4 ms·
another ode to be is for the airbus a380 or more like a swan song. This is a marvel of engineering that will soon be put to an end cauz its not profitable.
by ousta 9y ago
another ode to be is for the airbus a380 or more like a swan song. This is a marvel of engineering that will soon be put to an end cauz its not profitable.
- reacweb 9y agoEach time there is an aircraft where boeing can not compete technically like concorde and a380, they fight to make the market less profitable. I am not sure there are a380 buyers reading HN, but I think they should not buy boeing's lobbying. The more a380 are sold, the more profitable it is for buyers.
- vlehto 9y agoLooks like A380 with the max seating capacity of 853 would be significantly cheaper to operate per seat than anything out there. The current installed maximum is 615, hinting that the market is not quite there yet. I could imagine that some airfields would soon increase their per plane landing prices as a result of crowding. That could make the A380 more profitable.
- larkeith 9y agoFor some interesting discussion re: airport crowding, the 747, and the a380, see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16014849 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16014849
- flyinglizard 9y agoAirlines are pushing for more premium classes and less economy seats. 853 is all cattle class. The configuration of the A380 I flew with (LH/BA) has lots of cabin space reserved for Premium Economy, Business and First. I believe it’ll only grow more pronounced as the established carriers are fending off low cost airlines.
- andyjenn 9y agoIt's the 4 engines which gives airlines A380/747 fuel cost problems. Both fulfil relatively niche markets and are gradually being displaced by the more-efficient and flexible twin-engine A350/787 types. We're just starting to see the secondary market for A380s now which is a good indicator for its long term commercial viability.
- dingaling 9y agoTwins are actually overpowered compared to comparably-sized quads due to engine-out climb requirements. In terms of raw seat-km-litre they are therefore slightly less efficient. A good example is the old A340-300 quad, often maligned for being underpowered. Now that it is mostly retired data has emerged that it was more efficient than the rival 777-200 twin. Where twins are cheaper is in terms of capital costs and consumables, though ETOPs requirements mean you need more technicians to service a twin ( separate teams for each engine ).
- lmm 9y agoI would've thought that more passengers on the same number of planes would be profitable for airports, considering how they double as shopping malls these days.
- vlehto 9y agoAir traffic control is difficult and gets more difficult with more planes in the pipeline. At very least we can safely assume that reputation of unsafe airfield is very unprofitable.
- lmm 9y agoIndeed, but you'd think that would make airports encourage high-capacity planes - fewer planes for the same number of passengers means less pressure on air traffic control.
- dx034 9y agoIt's not lobbying, it's the model under which airlines operate. When airbus started to develop the A380 they assumed that hubs would become more important and airport capacity scarcer. Instead, there are more point to point connections now (mostly by low cost carriers) where A380 isn't profitable. That has helped Boeing's Dreamliner but also the A330 and A320 range. Boeing also spent some money developing the B748 and weren't successful, it's not as if their forecasts were very different.