Why superjumbos flew into trouble
AS AIRBUS KILLS OFF THE A380 AFTER JUST 12 YEARS...
AFTER just 12 years of commercial flying, the giant ugly duckling doubledecker A380 passenger aeroplane is to cease production (Mail). Just 234 were built because very few airlines could justify its huge purchase price. The list price of the plane is £340 million. Due to the development costs, every one sold has been at a huge loss. Sadly, this decision will probably lead to job losses in Toulouse, France, where the A380 is built; in Filton, Bristol, where the massive landing gear structures are made; and Broughton in Flintshire, where the wings are made. In the late Nineties, Boeing warned the industry there was a dying market for jumbos that could carry 500 people. It developed the 787 Dreamliner, which can carry up to 335 passengers at a far reduced fuel cost and purchase price, and is able to fly farther without refuelling. But Airbus management thought otherwise and went ahead with the A380 at an enormous cost. Most were sold to the Middle East carrier Emirates at a huge discount to keep the production lines open. It was Emirates management’s decision to scale back on orders that sealed the fate of the A380. Meanwhile, Boeing sensibly decided to revamp its reliable 747 people carrier. The 747 is so over-engineered it has been used to carry an 85-ton space shuttle on its back and been converted into water tankers to drop water onto wild fires in the U.S. The U.S. president flies around the world in Air Force One, an old model 747-200. It remains to be seen what losses Airbus has incurred by its folly to instigate production of the A380 when experts in the aircraft industry warned against developing this sort of leviathan in cost-conscious times. After 50 years, the 747 has seen off its superjumbo competitor and will continue to give sterling public service for at least another 20 years. Goodbye, A380. Sadly you were 25 years too late.
GERHARD JONAS, Standlake, Oxon. IN JANUARY, Airbus CEO Tom Enders, in Project Fear mode, warned Brexit was threatening its UK investments. Now, Airbus has pulled the plug on the A380. It’s nothing to do with Brexit — it’s because the world’s airlines don’t want it. It can’t compete with more efficient and cheaper jets. It never made economic sense.
R. M. STOCKTON, Middlesbrough.