Airbus A380: books - history and models

Airbus A380 (Flight Craft)

On 27 April 2005, an aircraft lifted away from the runway of Toulouse-Blagnac Airport under the power of six massive Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofan engines. It carried a six-man crew, it was making its first flight, and it was making history. For this was the Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft in the world.

With air traffic continuing to double every 15 years, the A380 was designed to meet the needs of the passengers and airports, while also delivering the level of efficiency necessary to protect the environment for future generations. The design incorporated two full-length decks with wide-body dimensions, meaning its two passenger levels offered an entire deck's worth of additional space compared to the next largest twin-engine jetliner.

By mid-2019, fifteen airlines were operating 238 aircraft throughout the world, the original customer being Singapore Airlines, which launched its first A380 service in October 2007. Production of the A380 peaked at 30 aircraft per year in 2012 and 2014.
Then, in February 2019, the biggest customer, Emirates, announced that it was to reduce its latest order by 39 aircraft in favour of two other Airbus Models, the A350 and A330neo, a version using the same engines as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. For Airbus, it was the last act.
The Company announced that production of the A380 would cease by 2021.

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Flying the Airbus A380

Since its first flight on 27 April 2005, the Airbus A380 has been the largest passenger airliner in the world. Instantly recognizable with its full-length upper deck, it represents the pinnacle of modern airliner design.
"Flying the A380" gives a pilot's eye view of what it is like to fly this mighty machine. It takes the reader on a trip from London to Dubai as the flight crew see it, from pre-flight planning, through all the phases of the flight to shut-down at the parking stand many thousands of miles from the departure point.

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Airbus A380, de 2005 à nos jours

Today, an A380 takes off or lands every two minutes, a real feat for this aircraft launched only ten years ago. The Airbus A380 is the largest airliner in the world: everything about it is out of proportion, from the number of passengers to its wingspan, including the vast production sites and the logistics deployed.
It is also a prodigy of inventiveness and technology and many compare it to the Concorde of the 1960s for its innovative aspects.

Robert Wicks describes in detail the history of the A380, its technical characteristics, its manufacturing processes, its engines, its cockpit, its extraordinary passenger cabin, etc. He also relates the challenges that airports had to overcome to accommodate this giant and takes us on a rotation at Heathrow.

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A380 - Le défi (2e édition)

At the cost of a considerable effort, which is both a feat and a gamble, Airbus has built the largest aircraft in the history of commercial aviation, the A380. A real ocean liner capable of carrying between 550 and 800 passengers and of covering nearly 15 000 km in a single stroke of its wings. It would have made Jules Verne dream.

This aircraft is an important asset for Airbus in its fight against Boeing. Because the American manufacturer has long held its own against all its competitors with the B747, the famous double-deck jumbo jet, the only one of its kind in the long-haul wide-body segment for over 30 years.

At the height of a crisis that its new leaders have barely mastered, the young European company is therefore committing its future to this program, one of the most prestigious in the history of civil aeronautics along with the Concorde. One of the riskiest too, given the bets involved.

Update addendum included.

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Airbus A380 - Der letzte Riese

The Airbus A380, a double-deck aircraft, is the largest passenger plane ever built. Designed to compete with the Boeing 747, the four-engine giant made its first flight in 2005, impressing passengers and airlines with its performance.
However, as the market quickly evolved, the A380 proved too large and costly to operate efficiently. The COVID-19 pandemic further impacted its viability, leading Airbus to cease production in 2021. The same fate befell the Boeing 747. The era of the legendary four-engine aircraft in passenger service is coming to an end.
This revised edition includes additional details on the A380's grounding and its return to service after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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