I’ve been following the development of this airplane, as it promises lower air and noise pollution with greater comfort and accomodations for passengers who normally have to endure the “cattle car” experience of flying. I hope it’s so wildly successful that years down the road, I’ll have that to look forward to rather than the old, noisy and cramped airplanes I tend to get stuck on today.
I don’t think I want to fly on a plane this big…Ill hold out for the Boeing Dreamliner ! Can you imaging it taking a day to get out of Heathrow airport or trying to catch a connecting flight after arriving on the A380?
The A380 proposes a challenge to existing airports. It’s true that not every airport can handle the A380’s enormous bulk, but the problem isn’t with runways. Extensive testing showed that the weight of the plane would not cause too much extra stress on runways. In fact, the A380 uses more landing wheels than other large jets, so each wheel actually transmits less weight to the runway than some other aircraft. Most major runways are long enough for takeoff and landing procedures, though some are not quite wide enough (the A380’s engines would hang over the edges slightly). Taxiways do need to be widened to accommodate such a large craft.
The bigger issue is terminal space. There just isn’t enough space to park an A380 at most airport terminals. In order to smooth the process of getting such a large number of people on and off a plane, Airbus put in two entryways. Therefore, two gangways extending from the same terminal are needed. Only a few airports are equipped with this sort of setup. Even if the airport itself is built to take on large planes, the process of ticketing, checking luggage for and security screening so many people can be a logistical nightmare for airports. The A380 is aligned to serve international flights, which leaves little doubt that lines at customs and immigration will be very long for those passengers. If weather or scheduling problems forces two or more A380 to arrive somewhere at the same time, airports estimate it could take almost a day for every passenger to be processed and find their luggage. Similar problems were encountered when the 747 was first introduced.
Airbus says its focus is on linking major international hubs such as London and Hong Kong, not on reaching every major airport.
Hmmmm… As a Frenchman living in the US I’ve had to hear more than a few nasty things about my country in just the last few years.
Making fun of the A380 is a novel way to bash the French however.
Sounds like case of sour grapes to me. Boeing should be so lucky as to have such a magnificent plane in the works at the moment.
Because of your kind of mentality the US are falling behind in so many areas.
The solution is not to bash your friends and allies, but to respect other cultures and learn from them.
And yes, there are a few things you could learn from the French.
Another business supported by the French gvnmt – when it fails, and it will- Lets see who they come looking to for a bail out – good luch Jacques!
I’ve been following the development of this airplane, as it promises lower air and noise pollution with greater comfort and accomodations for passengers who normally have to endure the “cattle car” experience of flying. I hope it’s so wildly successful that years down the road, I’ll have that to look forward to rather than the old, noisy and cramped airplanes I tend to get stuck on today.
So what if it’s French?
I don’t think I want to fly on a plane this big…Ill hold out for the Boeing Dreamliner ! Can you imaging it taking a day to get out of Heathrow airport or trying to catch a connecting flight after arriving on the A380?
The A380 proposes a challenge to existing airports. It’s true that not every airport can handle the A380’s enormous bulk, but the problem isn’t with runways. Extensive testing showed that the weight of the plane would not cause too much extra stress on runways. In fact, the A380 uses more landing wheels than other large jets, so each wheel actually transmits less weight to the runway than some other aircraft. Most major runways are long enough for takeoff and landing procedures, though some are not quite wide enough (the A380’s engines would hang over the edges slightly). Taxiways do need to be widened to accommodate such a large craft.
The bigger issue is terminal space. There just isn’t enough space to park an A380 at most airport terminals. In order to smooth the process of getting such a large number of people on and off a plane, Airbus put in two entryways. Therefore, two gangways extending from the same terminal are needed. Only a few airports are equipped with this sort of setup. Even if the airport itself is built to take on large planes, the process of ticketing, checking luggage for and security screening so many people can be a logistical nightmare for airports. The A380 is aligned to serve international flights, which leaves little doubt that lines at customs and immigration will be very long for those passengers. If weather or scheduling problems forces two or more A380 to arrive somewhere at the same time, airports estimate it could take almost a day for every passenger to be processed and find their luggage. Similar problems were encountered when the 747 was first introduced.
Airbus says its focus is on linking major international hubs such as London and Hong Kong, not on reaching every major airport.
Hmmmm… As a Frenchman living in the US I’ve had to hear more than a few nasty things about my country in just the last few years.
Making fun of the A380 is a novel way to bash the French however.
Sounds like case of sour grapes to me. Boeing should be so lucky as to have such a magnificent plane in the works at the moment.
Because of your kind of mentality the US are falling behind in so many areas.
The solution is not to bash your friends and allies, but to respect other cultures and learn from them.
And yes, there are a few things you could learn from the French.
yeah, like how to bend over, grab your ankles, and surrender timely.