A380: the countdown is on - Orient Aviation

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MAIN STORY In Toulouse, a giant <strong>is</strong> taking shape <strong>A380</strong>: from dream to reality Singapore Airlines preparing to be launch carrier in Spring, 2006 4 ORIENT AVIATION / <strong>A380</strong> Quarterly Update DECEMBER 2004-FEBRUARY 2005 Airbus chief executive, Noel Forgeard: With only six expressions of interest he was given approval by <strong>the</strong> board in December 2000 for an official <strong>A380</strong> programme launch two months later By Charles Anderson in Toulouse At first glance, Toulouse and Singapore are worlds apart. One, a narrow-streeted medieval city in <strong>the</strong> south of France, <strong>is</strong> steeped in h<strong>is</strong>tory and Gallic culture. The o<strong>the</strong>r, a concrete, high-r<strong>is</strong>e business centre, has year-round high humidity, steaming temperatures and <strong>the</strong> kind of Asian bustle that comes from thinking primarily about today. At present, however, <strong>the</strong>y are firmly linked by one of <strong>the</strong> most ambitious aviation programmes ever undertaken – <strong>the</strong> making in Toulouse of <strong>the</strong> giant Airbus <strong>A380</strong>, <strong>the</strong> largest passenger aircraft to take to <strong>the</strong> skies. And it will do that with Singapore Airlines (SIA) as its launch customer. In France, <strong>the</strong> sense of achievement <strong>is</strong> palpable. Workers in Airbus’s <strong>A380</strong> final assembly complex are putting <strong>the</strong> fin<strong>is</strong>hing touches to <strong>the</strong> test airplanes that are paving <strong>the</strong> way for <strong>the</strong> first test flight, probably in early March. Then <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong> will be a reality instead of an act of faith by an ambitious manufacturer. There <strong>is</strong> tension, too, as <strong>the</strong> teams that designed, constructed and sold <strong>the</strong> 550seater keep <strong>the</strong>ir fingers crossed that all will go as planned: that <strong>the</strong>re will be <strong>the</strong> market to justify <strong>the</strong> US$10.7 billion spent by
Airbus and its r<strong>is</strong>k-sharing partners; that carrying 135 more long-haul passengers than <strong>the</strong> current king of <strong>the</strong> skies, <strong>the</strong> Boeing 747, <strong>is</strong> a viable proposition; that Airbus’s great American rival has made a m<strong>is</strong>take in saying <strong>the</strong> future belongs to its medium-sized, hi-tech 7E7 carrying 250 passengers pointto-point ra<strong>the</strong>r than hub-to-hub; and that a B747 Advanced airliner, yet to be final<strong>is</strong>ed, will not take over from <strong>the</strong> B747-400 as a good fit for <strong>the</strong> jumbo market. The <strong>A380</strong> has been called Asia’s airplane. With justification. SIA takes delivery of <strong>the</strong> first of its 10 in <strong>the</strong> second quarter of 2006, followed quickly by Qantas Airways, which has 12 on order. Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways International make up <strong>the</strong> region’s current customers with a Chinese carrier expected to join <strong>the</strong>m soon. Thirty-nine of Airbus’s 139 orders and commitments come from <strong>the</strong> Asia-Pacific ‘ Weight <strong>is</strong> no longer <strong>the</strong> prime concern as <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong> has reached a level cons<strong>is</strong>tent with performance guarantees’ Charles Champion Executive vice-president of <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong> programme <strong>A380</strong> ORDERS & COMMITMENTS Air France: 10; Emirates Airline: 41, plus 2 <strong>A380</strong>F; Ethiad Airlines: 4; FedEx: 10 <strong>A380</strong>F; ILFC: 5 plus 5 <strong>A380</strong>F; Korean Air: 5; Lufthansa German Airlines: 15; Malaysia Airlines: 6; Qatar Airways: 2; Qantas Airways: 12; Singapore Airlines: 10; Thai Airways International: 6; Virgin Atlantic Airways: 6 <strong>A380</strong> COUNTDOWN January 2005 • Public unveiling First quarter, 2005 • First flight (with Rolls-Royce engines) June 2005 • First public demonstration flight at Par<strong>is</strong> Air Show Followed by • First flight (Engine Alliance engines) • First flight to Hamburg • The start of cabin furn<strong>is</strong>hing • First Singapore Airlines (SIA) aircraft in paint shop and 49 from <strong>the</strong> Middle East. Many of <strong>the</strong> remaining airlines on <strong>the</strong> customer l<strong>is</strong>t plan to use <strong>the</strong>ir new aircraft on routes in and out of <strong>the</strong> region. The <strong>A380</strong> may be built in France, through a company made up of European partners, but without <strong>the</strong> Asia-Pacific’s huge demand for long-haul, big-city destinations, it would not be a viable proposition. Asian airlines have been to <strong>the</strong> fore during 170 focus meetings over eight years that have spelt out what potential customers want. The resulting aircraft, <strong>the</strong> first full double-decker to go on <strong>the</strong> market, has wider seats than its rival and room for lounge areas, bars, duty-free boutiques; any innovation, in fact, that breaks <strong>the</strong> tedium of a long flight, provided its owners do not want to use those areas for extra seating. Space apart, it <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> economics of <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong> that Airbus <strong>is</strong> keen to plug: 15% lower direct operating costs per seat than on <strong>the</strong> B747 – a claim that Boeing strongly d<strong>is</strong>putes – with a plane that has 35% more capacity and an advantage on range, even over <strong>the</strong> B747-400ER. It boasts a number of technical advances, many linked to keeping no<strong>is</strong>e levels down and em<strong>is</strong>sions and fuel burn low. New systems, lightweight materials, advanced Qantas Airways: Will be <strong>the</strong> second airline to put <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong> into service First quarter, 2006 • Type certification • Start of delivery phase for first SIA aircraft Second quarter, 2006 • Entry into service wing and undercarriage design and technology and fuel efficient engines, from ei<strong>the</strong>r Rolls-Royce or <strong>the</strong> Pratt & Whitney- General Electric “Engine Alliance”, were central to its development. All along, <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong> has had to watch its weight, but Airbus now says th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> no longer a prime concern. Airport worries have been met head on and are largely solved. A freight version, <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong>F with a 5,600 nautical mile range, <strong>is</strong> due to go into service in mid-2008. Seventeen of <strong>the</strong>m are currently on order. As far as John Leahy, <strong>the</strong> man tasked with selling <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong>, <strong>is</strong> concerned, its final development could not have happened until Airbus had matured as a company and, after 30 years, was finally on an even footing with Boeing. “It wasn’t until Airbus had built up <strong>the</strong> market position and a full line of interrelated products with <strong>the</strong> fly-by-wire technology – and developed a strong market base – that we had <strong>the</strong> wherewithal and <strong>the</strong> market acceptance to actually challenge <strong>the</strong> king of <strong>the</strong> hill; <strong>the</strong> 747,” said <strong>the</strong> Airbus executive vice-president customer affairs and chief commercial officer. “We thought we would end up sharing <strong>the</strong> market with Boeing. I like to believe that DECEMBER 2004-FEBRUARY 2005 ORIENT AVIATION / <strong>A380</strong> Quarterly Update 5
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