 is a true globalist when it comes to collaboration among companies and countries.
More than 1,500 small and large companies around the world have worked on the A380.
Aircraft technicians use nearly 20,000 individual bolts to put together each of the three fuselage
sections. The middle section has another 4,000 bolts on each side to attach the wings. Each one
of the assembled parts adds the required strength to carry the load during flight.
#3: There are More than 300 miles of electric cables on the A380
With over four million individual components, the aircraft requires hundreds of miles of
electrical cables to connect all components, systems, and assemblies to the central network.
The A380 is a technologically advanced aircraft, and hence,
most systems are electronically controlled. Many pneumatic and hydraulic systems from
older-generation aircraft are replaced with electronic systems on this behemoth.
The aircraft has more than 300 miles (483 km) of electrical wires connecting aircraft’s cockpit,
cabin, in-flight entertainment, and other critical systems. Notably, the extensive wiring and complex
software of the A380 led to a two-year delay of the aircraft during the development phase.
#4 The A380 has an enormous amount of usable floor space
Did you know that the A380 features a usable floor area that is 50% more than the Boeing 747-400?
With a total usable space of 550 square meters,
three tennis courts worth of area can easily fit in the aircraft!. Similarly,
just under three basketball courts can be accommodated within the floor space.
If the available volume on the three decks (upper, lower, and cargo) of the A380 were to be filled
with ping pong balls, it would require more than 35 million of them to fill the giant aircraft.
The A380 remains one of the most spacious aircraft in the market. Both passengers
and crew admire the much-needed available space, particularly on long-haul flights.
#5 The incredible size of the A380’s horizontal stabilizer
Imagine taking the wings off an A320 and putting them on the back of the A380.
While it’s not exactly what Airbus has done, the scale is about the same. Indeed, the
span of the horizontal stabilizer of the A380 is slightly smaller than the wing span of the A320!
The narrowbody A320 has a wing span of 34.9 meters,
whereas the horizontal stabilizer span of the A380 is 30.4 meters.
The A320 can accommodate as many as 180 passengers, but this is still much less
than the 850+ on the A380. The horizontal stabilizer of the A380 stands more than four
stories high and provides pitch control, the smoothness of which is comparable to the A320.
The aircraft may be heavy and humongous,
but believe it or not - its controllability is similar to any small jet in the market!
#6 The A380’s wings flutter by a measurable length
The sheer size of the A380 wings may deceive people in estimating their capabilities
during flight. Some sections of the wings are manufactured using composite materials. As such,
a significant weight reduction and robustness are achieved. The wing is capable of flexing (or
fluttering) more than 13 ft (4 m) upwards during flight. The flexibility of the wings ensures the
aircraft delivers on its promised efficiency while carrying tremendous passenger and cargo loads.
Notably, the wings of newer aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, are made almost
entirely of composite materials and can flex nearly twice as much! Up to 25 ft (7.6 m)!
#7 Worldwide airports had to be overhauled to accommodate the superjumbo
When the A380 began commercial operations in 2007, the only airports that would accommodate the jet
were the ones having overhauled runways, taxiways, terminals, and air bridges.
The aircraft weighs over 575 tons, more than twice the weight of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
It also has a wingspan of over 80 meters, which is as wide as an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
With this weight in mind, the aircraft required reinforced
runways and wider taxiways to operate at airports.
The aircraft allows simultaneous passenger boarding from both decks. And, as such, terminal
buildings and air bridges had to be overhauled to accommodate the larger-than-usual aircraft.
Point #8 examines the shortest and longest flights operated by the A380.
The A380 has operated some of the longest and the shortest scheduled flights in the world..
Emirates operated the longest A380 flight from Dubai, UAE to Auckland, New Zealand. The
flight clocks in at over 17 hours, covering a distance of over 8,800 miles (14,160 km).
Emirates also operated one of the shortest scheduled flights on the
A380 between Dubai and Muscat in Oman. The flight is a mere hop of
More recently, Singapore Airlines ran an even shorter flight of 180 miles (290
km) between Singapore Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur Airport in Malaysia.
#9 The A380 is luxury, redefined
With its gigantic cabin size, the A380 provides extraordinary opportunities
for airlines to be creative with their cabin offerings.
As we’ve noted in a previous video, many full-service carriers,
including Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways, offer luxury suites in their first class cabins.
Unlike usual interactions between passengers, the aircraft makes the
flying experience at a very personal level possible for passengers. Emirates and
Etihad Airways offer fully functional showers in their first class cabins.
Some airlines offer fully stocked bars with countertops and an on-display
duty-free shop placed in between the first class and business class
cabins. Such experiences are unique to the largest passenger aircraft in the world.
And finally, at #10: In case you haven’t heard, a piece of the super-jumbo is up for grabs
Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, with more than 100 aircraft
in service. While the airline has recently taken the delivery of its last A380 (also
the last aircraft ever made), the airline has already retired its first super-jumbo.
Not wanting to waste a good opportunity, a variety of consumer products and collectibles have been
made from the aircraft, including furniture, decorative pieces, keychains, and souvenir tags.
A recycling company has turned the Emirates aircraft into coffee tables,
clocks, and other collectibles. The airline has sold the items through
its website and multiple Emirates stores at Dubai International Airport. Aviation
enthusiasts can own a piece of one of the most iconic aircraft ever produced.
What are your thoughts on the interesting facts
about the Airbus A380? Let us know in the comments section!
simple flying publishes over 150 articles every week if you're
looking for the latest Aviation news and insights visit simpleflying.com