rogerramjet_2003 Report This Comment Date: January 15, 2008 01:40PM
Airbus
A380
The Airbus A380
is a double-deck, four-engine airliner manufactured by the European corporation
Airbus, an EADS subsidiary. The largest passenger airliner in the world, the
A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France,[2] and made
its first commercial flight on 25 October 2007 from Singapore to Sydney with
Singapore Airlines. The aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX during much of its
development phase, but the nickname Superjumbo has since become associated with
it.
The A380's upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage. This
allows for a cabin with 50% more floor space than the next largest airliner, the
Boeing 747-400,[3] and provides seating for 525 people in standard three-class
configuration or up to 853 people in full economy class configuration.[4][5] The
A380 is offered in passenger and freighter versions. The A380-800, the passenger
model, is the largest passenger airliner in the world, superseding the Boeing
747, but has a shorter fuselage than the Airbus A340-600 which is Airbus' next
biggest passenger aeroplane. The A380-800F, the freighter model, is offered as
one of the largest freight aircraft, with a listed payload capacity exceeded
only by the Antonov An-225.[6] The A380-800 has a design range of 15,200
kilometres (8,200 nmi), sufficient to fly from New York to Hong Kong for
example, and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h or 560 mph at cruise
altitude).[4]