Airbus A380 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Airbus A380
Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 landing
Role	Wide-Body Double-Deck Jet airliner
National origin	Multi-country origin
Manufacturer	Airbus
First flight	27 April 2005
Introduction	25 October 2007
Status	Being produced and used by airlines
Primary users	Singapore Airlines Emirates Qantas Lufthansa
Produced	2004-now
Number built	119 (November 2013)
Unit cost	US$403.9 million

The Airbus A380 prototype lands in France.

The Airbus A380 (also called "Super-jumbo-jet") is a four-engined, double-decked airplane manufactured by Airbus. It is the world's biggest passenger airplane, larger than the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. However, it is not the biggest airplane in the world; the Antonov An-225 super-freighter is bigger.

The Airbus A380 can carry up to 850 passengers (but it usually carries about 525), and weighs over 550 tonnes. It has four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines or four Engine Alliance GP7000 engines. The companies General Electric and Pratt & Whitney make alliance engines.

Orders

A Qantas Airbus A380 at Melbourne Airport

Hundreds of A380-800 airplanes have been ordered by 20 airlines. One has been ordered by a Saudi Arabian Prince, Al-Walid bin Talal and 10 by a company called ILFC (who gives other airlines airplanes for rent).

Emirates Airlines (an airline from the United Arab Emirates) will have the most A380 aircraft, because they have ordered 162 aircraft. Singapore Airlines took delivery of the first A380, which flew to Sydney in Australia on October 25, 2007. Singapore Airlines now have 19 A380s and are still waiting for 5 more.

Other airlines which have ordered the A380 are Qantas (from Australia, currently operating 7), Air France (which has four), China Southern Airlines, Lufthansa (the German airline, which has four), Kingfisher Airlines (from India), Korean Air (from South Korea), Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways (from the United Arab Emirates), Virgin Atlantic (from the United Kingdom) and Air Austral (France).

More than 200 A380 have been delivered, including 15 in 2017 and 12 in 2018.

Freighter Version

Airbus was going to make a version of the A380 to carry cargo instead of people. This would look almost the same as the normal passenger version, but with no windows and much bigger doors. Some cargo companies ordered the plane, like FedEx and UPS. Because Airbus took too long to make the A380, those orders were canceled. Because Airbus has not got any orders for the plane anymore, they decided to not make the freighter version for a while and focus on making the passenger version of the A380.

Incidents

The Airbus A380 had 1 incident, with no deaths.

• On 4 November 2010, Qantas Flight 32 was flying from Singapore Changi Airport when the number 2 engine failed, causing some damage to the plane, and forcing it to return to Singapore. Nobody was injured, but debris from the airplane fell onto the island of Batam, in Indonesia. Investigations found that the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine leaked oil, causing an explosion. Other Trent 900 engines had similar problems and many engines had to be replaced and the FAA issued that all Airbus A380s currently in service are required to go under mandatory inspections before takeoff to prevent future engine problems.

Some Facts

1. Emirates owns over 100 A380s.

2. The A380 was built to contend with the Boeing 747 "Jumbo Jet"

3. It's officially dead. Airbus are planning to stop A380 production by 2021.

Images for kids

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  A380 components on a barge

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  The first completed A380 at the "A380 Reveal" event in Toulouse, France, 18 January 2005

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  Flight test engineer's station on the lower deck of A380 F-WWOW

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  Bare cabin for flight tests with water tanks as ballast

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  A Singapore Airlines A380 taking off from Sydney Airport

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  The characteristic ovoid fuselage

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  Engine Alliance GP7200 engine waiting for installation

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  Planform view showing moderate wing aspect ratio and the undercarriage

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  Composite photo of a structural loading test on the left wing box

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  A380 flight deck

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  A380 20-wheel main landing gear

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  Ten-abreast old economy class seating on the main deck on an Emirates A380

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  Aircraft ground handling with separate jetways for the main and upper decks, and ground support equipment on a Qatar Airways A380

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  Wingtip vortex left behind from an Emirates A380

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  The A380F, a cargo variant of the A380, was proposed but postponed after 2005 and never built.

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  The winglet (mockup) on the A380plus

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  Singapore Airlines, Qantas, and Emirates A380 tails at Heathrow Airport

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  China Southern A380 taking off from Beijing Capital Airport

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  Hi Fly A380 at the 2018 Farnborough Airshow

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  Co-branding with Airbus branding along with customer airlines' logos on an A380 fuselage during MAKS, an air show, 2011

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  One of the three different A380 ANA 'Flying Honu' liveries (Honu: sea turtle)

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  Emirates is the largest A380 operator, with 121 of the aircraft delivered as of 31 October  2021 (2021 -10-31)^[update], with Airbus' final two units delivered in December 2021

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  Etihad Airways' first Airbus A380 taking off from London Heathrow for Abu Dhabi

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  Side view of an Emirates A380

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  Emirates A380's old business class

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  Etihad Airways A380's The Residence Suite

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  Emirates A380's Onboard Lounge and Bar

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  Emirates A380's Shower and Spa