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TOULOUSE, France – Nearly two years late, Airbus finally delivered its first A380 superjumbo on Monday, a revolutionary behemoth that includes luxury suites equipped with comfy double beds. Customer Singapore Airlines says the passenger jet, the world's largest, was worth the wait, and the delivery marks a badly needed morale-boosting milestone for Airbus. Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Chew Choon Seng said his airline was inconvenienced by the late delivery, but added, “We are glad that Airbus took the time to make sure that the plane is fully tested and developed before it enters commercial service.” For Airbus, big challenges with...

PARIS - After repeated, embarrassing delays, Airbus will deliver its first A380 superjumbo jet Monday - a critical step for the European planemaker in its efforts to rebound from a string of troubles. The double-decker jet, the world's largest passenger plane, is to take off from the southwestern city of Toulouse, Airbus' headquarters, for delivery to Singapore Airlines following a glitzy ceremony including a sound and light show. President and CEO Thomas Enders called the handover "a major milestone for the A380 program" in a statement released by Airbus on Friday. Airbus has gone though five CEOs as multiple delays...

WINDSOR LOCKS - A test model of the world's largest passenger jet landed Tuesday at Bradley International Airport, the first of three stops this week to prepare the aircraft for U.S. service. The Airbus A380, whose engines are assembled by Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney workers, landed at Bradley around 8:20 a.m. EDT after flying over employees outside Pratt's facilities in East Hartford and Middletown. The 239-foot-long airliner has wings as long as a football field and is powered by four engines. The model seats up to 555 passengers in a three-class configuration, although the plane that landed Tuesday was a...

Air India Starts Talks With Boeing, Airbus; Eyes A380-Sources September 21, 2007: 01:52 AM EST NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- State-owned Air India has begun talks with Boeing Co. (BA) and Airbus to buy new planes including the A380 superjumbo, people familiar with the development said Friday. In July, Air India said it plans to buy about 60 new passenger jetliners over the next few years and aims to start the selection and purchase process by mid- August. "The airline is in touch with both Boeing and Airbus on the types of aircraft available and what will be required in the...

DUBAI: Dubai-based Emirates Airlines plans to double its order of 55 Airbus A380 superjumbos when airport capacity in the emirate allows, president Tim Clark said yesterday. “I want double the number. We’ve got to move at the pace construction allows us to grow the business,” he said during the demonstration flight of the newly received Boeing 777 long-haul aircraft. “It’s flat out at the moment.” The Airbus aerospace arm of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co said yesterday it hasn’t received any additional orders related to Emirates Airline’s intention – stated earlier in the day – to double its...

PARIS (AFP) - The billionaire Russian owner of Chelsea football club, Roman Abramovich, has ordered an Airbus A380, the world's biggest airliner, for use as his private jet, a report said Wednesday. French newspaper Le Figaro, which did not cite sources, said Abramovich was the mystery buyer behind an order for an A380 VIP, which was revealed by Airbus at the Paris Air Show in June this year. The doubledecker A380, which enters service later this year, is capable of carrying 840 passengers, measures 73 metres in length (239-feet) and towers over its biggest rival, the Boeing 747. Airbus...

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — An Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger jet, scraped the tip of a wing on a building at Bangkok's international airport Saturday as it was preparing for a demonstration flight, officials of the aircraft company and Thai Airways said. The plane, which had been taxiing with journalists and VIP guests on board, suffered minor damage, delaying its planned flight to the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai by just over three hours, they said. There were no injuries. After more than a one-year delay due to production problems, Airbus is scheduled to deliver its first A380,...

SINGAPORE Airlines is to install a PC running Red Hat Linux operating system in every seat on its newest A380 superjumbo. According to Network World, the system consists of a central Linux server that connects to a network of PCs installed under every seat on the aircraft.

LE BOURGET, France, June 19, 2007 (AFP) - Attention hip hop stars and billionaires: the world's biggest airliner, the 73-metre-long (239-feet) Airbus A380 superjumbo, has been ordered by a mysterious buyer for use as a private jet. The order sets new heights in the private plane sector, leaving the Learjet, which used to be the ultimate symbol of ostentatious air travel, in second class. The doubledecker A380, which enters service later this year, is capable of carrying 840 passengers, has 900 square metres (10,000 square feet) of cabin space and towers over its biggest rival, the Boeing 747. Airbus sales...

Emirates airline has unveiled a whopping 644-passenger seat plan for some of the 47 double-decker Airbus A380s it is set to receive from next year. The Dubai-based airline, which is the largest customer of the Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft, is first in the industry to announce an aircraft configuration of over 550 seats. The 644-passenger carriers will have business and economy classes with no first class, while two other configurations will have 490 and 514 seats in three classes, according to Gulf News. The three separate seating designs will be tailor made to different routes, with the three-class planes...

THE term cattle class is about to take on a whole new meaning. The European aircraft maker Airbus has openly flagged the idea that one day up to 1000 passengers could be squeezed into its A380 super-jumbo. Before the double-decker aircraft's third visit to Sydney yesterday, the chief commercial officer of Airbus, John Leahy, spruiked the benefits of the A380 for budget airlines wanting to slash costs. "I do think low-cost carriers around the world will take a look at it," Mr Leahy said. In the 10 years since the idea of the giant jumbo was conceived, the aircraft appeared...

ROISSY, France -- How will airports accommodate the world's biggest passenger jet? At Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, where the hulking Airbus A380 landed for the first time Friday, preparing for its arrival meant enlarging runways and bridges and building a new boarding lounge -- at a cost of $134 million. Airports in San Francisco, London, Sydney, Singapore and Frankfurt, Germany, are already prepared to receive the 555-seat plane, having also spent millions. Other hubs are following suit, Airbus officials say. The superjumbo, scheduled for delivery to airlines this year, has been plagued by scandals that have caused shares...

New French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has raised the prospect of state aid for Airbus, but said he eventually plans to sell the government's stake. The French state owns 15% of Airbus' parent company EADS. President Sarkozy said that the government would do "its duty" as a shareholder if EADS decided to raise fresh capital. Yet he added that he aims "to put the state's stake on the market", once the company has recovered.

SINGAPORE: It was suggested that flying different type of aircraft was "as easy as changing cars". The revelation of the pay scales for Singapore Airlines’ pilots, said to be among the world’s highest, raised a few eyebrows. Such nuggets of information — offered by SIA management at a court hearing to settle a pay dispute between the airline and its pilots’ union — seem to have ruffled more than a few feathers among the pilots. Following the feedback it received after the court hearing, SIA thought it necessary to send a letter to all 1,800 of the company’s pilots...

The ongoing delays and rising costs of the Airbus A380 have sent profits at Franco-German parent firm EADS plunging again. EADS made a pre-tax profit of €89m (£60.5m) during the first three months of this year, down nearly 90% compared with the first quarter of 2006 when it recorded a profit of €790m. Although its other divisions performed solidly, Airbus posted a loss of €69m for the first quarter, against a profit of €684m last year. It has suffered major problems over the production of the world's largest passenger airline, which has been delayed by two years. ............... They repeated...

House Transportation Ranking Member John Mica (R-Fla.) last week renewed his attacks against the Airbus A380, claiming a new government report proves that the A380 will disrupt operations at U.S. airports -- an interpretation disputed by Airbus. Referring to results of a Government Accountability Office report, Mica asserts that "aviation safety and capacity may be adversely affected by this enormous plane, further taxing an already strained U.S. aviation system." A380 operations will cause "reduced throughput and capacity constraints" at airports, Mica said. The GAO study was requested by Mica. Last year, Mica launched similar criticism of the A380. He cited...

Airbus said Friday it has once again raised the break-even point for the troubled A380. In 2005, Airbus was saying that it would need to sell only 270 of the planes to break even. Last year, that jumped to 420 planes as a result of costly wiring problems that delayed delivery of the A380 by up to two years. Airbus Chief Executive Louis Gallois said Friday at the annual shareholder meeting of parent company European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. that the break-even point for the A380 has been raised, but he did not disclose to new figure. "Clearly...

It was 1969 and the airplane designers having lunch in the conference room of Pan American World Airways were standing by the window overlooking New York's Park Avenue when Charles Lindbergh came over. The famous aviator was a consultant to the airline at the time and he had something to say about the 747 Joe Sutter and his team at Boeing were creating for Pan Am. " 'This is one of the great ones.' " Sutter recounted Lindbergh saying, "I mean the 747, this is an airplane that will go down in history." Thirty-eight years later, as hundreds of...

The latest jetliner to claim the title of world's biggest passenger aircraft completed its maiden voyage to America on Monday, flying on football field-length wings and a prayer that the U.S. airline industry will want to buy the double-decker jumbo jet. The four-engine Airbus A380 touched down at Kennedy International Airport at about 12:10 p.m., to the cheers of onlookers gathered to watch the arrival. As the plane taxied, a pilot waved an American flag. Minutes later, a separate A380 arrivied in Los Angeles, but was devoid of any passengers. The eight-hour flight to New York was a chance for...

Today marks the first time the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet will land at American airports. In fact, two of the jets will grace our runaways: one will be operated by Lufthansa pilots and crew, and will carry a load of passengers, complete with in-flight dining. From Frankfurt to New York JFK. The other will be operated by Qantas, and fly from Sydney to Los Angeles, but minus any passengers or flight attendants. If I were within driving distance of either airport, I would go take a look. For all its problems, this airplane is a magnificent achievement based on size...