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Airbus delivers the 30th A380

The 30th A380 to be delivered was handed over today to Emirates Airline, one of the launch customers of the Airbus double-decker aircraft. This is the tenth A380 Emirates has received out of its total firm order for 58 aircraft.

This aircraft will be on display at the ILA Berlin Air Show which is taking place from June 8th to 13th. Lufthansa will also bring their recently delivered, first A380 to the show and from June 11th an Airbus flight test A380 will be on static and flying display.

Airbus has already delivered seven A380s so far in 2010, three to Emirates Airline, two to Air France, one to Lufthansa and one to Qantas. Airbus is on track to deliver a total of at least 20 A380s in 2010.

Today five major airlines, Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airline, Qantas, Air France and Lufthansa, operate 30 A380s on 20 routes linking 18 major international destinations. Together they have carried nearly five and a half million passengers on 15,000 revenue flights and have clocked up almost 140,000 revenue flight hours. These A380 flights have saved 640,000t of CO2 emissions by replacing journeys that would otherwise have been made with less fuel-efficient large aircraft. The A380 has the lowest fuel burn of any wide body aircraft, needing less than three litres of fuel per passenger per 100km.

The A380 is also a proven profit generator. Delivering an impressive double-digit percentage reduction in cash operating costs, it allows airlines to either increase the number of seats offered at little or no extra cost or keep the same capacity at a much lower total cost. This is one of the reasons why seven of the 17 A380 customers have already placed repeat orders and over half the world’s top international carriers have ordered it.

Airbus has received 202 firm orders for the A380 from 17 customers.

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    FAA Reauthorization Critical to Civil Challenges

    ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Next Generation Air Transportation System is at the nexus of accomplishing two significant goals facing the U.S. civil aviation industry today—expanding our national airspace system and addressing growing environmental and energy concerns, said AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey in testimony today.
    “Our industry has employed the people, developed the technology and manufactured the products that have helped make the U.S. air transportation system the world’s gold standard for more than half a century,” Blakey said at a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation. “But to remain so, we need to bring our system into the 21st Century.”

    One of the challenges to realizing the benefits of NextGen is establishing a sound business case for equipping aircraft with upgraded avionics systems. AIA recommends equipage-funding legislation that encourages private-sector investment capital and government-guaranteed loan arrangements, including outcome-based performance metrics to reduce investment risk. This will allow for innovative ways to incentivize retrofitting of commercial and general aviation aircraft with NextGen compatible equipment.

    “Equipping aircraft is, as I’ve said before, the long pole in the tent,” said Blakey. “It’s an expensive undertaking, but it’s as much a part of the infrastructure as GPS satellites. Quite frankly, without equipage there is no NextGen.”

    Blakey also recommended that the existing environmental review process—the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA process—be streamlined. The certification of thousands of new terminal area procedures are required for full NextGen implementation and including procedure development and certification in the Vision 100 Aviation Streamlining process will simplify that process.

    Other areas addressed by Blakey in her testimony included establishing integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system, commercialization of sustainable fuels and foreign repair station oversight. T

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    Aer Lingus Plane makes Safe Landing in Dublin

    Aer LingusAer Lingus flight EI-583 made a safe landing at Dublin Airport, Dublin, Ireland, on November 20.

    The Airbus A321-200, en-route from Malaga, Spain to Dublin was approaching the runway when the crew detected some problem with its brakes.

    The plane landed safely.

    All passengers aboard remained unhurt.

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    Aeroflot Airbus Rejects Takeoff in Russia due to Bird Ingestion

    AeroflotAeroflot flight SU-1165 had to abort taking off at Rostov-on-Don Airport, Russia, on October 29.

    The Airbus A320-200, en-route to Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia, rejected takeoff at a high speed after one of its engines ingested a bird.

    The plane landed uneventfully.

    No one was injured.

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    Singapore Airlines Emergency Landing

    The Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Singapore Dhaka with 105 passengers and 12 crew aboard diverted to Bangkok when they got an internal flight warning. There were no injuries.

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    The plane made a safe landing in Bangkok. The plane taxied to the gate, and passengers disembarked and were provided hotel accommodations, meals and transferred to another airline.

    An investigation is underway.

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    In George’s Point of View


    It has been well documented that Airbus and Boeing are taking different paths regarding their approach on batteries.

    But still, it is one of my least favorite things to read (especially while I’m halfway to Singapore) that there has been yet another cargo fire at all, regardless of what kind of plane it is on.

    At least I had time to jot down some thoughts.

    I hope that the media shines as bright a light on this airbus cargo fire as it has recently on the Dreamliner battery situation. Sure, the Dreamliner is developing new technology and Boeing is responsible for going the distance to keep new developments safe. The Dreamliner battery issue is new. But the fact that Boeing is developing new technologies and new solutions does not provide Airbus and an established plane like a A330-300 a free ticket when it comes to combustion.

    Hopefully Airbus is paying attention to all problems and not getting too cocky. It should remember and respect that a plane is still an air-filled bubble hundreds of feet in the air. Until people develop their own wings, random combustion situations like cargo fires on an Airbus A330 are just as potentially hazardous situation–if not more so–than any battery incident that actually occurred on the ground.

    Let us please see a fix for this problem.

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    PIA Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Karachi

    Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-898 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Karachi, Pakistan, on December 19th.

    The Airbus A310-300 plane heading from Lahore, Pakistan, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was diverted due to a hydraulic problem.

    The plane landed safely. All 180 people aboard remained unharmed.

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    VietJet Air Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Hong Kong

    VietJet Air flight VJ-885 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on August 30th.

    The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, was diverted due to a cargo smoke indication.

    The plane landed safely. All one hundred and three passengers and seven crew members remained unharmed.

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