![]() ![]() In the densest, two-class configuration with business and economy only, Emirates A380s have capacity for 615 passengers. In that configuration, with four classes including first, business, premium economy and economy, the aircraft can seat 484 passengers. It has proven popular enough that the airline plans to retrofit 67 more of its A380s with it, over the course of 18 months and starting later this year. It’s among a handful of Emirates A380s to include a premium economy section – a middle ground between basic economy and business class. The very last A380 ever produced, in late 2021, went to Emirates. “By the end of the year, we’re aiming to operate close to 90 A380s across our entire network.” That means that over a dozen more A380s will join the ones currently flying. “Today we operate more than half of our A380s,” says Richard Jewsbury, divisional vice president UK at Emirates. Qantas, which is operating three out of its 12 A380s on the Sydney-Singapore-London route, confirmed to CNN Travel that it aims to have a total of six back into service before the end of the year, with a plan to reinstate four more by 2024 (the remaining two are to be scrapped).Įmirates, the largest A380 operator with 123 of the aircraft, is also ramping up. The A380 typically seats 400 to 550 passengers for trips over 9,000. ![]() Lufthansa is bringing back the A380 superjumbo The Airbus A380 superjumbo is the largest passenger aircraft in operation and has a front-to-back two-story design. Korean Air also said that it will bring back a third A380 out of its fleet of 10, to join the two already in service. Singapore Airlines, for example, is currently flying 10 A380s out of its fleet of 12, but confirmed to CNN Travel that the remaining two are currently being retrofitted and will re-enter the fleet soon. Some of these already have plans to press even more of their A380s back into service. Out of those, nine are currently flying it: British Airways, All Nippon Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Qatar, Asiana, Korean Air and China Southern Airlines. The plane, which is no longer in production, is popular with passengers and crews but not with airlines – only 14 have operated it to date. The aircraft is the largest single pilot jet in the world, making it one of the most remarkable of the larger jets. The Pilatus PC-24 is a milestone setting private jet that requires just one pilot to fly. Image source: (CC) Kiefer/Flickr Pilatus PC-24. “Operators were quite reluctant to bring it back because it’s a very costly airplane, but I think we’ve seen demand recovering faster than people expected.”Īirbus produced and delivered 251 A380s, and 238 remain available for service today, with the rest having been retired or scrapped. The aircraft has a roomy cabin that can comfortably accommodate six passengers. “It’s definitely having a comeback,” says Geoff Van Klaveren, an aviation analyst and managing director of advisory at IBA. It is the worlds largest passenger airliner and only full-length. Lufthansa was the latest carrier to announce the plane’s return – although not before 2023 – and there are reasons to believe that more A380s will progressively soar back into the skies. The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. Emirates has the world's largest fleet of A380s.
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