It’s Called Superjumbo: 6 Astounding Facts About Airbus A380

An era for the Airbus A380, also known as the superjumbo, has come to an end.

Dubai-based A380-lover, the Emirates, became the last airline to add the plane to its fleet as Airbus made a decision not to produce superjumbos anymore. The first buyer of the plane was again the Emirates back in 2000.

In addition to the Emirates, British Airways and Singapore Airlines also have superjumbos in their fleet. Here are the plane’s 6 highlights.

1- World’s largest passenger plane

The Airbus A380 that flew in 2005 for the first time is known to be the largest passenger airliner, with a maximum take-off weight of 575 tonnes. The double-deck mammoth has a capacity to carry up to 853 passengers.

Airbus A380 – Emirates

2- Airbus A380 in numbers

The A380 has recorded more than 800,000 flights and carried over 300 million passengers from the first day when it commenced service, according to Airbus. Figures of December 2021 published by the company depict that airlines around the globe ordered 251 superjumbos while 249 of them have been delivered to 14 customers. British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Korean Air, Lufthansa, and Qantas are among the A380 operators.

3- The shortest and longest flights by the superjumbo

As the largest operator of the A380 with 123 orders, the Emirates operates the world’s shortest scheduled passenger flight, flying from Dubai to Oman’s Muscat — a distance of 349 kilometers lasting 1 hour 15 minutes. The company operates the longest passenger flight from Dubai to Auckland as well, which is lasting over 18 hours. To note, Singapore has announced that it would conduct the shortest flight between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, overtaking the Emirates.

4- A380 vs 747-8

When it comes to asking what is the better option, there are pros and cons of the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 that is dubbed the “Queen of the Skies.” The latter has a maximum capacity of 467 passengers and cannot compete with Airbus’ giant in this case. The A380’s wingspan is over 261.7 feet, roughly 80 meters, while it is 224.6 feet — 68 meters — for Boeing. The Chicago-based company is the winner when it comes to length, which is 250 feet. The superjumbo is 238 feet long. For the A380 and 747-8, takeoff weights are 1,235,000 pounds and 987,000 pounds, respectively. Last but not least, thrusts that are produced by the two are 70,000 and 66,500 pounds.

5- Miles of wires

And don’t forget the extraordinary engineering behind such a colossal piece of work during your breathtaking flight with the A380 superjumbo. Totaling 330 miles of wiring wrap the plane — which contains 100,000 different wires, according to The New York Times.

New York Times

6- Evacuation for caution

It is vital to evacuate a plane quickly during an imminent or continuing threat to the safety of the aircraft. An evacuation test conducted in 2006 demonstrated that 853 passengers, 18 crew, and two pilots accomplished to leave the A380 in just 78 seconds, where 8 of the 16 emergency exits were blocked.