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110-571: As well as wanting more direct flights, passengers have demonstrated a preference for flights that take less time and aeroplane configurations that enhance comfort. It’s just common sense: people want to go where they want to go, when they want to go, how they want to go. Boeing’s answer to the demand for faster flights, more direct flights and increased comfort is the Sonic Cruiser.   — Peter Rumsey, Director of New Airplane Product Development, Ingenia , February 2002 The Sonic Cruiser

220-403: A helicopter . The fuel economy of an automobile relates to the distance traveled by a vehicle and the amount of fuel consumed . Consumption can be expressed in terms of the volume of fuel to travel a distance, or the distance traveled per unit volume of fuel consumed. Since fuel consumption of vehicles is a significant factor in air pollution, and since the importation of motor fuel can be

330-614: A car and the production, transmission and storage of electricity and hydrogen, the label "zero pollution" applies only to the car's conversion of stored energy into movement. In 2004, a consortium of major auto-makers — BMW , General Motors , Honda , Toyota and Volkswagen / Audi — came up with "Top Tier Detergent Gasoline Standard" to gasoline brands in the US and Canada that meet their minimum standards for detergent content and do not contain metallic additives. Top Tier gasoline contains higher levels of detergent additives in order to prevent

440-399: A change in buying habits with a propensity to heavier vehicles that are less fuel-efficient. Energy efficiency is similar to fuel efficiency but the input is usually in units of energy such as megajoules (MJ), kilowatt-hours (kW·h), kilocalories (kcal) or British thermal units (BTU). The inverse of "energy efficiency" is " energy intensity ", or the amount of input energy required for

550-469: A cruise at Mach 1.6–1.8), a smaller 765-076E business jet (30 passengers, Mach 1.6), and a larger 765-107B, nicknamed 'Icon-II' (120 passengers, Mach 1.8). All of the concepts had a range less than 6,000 nmi (11,000 km). On April 16, 2012, Boeing published an application for a patent for an aircraft configuration similar to that of the Sonic Cruiser; the patent was granted in 2014. Related development Airbus A380 The Airbus A380

660-486: A diesel engine. See Brake-specific fuel consumption for more information. The energy efficiency in transport is the useful travelled distance , of passengers, goods or any type of load; divided by the total energy put into the transport propulsion means. The energy input might be rendered in several different types depending on the type of propulsion, and normally such energy is presented in liquid fuels , electrical energy or food energy . The energy efficiency

770-469: A heat value of a fuel, it would be trivial to convert from fuel units (such as litres of gasoline) to energy units (such as MJ) and conversely. But there are two problems with comparisons made using energy units: The specific energy content of a fuel is the heat energy obtained when a certain quantity is burned (such as a gallon, litre, kilogram). It is sometimes called the heat of combustion . There exists two different values of specific heat energy for

880-465: A high advanced materials content (projected to be 60–70% of the airframe by weight), Boeing lined up a consortium of international partners with experience in aerostructures. By the end of 2001, those materials were being applied to an aircraft in Project Yellowstone , a competing project using more conventional airplane designs. That aircraft, being designed under Yellowstone as the replacement for

990-534: A joint ceremony at the company's French headquarters, receiving the ICAO code A388. The A380-861 model was added to the type certificate on 14 December 2007. Initial production of the A380 was troubled by delays attributed to the 530 km (330 mi) of wiring in each aircraft. Airbus cited as underlying causes the complexity of the cabin wiring (98,000 wires and 40,000 connectors), its concurrent design and production,

1100-467: A large part of a nation's foreign trade , many countries impose requirements for fuel economy. Different methods are used to approximate the actual performance of the vehicle. The energy in fuel is required to overcome various losses ( wind resistance , tire drag , and others) encountered while propelling the vehicle, and in providing power to vehicle systems such as ignition or air conditioning. Various strategies can be employed to reduce losses at each of

1210-415: A new A380 build standard, incorporating a strengthened airframe structure and a 1.5° increase in wing twist . Airbus also offered, as an option, an improved maximum take-off weight, thus providing a better payload/range performance. Maximum take-off weight is increased by 4 t (8,800 lb), to 573 t (1,263,000 lb) and the range is extended by 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi); this

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1320-405: A plane, Airbus was already pursuing its own large-plane project. Analysts suggested that Boeing would instead pursue stretching its 747 design, and that air travel was already moving away from the hub-and-spoke system that consolidated traffic into large planes, and toward more non-stop routes that could be served by smaller planes. From 1997 to 2000, as the 1997 Asian financial crisis darkened

1430-462: A production rate of four A380s per month. In 2005, five A380s were built for testing and demonstration purposes. The first A380, registered F-WWOW, was unveiled in Toulouse 18 January 2005. It first flew on 27 April 2005. This plane, equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, flew from Toulouse–Blagnac Airport with a crew of six headed by chief test pilot Jacques Rosay . Rosay said flying

1540-424: A range between 6,000 and 10,000 nautical miles (11,000 and 19,000  km ). Boeing estimated the Sonic Cruiser's fuel efficiency would be comparable to best performing twin-engine wide body airliners in 2002 on a per-passenger basis. Boeing intended to use advanced composite and titanium materials to reduce weight and further improve fuel efficiency. In order to successfully build a commercial airplane with such

1650-437: A result of the cracks and subsequent grounding of fleets. Airbus has switched to a different type of aluminium alloy so aircraft delivered from 2014 onwards should not have this problem. Around 2014, Airbus changed about 10% of all A380 doors, as some leaked during flight. One occurrence resulted in dropped oxygen masks and an emergency landing. The switch was estimated to cost over €100 million. Airbus stated that safety

1760-403: A series of hydrogen fueling stations has been established. Powered either through chemical reactions in a fuel cell that create electricity to drive very efficient electrical motors or by directly burning hydrogen in a combustion engine (near identically to a natural gas vehicle , and similarly compatible with both natural gas and gasoline); these vehicles promise to have near-zero pollution from

1870-580: A service entry date. For the passenger version Airbus negotiated a revised delivery schedule and compensation with the 13 customers, all of which retained their orders with some placing subsequent orders, including Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Air France, Qatar Airways, and Korean Air. Beginning in 2007, the A380 was considered as a potential replacement for the existing Boeing VC-25 serving as Air Force One presidential transport, but in January 2009 EADS declared that they were not going to bid for

1980-459: A small combustion engine is combined with electric motors. Kinetic energy which would otherwise be lost to heat during braking is recaptured as electrical power to improve fuel efficiency. The larger batteries in these vehicles power the car's electronics , allowing the engine to shut off and avoid prolonged idling . Fleet efficiency describes the average efficiency of a population of vehicles. Technological advances in efficiency may be offset by

2090-504: A test of passenger facilities and comfort. In November 2006, a further series of route-proving flights demonstrated the aircraft's performance for 150 flight hours under typical airline operating conditions. As of 2014 , the A380 test aircraft continue to perform test procedures. Airbus obtained type certificates for the A380-841 and A380-842 model from the EASA and FAA on 12 December 2006 in

2200-472: A unit of output such as MJ/passenger-km (of passenger transport), BTU/ton-mile or kJ/t-km (of freight transport), GJ/t (for production of steel and other materials), BTU/(kW·h) (for electricity generation), or litres/100 km (of vehicle travel). Litres per 100 km is also a measure of "energy intensity" where the input is measured by the amount of fuel and the output is measured by the distance travelled. For example: Fuel economy in automobiles . Given

2310-417: Is a brand-new class of flying machine. Every other commercial jet airplane has been a further refinement of the 707.   — Walt Gillette, general manager of the Sonic Cruiser program, Boeing Frontiers , July 2002 Boeing continued to tweak the design through the summer of 2001. Initial sketches released to the public were highly conjectural. A patent drawing filed by Boeing in early 2001 put

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2420-690: Is a linear relationship while fuel economy leads to distortions in efficiency improvements. Weight-specific efficiency (efficiency per unit weight) may be stated for freight , and passenger-specific efficiency (vehicle efficiency per passenger) for passenger vehicles. Fuel efficiency is dependent on many parameters of a vehicle, including its engine parameters, aerodynamic drag , weight, AC usage, fuel and rolling resistance . There have been advances in all areas of vehicle design in recent decades. Fuel efficiency of vehicles can also be improved by careful maintenance and driving habits. Hybrid vehicles use two or more power sources for propulsion. In many designs,

2530-517: Is a popular topic in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The main factors representing and influencing driving behavior include velocity, acceleration, gear, road parameters, weather, etc. Simple things such as keeping tires properly inflated, having a vehicle well-maintained and avoiding idling can dramatically improve fuel efficiency. Careful use of acceleration and deceleration and especially limiting use of high speeds helps efficiency. The use of multiple such techniques

2640-524: Is a very large wide-body airliner , developed and produced by Airbus . It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was announced in 1990 to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747 in the long-haul market. The then-designated A3XX project was presented in 1994; Airbus launched the €9.5–billion ($ 10.7–billion) A380 programme on 19 December 2000. The first prototype

2750-402: Is achieved by reducing flight loads, partly from optimising the fly-by-wire control laws. British Airways and Emirates were the first two customers to have received this new option in 2013. Emirates asked for an update with new engines for the A380 to be competitive with the Boeing 777X around 2020, and Airbus was studying 11-abreast seating. In 2012, Airbus announced another increase in

2860-401: Is also occasionally known as energy intensity . The inverse of the energy efficiency in transport is the energy consumption in transport. Energy efficiency in transport is often described in terms of fuel consumption , fuel consumption being the reciprocal of fuel economy. Nonetheless, fuel consumption is linked with a means of propulsion which uses liquid fuels , whilst energy efficiency

2970-530: Is applicable to any sort of propulsion. To avoid said confusion, and to be able to compare the energy efficiency in any type of vehicle, experts tend to measure the energy in the International System of Units , i.e., joules . Therefore, in the International System of Units, the energy efficiency in transport is measured in terms of metre per joule, or m/J, while the energy consumption in transport

3080-485: Is called " hypermiling ". The most efficient machines for converting energy to rotary motion are electric motors, as used in electric vehicles . However, electricity is not a primary energy source so the efficiency of the electricity production has also to be taken into account. Railway trains can be powered using electricity, delivered through an additional running rail, overhead catenary system or by on-board generators used in diesel-electric locomotives as common on

3190-409: Is dependent on several factors including engine efficiency , transmission design, and tire design. In most countries, using the metric system , fuel economy is stated as "fuel consumption" in liters per 100 kilometers (L/100 km) or kilometers per liter (km/L or kmpl). In a number of countries still using other systems, fuel economy is expressed in miles per gallon (mpg), for example in

3300-443: Is measured in terms of joules per metre, or J/m. The more efficient the vehicle, the more metres it covers with one joule (more efficiency), or the fewer joules it uses to travel over one metre (less consumption). The energy efficiency in transport largely varies by means of transport. Different types of transport range from some hundred kilojoules per kilometre (kJ/km) for a bicycle to tens of megajoules per kilometre (MJ/km) for

3410-533: Is not formed and complete combustion occurs., National Aeronautics and Space Administration, April 2005. Experiments by NASA in microgravity reveal that diffusion flames in microgravity allow more soot to be completely oxidised after they are produced than diffusion flames on Earth, because of a series of mechanisms that behaved differently in microgravity when compared to normal gravity conditions. LSP-1 experiment results , National Aeronautics and Space Administration, April 2005. Premixed flames in microgravity burn at

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3520-501: Is often illustrated as a continuous energy profile . Non-transportation applications, such as industry , benefit from increased fuel efficiency, especially fossil fuel power plants or industries dealing with combustion , such as ammonia production during the Haber process . In the context of transport , fuel economy is the energy efficiency of a particular vehicle, given as a ratio of distance traveled per unit of fuel consumed. It

3630-434: Is very low. This was reflected in a study by AEA Technology between a Eurostar train and airline journeys between London and Paris, which showed the trains on average emitting 10 times less CO 2 , per passenger, than planes, helped in part by French nuclear generation. In the future, hydrogen cars may be commercially available. Toyota is test-marketing vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells in southern California, where

3740-631: The A380-800 and the A380F . The A380-800's original configuration carried 555 passengers in a three-class configuration or 853 passengers (538 on the main deck and 315 on the upper deck) in a single-class economy configuration. Then in May 2007, Airbus began marketing a configuration with 30 fewer passengers (525 total in three classes)—traded for 200 nmi; 230 mi (370 km) more range—to better reflect trends in premium-class accommodation. The design range for

3850-577: The Engine Alliance GP7000 (A380-861) turbofan engines. The Trent 900 is a combination of the 3 m (118 in) fan and scaled IP compressor of the 777-200X/300X Trent 8104 technology demonstrator derived from the Boeing 777's Trent 800 , and the Airbus A340-500/600's Trent 500 core. The GP7200 HP core technology is derived from GE's GE90 and its LP sections are based on

3960-486: The PW4000 expertise. At its launch in 2000, engine makers assured Airbus it was getting the best level of technology and they would be state-of-the-art for the next decade, but three years later Boeing launched the 787 Dreamliner with game-changing technology and 10% lower fuel burn than the previous generation, to the dismay of John Leahy. Due to its modern engines and aerodynamic improvements, Lufthansa's A380s produce half

4070-637: The Qantas Flight 32 engine failure incident, cracks were discovered in wing fittings. As a result, the European Aviation Safety Agency issued an Airworthiness Directive in January 2012 which affected 20 A380 aircraft that had accumulated over 1,300 flights. A380s with under 1,800 flight hours were to be inspected within 6 weeks or 84 flights; aircraft with over 1,800 flight hours were to be examined within four days or 14 flights. Fittings found to be cracked were replaced. On 8 February 2012,

4180-502: The September 11 attacks , and Boeing began publicizing Project Yellowstone to potential customers for the first time in February and March 2002. Branson, an early supporter of the Sonic Cruiser, was openly skeptical of the aircraft's prospects by July 2002: "Unless more runways are built the Sonic Cruiser is going to struggle because airlines will not have the slots to use the aircraft." None of

4290-399: The latent heat of vaporization of water. The difference between the high and low values is significant, about 8 or 9%. This accounts for most of the apparent discrepancy in the heat value of gasoline. In the U.S. (and the table) the high heat values have traditionally been used, but in many other countries, the low heat values are commonly used. Neither the gross heat of combustion nor

4400-404: The sonic boom from supersonic travel. As an example, a flight using the Sonic Cruiser from London to Singapore was expected to be two hours shorter than one using a conventional airliner. In addition, the landing and takeoff noise was expected to meet Stage 4 requirements . The aircraft was designed to fly at altitudes in excess of 40,000 ft (12,000 m) to avoid existing air traffic, with

4510-628: The "Sonic Cruiser" was a near-sonic variant. The origin has been traced back to 1995, with the formation of an internal Airplane Creation Process Strategy team, which had designed a plane code-named Project Glacier that strongly resembled the initial Sonic Cruiser drawings by fall 2000. In early 2001, Boeing CEO Alan Mulally began privately publicizing the concept to potential customers, touting its improved speed at an efficiency similar to existing designs. Don Carty ( American Airlines ) and Sir Richard Branson ( Virgin Atlantic ) were openly enthusiastic for

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4620-414: The 757/767, was later announced as the 7E7, with "E" standing for "Efficient". As a baseline reference model using advanced materials, the proposed 7E7 would consume 10% less fuel than the Sonic Cruiser, and 17–20% less than the 767-300. The design team at Boeing was finalizing the Sonic Cruiser configuration throughout 2002. Wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics analysis were used to refine

4730-402: The A380 design was able to achieve a very low cost for passenger seat-distance, but efficiency within the hub-and-spoke paradigm was not able to overcome the efficiency of fewer flights required in the point-to-point system. Specifically, US based carriers had been using a multihub strategy, which only justified the need for a handful of VLAs ( very large aircraft with more than 400 seats) such as

4840-418: The A380 did not achieve commercial viability for Airbus has been attributed to its extremely large capacity being optimised for a hub-and-spoke system, which was projected by Airbus to be thriving when the programme was conceived. However, airlines underwent a fundamental transition to a point-to-point system, which gets customers to their destination in one flight instead of two or three. The massive scale of

4950-515: The A380 had been "like handling a bicycle". On 1 December 2005, the A380 achieved its maximum design speed of Mach 0.96, (its design cruise speed is Mach 0.85) in a shallow dive. In 2006, the A380 flew its first high-altitude test at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport . It conducted its second high-altitude test at the same airport in 2009. On 10 January 2006, it flew to José María Córdova International Airport in Colombia, accomplishing

5060-460: The A380 had grown to €11–14  billion when the first aircraft was completed. In 2000, the projected development cost was €9.5 billion. In 2004, Airbus estimated that €1.5 billion ($ 2 billion) would need to be added, totalling the developmental costs to €10.3 billion ($ 12.7 billion). In 2006, Airbus stopped publishing its reported cost after reaching costs of €10.2 billion and then it provisioned another €4.9 billion, after

5170-448: The A380 on its intended long-haul missions would free only a few airport slots . After achieving efficiencies to sustain production at a lower level, in 2017, Airbus delivered 15 A380s and was "very close" to production breakeven, expecting to make additional savings as production was being further reduced: it planned to deliver 12 in 2018, eight in 2019 and six per year from 2020 with "digestible" losses. As of February 2018 , Enders

5280-476: The A380 parts are transported by barge to Langon , and by oversize road convoys to the assembly hall in Toulouse . To avoid damage from direct handling, parts are secured in custom jigs carried on self-powered wheeled vehicles. After assembly, the aircraft are flown to the Airbus Hamburg-Finkenwerder plant to be furnished and painted. Airbus sized the production facilities and supply chain for

5390-401: The A380 received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to carry up to 853 passengers. The first A380 using GP7200 engines—serial number MSN009 and flew on 25 August 2006. On 4 September 2006, the first full passenger-carrying flight test took place. The aircraft flew from Toulouse with 474 Airbus employees on board, in

5500-403: The A380 when not enough airline interest was forthcoming, and instead proposed the Sonic Cruiser as a completely different approach. Instead of the A380's massive capacity, requiring a hub and spoke model of operation, the Sonic Cruiser was designed for rapid point-to-point connections for 200 to 250 passengers. Critics stated that Boeing had timed its announcement in an attempt to distract from

5610-478: The A380's maximum take-off weight to 575 t (1,268,000 lb), a 6 t increase from the initial A380 variant and 2 t higher than the increased-weight proposal of 2010. This increased the range by some 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi), taking its capability to around 8,350 nautical miles (15,460 km; 9,610 mi) at current payloads. The higher-weight version was offered for introduction to service early in 2013. During repairs following

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5720-449: The A380, and having too few VLAs meant that they could not achieve economy of scale to spread out the enormous fixed cost of the VLA support infrastructure. Consequently, orders for VLAs slowed in the mid 2010s, as widebody twin jets now offer similar range and greater fuel efficiency, giving airlines more flexibility at a lower upfront cost. On 25 September 2020, Airbus completed assembly of

5830-456: The A380−800 model is 8,500 nmi (15,700 km); capable of flying from Hong Kong to New York or from Sydney to Istanbul non-stop. The A380 is designed for 19,000 cycles. The second model, the A380F freighter, would have carried 150 t (330,000 lb) of cargo over a range of 5,600 nmi (10,400 km; 6,400 mi). Freighter development was put on hold as Airbus prioritised

5940-455: The Airbus consortium started a joint feasibility study of a Very Large Commercial Transport (VLCT), aiming to form a partnership to share the limited market. In June 1994, Airbus announced its plan to develop its own very large airliner, designated as A3XX. Airbus considered several designs, including an unusual side-by-side combination of two fuselages from its A340 , the largest Airbus jet at

6050-548: The Sonic Cruiser concept. Based on artwork released by Boeing in July 2002, the Sonic Cruiser now sported two taller vertical tails with no inward cant, and the forward canard was set at zero degrees dihedral . By that time, three different designs had been advanced: one was the original canard-delta wing design, and two were more conventional mid-fuselage wing designs in the interest of better compatibility with existing airport jetway equipment, although those two designs were unable to offer

6160-530: The Sonic Cruiser, and Branson expected to make a tentative order of three to six aircraft in May 2001. The March 29, 2001 announcement was followed by a larger media event at the Paris Air Show on June 19, where futurist John Naisbitt and Mulally praised the concept, unveiled as a 1 ⁄ 40 -scale model. Popular Science named the Sonic Cruiser to its list of the Best of What's New in 2001. The Sonic Cruiser

6270-519: The US and UK rail networks. Pollution produced from centralised generation of electricity is emitted at a distant power station, rather than "on site". Pollution can be reduced by using more railway electrification and low carbon power for electricity. Some railways, such as the French SNCF and Swiss federal railways derive most, if not 100% of their power, from hydroelectric or nuclear power stations, therefore atmospheric pollution from their rail networks

6380-539: The US and usually also in the UK ( imperial gallon); there is sometimes confusion as the imperial gallon is 20% larger than the US gallon so that mpg values are not directly comparable. Traditionally, litres per mil were used in Norway and Sweden , but both have aligned to the EU standard of L/100 km. Fuel consumption is a more accurate measure of a vehicle's performance because it

6490-693: The United Kingdom. Due to the sections' large size, traditional transportation methods proved unfeasible, so they are brought to the Jean-Luc Lagardère Plant assembly hall in Toulouse , France, by specialised road and water transportation, though some parts are moved by the A300-600ST Beluga transport aircraft. A380 components are provided by suppliers from around the world; the four largest contributors, by value, are Rolls-Royce , Safran , United Technologies and General Electric . For

6600-460: The aircraft ending in 2021. The A380's estimated $ 25 billion development cost was not recouped by the time Airbus ended production. The full-length double-deck aircraft has a typical seating for 525 passengers, with a maximum certified capacity for 853 passengers. The quadjet is powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 or Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofans providing a range of 8,000 nmi (14,800 km; 9,200 mi). As of December 2021 ,

6710-417: The aircraft, replacing it with 40 A330-900s and 30 A350-900s . At the time of the announcement, Airbus had 17 more A380s on its order book to complete before closing the production line – 14 for Emirates and three for All Nippon Airways  – taking the total number of expected deliveries of the aircraft type to 251. Airbus would have needed more than $ 90 million profit from

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6820-479: The airline wanted guarantees that production would be maintained for 10 years, until 2028: reducing output to six a year would help to bridge that period and would support second-hand values while other buyers are approached, but the programme would still be unprofitable. If it had failed to win the Emirates order, Airbus claimed that it was ready to phase out its production gradually as it fulfilled remaining orders until

6930-593: The airline's 747-400 fleet. Emirates' Tim Clark claimed that the A380 has better fuel economy at Mach 0.86 than at 0.83, and that its technical dispatch reliability is at 97%, the same as Singapore Airlines. Airbus is committed to reach the industry standard of 98.5%. Emirates was the second airline to receive the A380 and commenced service between Dubai and New York in August 2008. Qantas followed, with flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles in October 2008. By

7040-406: The baseline aircraft's dimensions at approximately 250 feet (76 m) in length, with a wingspan of 164.9 feet (50.3 m). With a delta wing and canards arrangement, and flying just short of the speed of sound at Mach 0.95–0.98 (about 650 mph (1,050 km/h) at altitude), the Sonic Cruiser promised 15–20% faster speed than conventional airliners without the noise pollution caused by

7150-612: The black (profitable) for 2016 and 2017. "The company will continue to improve the efficiency of its industrial system to achieve breakeven at 20 aircraft in 2017 and targets additional cost reduction initiatives to lower breakeven further." Airbus expected that healthy demand for its other aircraft would allow it to avoid job losses from the cuts. As Airbus expected to build 15 airliners in 2017 and 12 in 2018, Airbus Commercial Aircraft president Fabrice Brégier said that, without orders in 2017, production would be reduced to below one per month while remaining profitable per unit and allowing

7260-422: The build-up of deposits (typically, on fuel injector and intake valve ) known to reduce fuel economy and engine performance. How fuel combusts affects how much energy is produced. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has investigated fuel consumption in microgravity . The common distribution of a flame under normal gravity conditions depends on convection , because soot tends to rise to

7370-421: The checks were extended to cover all 68 A380 aircraft in operation. The problem is considered to be minor and is not expected to affect operations. EADS acknowledged that the cost of repairs would be over $ 130 million, to be borne by Airbus. The company said the problem was traced to stress and material used for the fittings. Additionally, major airlines are seeking compensation from Airbus for revenue lost as

7480-400: The contract, as assembling only three planes in the US would not make financial sense. On 13 May 2008, Airbus announced reduced deliveries for the years 2008 (12) and 2009 (21). After further manufacturing setbacks, Airbus announced its plan to deliver 14 A380s in 2009, down from the previously revised target of 18. A total of 10 A380s were delivered in 2009. In 2010, Airbus delivered 18 of

7590-495: The conversions between the chemical energy in the fuel and the kinetic energy of the vehicle. Driver behavior can affect fuel economy; maneuvers such as sudden acceleration and heavy braking waste energy. Energy-efficient driving techniques are used by drivers who wish to reduce their fuel consumption, and thus maximize fuel efficiency. Many drivers have the potential to improve their fuel efficiency significantly. The relationship between fuel consumption and driving behavior

7700-561: The difficulties in electric cabling and two years delay for an estimated total of €18 billion. In 2014, the aircraft was estimated to have cost $ 25bn (£16bn, €18.9bn) to develop. In 2015, Airbus said development costs were €15 billion (£11.4 billion, $ 16.64 billion), though analysts believe the figure is likely to be at least €5bn ($ 5.55 Bn) more for a €20 Bn ($ 22.19 Bn) total. In 2016, The A380 development costs were estimated at $ 25 billion for 15 years, $ 25–30 billion, or €25 billion ($ 28 billion). To start

7810-567: The dominance that Boeing had enjoyed in this market segment since the early 1970s with its Boeing 747 . McDonnell Douglas unsuccessfully offered its double-deck MD-12 concept for sale. Lockheed was exploring the possibility for a Very Large Subsonic Transport. Roeder was given approval for further evaluations of the UHCA after a formal presentation to the President and CEO in June 1990. The megaproject

7920-480: The early 2020s. In January 2018, Emirates confirmed the order for 36 A380s, but the deal was thrown back into question in October 2018 over a disagreement regarding engine fuel burn. To extend the programme, Airbus offered China a production role in early 2018. While state-owned Chinese airlines could order A380s, it would not help their low yield, as it lowers frequency; they do not need more volume as widebody aircraft are already used on domestic routes and using

8030-471: The end of 2008, 890,000 passengers had flown on 2,200 flights. In February 2008, the A380 became the first airliner to fly using synthetic liquid fuel. The fuel is processed from gas to liquid form (GTL fuel). The flight was 3 hours long, taking off from Filton, UK, and landing in Toulouse, France, and was a significant step in evaluating the suitability of sustainable aviation fuels. In 2010, Airbus announced

8140-485: The end of 2009 would be cut to 70–80 aircraft. The announcement caused a 26% drop in the share price of Airbus' parent, EADS, and led to the departure of EADS CEO Paul Dupont , Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert , and A380 programme manager Charles Champion . On 3 October 2006, upon completion of a review of the A380 programme, Airbus CEO Christian Streiff announced a third delay, pushing the first delivery to October 2007, to be followed by 13 deliveries in 2008, 25 in 2009, and

8250-547: The expected 20 A380s, due to Rolls-Royce engine availability problems. Airbus planned to deliver "between 20 and 25" A380s in 2011 before ramping up to three a month in 2012. In fact, Airbus delivered 26 units, thus outdoing its predicted output for the first time. As of July 2012 , production was 3 aircraft per month. Among the production problems are challenging interiors, interiors being installed sequentially rather than concurrently as in smaller planes, and union/government objections to streamlining. Nicknamed Superjumbo ,

8360-425: The final A380 fuselage. Nine aircraft remained to be delivered (eight for Emirates, one for All Nippon Airways) and production operations continued to finish those aircraft. On 17 March 2021, the final Airbus A380 (manufacturing serial number 272) made its maiden flight from Toulouse to Hamburg for cabin outfitting, before being delivered to Emirates on 16 December 2021. The A380 was initially offered in two models:

8470-456: The first A380, MSN003, was delivered to Singapore Airlines on 15 October 2007 and entered service on 25 October 2007 with flight number SQ380 between Singapore and Sydney . Passengers bought seats in a charity online auction paying between $ 560 and $ 100,380. Two months later, Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choong Seng stated the A380 was performing better than either the airline or Airbus had anticipated, burning 20% less fuel per seat-mile than

8580-456: The first delay in June 2005 and notified airlines that deliveries would be delayed by six months. This reduced the total number of planned deliveries by the end of 2009 from about 120 to 90–100. On 13 June 2006, Airbus announced a second delay, with the delivery schedule slipping an additional six to seven months. Although the first delivery was still planned before the end of 2006, deliveries in 2007 would drop to only 9 aircraft, and deliveries by

8690-546: The full production rate of 45 aircraft per year in 2010. The delay also increased the earnings shortfall projected by Airbus through 2010 to €4.8 billion. As Airbus prioritised the work on the A380-800 over the A380F, freighter orders were cancelled by FedEx and United Parcel Service , or converted to A380-800 by Emirates and ILFC. Airbus suspended work on the freighter version, but said it remained on offer, albeit without

8800-410: The fuselage and wings, bleedless engines , cockpit and avionics design. In 2010, Boeing published a paper detailing several concepts for a supersonic airliner with reduced passenger count, derived from its work with the Sonic Cruiser and earlier NASA work on a High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) concept. The concepts, developed under a NASA grant, included the 765-072B (approximately 100 passengers with

8910-417: The global A380 fleet had completed more than 800,000 flights over 7.3 million block hours with no fatalities and no hull losses. As of December 2022 , there were 237 aircraft in service with 16 operators worldwide. In mid-1988, Airbus engineers, led by Jean Roeder, began work in secret on the development of an ultra-high-capacity airliner (UHCA), both to complete its own range of products and to break

9020-553: The high degree of customisation for each airline, and failures of configuration management and change control . The German and Spanish Airbus facilities continued to use CATIA version 4, while British and French sites migrated to version 5. This caused overall configuration management problems, at least in part because wire harnesses manufactured using aluminium rather than copper conductors necessitated special design rules including non-standard dimensions and bend radii; these were not easily transferred between versions of

9130-490: The huge cross-section touted the possibility of duty-free shops, restaurant-like dining, gyms, casinos and beauty parlours on board, the realities of airline economics have kept such dreams grounded. On 19 December 2000, the supervisory board of newly restructured Airbus voted to launch a €9.5 billion ($ 10.7 billion) project to build the A3XX, re-designated as A380, with 50 firm orders from six launch customers. The A380 designation

9240-456: The launch of the A380. Boeing's 2001 patent detailed the breadth of delta wing-canard concepts studied, which included a supersonic variant with four engines capable of cruising at Mach 1.5 to 3.0, various tail, engine location, and inlet and outlet configurations, smaller supersonic and subsonic business jets, and what Boeing called a "modular" system, where the cruise speed could be changed from supersonic to near-sonic by an interchangeable nose;

9350-492: The market outlook, Airbus refined its design, targeting a 15–20% reduction in operating costs over the existing Boeing 747-400. The A3XX design converged on a double-decker layout that provided more passenger volume than a traditional single-deck design. Airbus did so in line with traditional hub-and-spoke theory, as opposed to the point-to-point theory with the Boeing 777 , after conducting an extensive market analysis with over 200 focus groups . Although early marketing of

9460-484: The net heat of combustion gives the theoretical amount of mechanical energy (work) that can be obtained from the reaction. (This is given by the change in Gibbs free energy , and is around 45.7 MJ/kg for gasoline.) The actual amount of mechanical work obtained from fuel (the inverse of the specific fuel consumption ) depends on the engine. A figure of 17.6 MJ/kg is possible with a gasoline engine, and 19.1 MJ/kg for

9570-581: The noise of the Boeing 747-200 while carrying 160 more passengers. In 2012, the A380 received an award from the Noise Abatement Society . Fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency (or fuel economy ) is a form of thermal efficiency , meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier ( fuel ) into kinetic energy or work . Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, which in turn may vary per application, and this spectrum of variance

9680-460: The passenger version, and all orders for freighters were cancelled. Other proposed variants included an A380-900 stretch – seating about 656 passengers (or up to 960 passengers in an all-economy configuration) – and an extended-range version with the same passenger capacity as the A380-800. The A380 is offered with the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 (A380-841/-842) or

9790-485: The production rate from eight per year in 2019 to six per year. On 15 May 2018, in its EU appeal ruling , a WTO ruling concluded that the A380 received improper subsidies through $ 9 billion of launch aids, but Airbus acknowledged that the threat posed to Boeing by the A380 is so marginal with 330 orders since its 2000 launch that any U.S. sanctions should be minimal, as previous rulings showed Boeing's exposure could be as little as $ 377 million. In 2018, unit cost

9900-464: The programme in 2000, the governments of France , Germany and the UK loaned Airbus 3.5 billion euros and refundable advances reached 5.9 billion euros ($ 7.3 billion). In February 2018, after an Emirates order secured production of the unprofitable programme for ten years, Airbus revised its deal with the three loan-giving governments to save $ 1.4 billion (17%) and restructured terms to lower

10010-540: The programme to continue for 20 to 30 years. In its 2017 half-year report, Airbus adjusted 2019 deliveries to eight aircraft. In November 2017, its chief executive Tom Enders was confident Airbus would still produce A380s in 2027 with more sales to come, and further develop it to keep it competitive beyond 2030. Airbus was profitable at a rate of 15 per year and is trying to drive breakeven down further but will take losses at eight per year. An order from Emirates for 36 A380s would have ensured production beyond 2020, but

10120-403: The prospective operators prioritized improved aircraft speed in a meeting with Boeing held in October 2002. The Sonic Cruiser project was finally abandoned by December 2002 in favor of the slower but more fuel-efficient Project Yellowstone/7E7 (later renamed Boeing 787 Dreamliner ). Much of the research from the Sonic Cruiser was applied to the 787, including carbon fiber reinforced plastic for

10230-449: The required 150% level. Airbus announced modifications adding 30 kg (66 lb) to the wing to provide the required strength. On 26 March 2006, the A380 underwent evacuation certification in Hamburg . With 8 of the 16 exits randomly blocked, 853 mixed passengers and 20 crew exited the darkened aircraft in 78 seconds, less than the 90 seconds required for certification. Three days later,

10340-451: The sale of each aircraft to cover the estimated $ 25 billion development cost of the programme. However, the $ 445 million price tag of each aircraft was not sufficient to even cover the production cost. With orders decreasing, the decision was made to cease production. Enders stated on 14 February 2019, "If you have a product that nobody wants anymore, or you can sell only below production cost, you have to stop it." One reason that

10450-426: The same batch of fuel. One is the high (or gross) heat of combustion and the other is the low (or net) heat of combustion. The high value is obtained when, after the combustion, the water in the exhaust is in liquid form. For the low value, the exhaust has all the water in vapor form (steam). Since water vapor gives up heat energy when it changes from vapor to liquid, the liquid water value is larger since it includes

10560-421: The same performance as the original configuration. In the end, most airlines favored lower operating costs over a marginal increase in speed, and the project did not attract the interest for which Boeing had been hoping. In some cases, the increased speed would lead to operational complications; aircraft could arrive at airports prior to the end of the morning curfew. Demand for air travel fell dramatically after

10670-474: The software. File conversion tools were initially developed by Airbus to help solve this problem; however, the digital mock-up was still unable to read the full technical design data. Furthermore, organisational culture was also cited as a cause of the production delays. The communication and reporting culture at the time frowned upon delivery of bad news, meaning Airbus was unable to take early actions to mitigate technical and production issues. Airbus announced

10780-629: The surface movement of large A380 structural components, a complex route known as the Itinéraire à Grand Gabarit was developed. This involved the construction of a fleet of roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ships and barges, the construction of port facilities and the development of new and modified roads to accommodate oversized road convoys. The front and rear fuselage sections are shipped on one of three RORO ships from Hamburg in northern Germany to Saint-Nazaire in France. The ship travels via Mostyn , Wales , where

10890-408: The tailpipe (exhaust pipe). Potentially the atmospheric pollution could be minimal, provided the hydrogen is made by electrolysis using electricity from non-polluting sources such as solar, wind or hydroelectricity or nuclear. Commercial hydrogen production uses fossil fuels and produces more carbon dioxide than hydrogen. Because there are pollutants involved in the manufacture and destruction of

11000-450: The time. The A3XX was pitted against the VLCT study and Boeing's own New Large Aircraft successor to the 747. In July 1995, the joint study with Boeing was abandoned, as Boeing's interest had declined due to analysis that such a product was unlikely to cover the projected $ 15 billion development cost. Despite the fact that only two airlines had expressed public interest in purchasing such

11110-435: The top of a flame, such as in a candle, making the flame yellow. In microgravity or zero gravity , such as an environment in outer space , convection no longer occurs, and the flame becomes spherical , with a tendency to become more blue and more efficient. There are several possible explanations for this difference, of which the most likely one given is the hypothesis that the temperature is evenly distributed enough that soot

11220-568: The transatlantic testing, and then it went to El Dorado International Airport to test the engine operation in high-altitude airports. It arrived in North America on 6 February 2006, landing in Iqaluit , Nunavut, in Canada for cold-weather testing. On 14 February 2006, during the destructive wing strength certification test on MSN5000 , the test wing of the A380 failed at 145% of the limit load, short of

11330-619: The wings are loaded. The wings are manufactured at Broughton in North Wales, then transported by barge to Mostyn docks for ship transport. In Saint-Nazaire, the ship exchanges the fuselage sections from Hamburg for larger, assembled sections, some of which include the nose. This ship unloads in Bordeaux . It then goes to pick up the belly and tail sections from Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA in Cádiz , Spain, and delivers them to Bordeaux. From there,

11440-457: Was US$ 445.6 million . In February 2019, the German government disclosed that it was conducting talks with Airbus regarding €600 million in outstanding loans. Following the decision to wind down the A380 programme, Europe argues that the subsidies in effect no longer exist and that no sanctions are warranted. Major structural sections of the A380 are built in France, Germany, Spain, and

11550-427: Was a break from previous Airbus families, which had progressed sequentially from A300 to A340. It was chosen because the number 8 resembles the double-deck cross section, and is a lucky number in many East Asian countries where the aircraft was being marketed. The aircraft configuration was finalised in early 2001, and manufacturing of the first A380 wing-box component started on 23 January 2002. The development cost of

11660-459: Was announced at the 1990 Farnborough Airshow , with the stated goal of 15% lower operating costs than the Boeing 747-400. Airbus organised four teams of designers, one from each of its partners ( Aérospatiale , British Aerospace , Deutsche Aerospace AG , CASA ) to propose new technologies for its future aircraft designs. The designs were presented in 1992 and the most competitive designs were used. In January 1993, Boeing and several companies in

11770-448: Was born from one of numerous outline research and development projects that began in the 1990s at Boeing with the goal to look at potential designs for a possible new near-sonic or supersonic airliner. The Sonic Cruiser was publicly unveiled on March 29, 2001, shortly after the launch of the A380 by rival Airbus . Boeing had recently withdrawn its proposed 747X derivative from competition with

11880-597: Was confident the A380 would gain additional orders from existing or new operators, and saw opportunities in Asia and particularly in China where it is "under-represented". In 2019, Lufthansa had retired 6 of its 14 A380s due to their unprofitability. Later that year, Qatar Airways announced a switch from the A380 to the Boeing 777X starting from 2024. In February 2019, Airbus announced it would end A380 production by 2021, after its main customer, Emirates, agreed to drop an order for 39 of

11990-435: Was sufficient, as the air pressure pushed the door into the frame. At the July 2016 Farnborough Airshow , Airbus announced that in a "prudent, proactive step", starting in 2018, it expected to deliver 12 A380 aircraft per year, down from 27 deliveries in 2015. The firm also warned production might slip back into red ink (be unprofitable) on each aircraft produced at that time, though it anticipated production would remain in

12100-646: Was unveiled in Toulouse on 18 January 2005, with its first flight on 27 April 2005. It then obtained its type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 12 December 2006. Due to difficulties with the electrical wiring , the initial production was delayed by two years and the development costs almost doubled. It was first delivered to Singapore Airlines on 15 October 2007 and entered service on 25 October. Production peaked at 30 per year in both 2012 and 2014, with production of

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