How And Why The Airbus A380 Works For Emirates

The A380 represents a milestone of achievement in aviation. However, it has not been the commercial success that Airbus expected, with production coming to an end and several airlines retiring their fleets early. Emirates, however, is a different story. Operating almost half of all A380s built, the airline has made the plane work where others have struggled. How does Emirates use the A380, and why does it work for them?
With thanks to our video sources: bit.ly/3nLXVIp
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[@johnentwhistlesurelysamsun1840]

Its almost like the 380 was designed and built specifically for Emirates!

[@JeanClaudeCOCO]

They bought more then any other airline. That has a lot of sway in production and continuation of production. Being that Dubai is 3-6 hours away from huge populations centers has help Emirates a lot. They can load countless people, offload them in Dubai with government approval past midnight (and transit visa waiver) which most countries wouldn’t allow, and then take them to their final destinations pushing another 8-19 hrs. Most other carriers aren’t geographically positioned like that so they stick with true and tried methods like Transatlantic routes which serves business passengers, holiday travelers on said routes, and joining alliances to freeze out competitions from the likes of Emirates (who’s not part of an Airline Alliance). Emirates also gets tones of government subsidies to help them maintain a premium product while other airlines do so mainly to maximize shareholder profits, and cut costs where necessary and they also take government subsidies as well.

[@gooner72]

It seems like it, yes, but Airbus actually had the Far East in mind really, even using an "8" in her name as it's a lucky number in China and other oriental Countries.

[@keithkyli]

The anticipated rise in air travel did actually happen in East Asia, but it manifested as more airports, more low-cost carriers and more point-to-point routes, all in the favour of A320/A330 instead of the giant A380.

[@samypons3185]

yes lol

[@cwg73160]

@@gooner72 “oriental” FYI- it’s 2022

[@TheLifetraveler1]

I am happy that I got the opportunity to finally fly on an Airbus A380 with Korean airlines. It was basically the most gorgeous flight I ever experienced.

[@pierreernoult]

Flyers love being on a A380 as it is a flying palace even in economy class.

[@jonahsgang8830]

Yes it is it’s is quiet quieter then the Dreamliner it deserves the place of the best aircraft to date

[@efone3553]

My brother told me that the a380 economy class was the quietest and most comfortable economy flight he had ever experienced. He strongly advised me to take that aircraft on my flight to paris next February but so far havent been able to find one on the route i need. Im very disappointed.

[@Henriette187]

I can confirm that. I flew with the 747, 737, 777, A320, A320Neo, A330, A340, and the A380. The A380 was the most stable, quietest and comfortable plane I have ever been to. It’s just something else. I hope that you can fly with it before it isn’t available anymore!

[@pratyakshyt]

@@Henriette187I agree I flew from Houston to Dubai 15 hrs and it was amazing how quite it was

[@akashkuber9087]

This is clever and actually works for many Indian expats. I have been on a flight from London to India and realised that this acts like a feeder flight for 8 more flights leaving Dubai to 8 different destinations in India. the layover is cleverly planned and the bigger A380's ferry people from all the major global hubs and then send them off on smaller planes to their final destinations.

[@btnbiker]

I fly UK to New Zealand regularly and the 380 is the best for this especially with Emirates. Having the whole top deck for premium and with the bar and the lounge it takes the sting out of that long trip

[@nanemoon9968]

With BA you can fly Economy in upper deck if you book early enough. Which is just what I did. :-)

[@LordSandwichII]

It seems that the A380 is a plane that is hated by airlines, but loved by passengers. Emirates seems to know how to take advantage of that.

[@gooner72]

Emirates have done what no other airline has been able to do, make the super jumbo A380 work on an enormous scale. Clever Tim Clarke..... It's success is also partly down to the size and geographical location of Dubai airport itself. It's in a perfect place for the A380 to flourish. Basically, it was designed and built to take lots of huge wide body aircraft and it does that perfectly.

[@yapadqoi]

There is one key element to this success that both the video and your comment have missed: Unlimited government financial support.

[@mobueh]

@@yapadqoi if that was all that it took, then etihad, Qatar and Singapore wouldn’t have retired their a380s early

[@yapadqoi]

@@mobueh That’s not what I said, but I guess you had an urgent need to comment 😀

[@yapadqoi]

@@mobueh « one key element » doesn’t mean « all what it took ». And « unlimited government financial support » is not available everywhere. We are talking about Dubai, not Abu Dhabi, Singapore or Qatar.

[@mobueh]

@@yapadqoi that’s true, but Emirates don’t only rely on endless cash supplies, unlike etihad xD

[@Angry.General1461]

Great for Emirates that they are keeping the A380 alive! They are the biggest carrier for the A380!

[@799ramon]

I love Emirates A380 business class service. I will always select an A380 business flight over the Atlantic.

[@kanishkasandeep880]

We got another chance to fly on this amazing aircraft thanks to the Emirates.

[@David-hg7uq]

Great to see Cape Town International at 2:36

[@danb2234]

The a380 is a great example of how fast markets can change and especially the airline business with the rise of ETOPS and point to point travel

[@johniii8147]

Actually it’s a great example of not reading the market correctly. ETOPS well predated the 380

[@luca7069]

Except that point to point travel with wide-bodies is a hoax. It's biggest rappresentative, Norwegian, has never turned a profit and collapsed miserably.

[@danb2234]

@@luca7069 I never said that point to point was profitable with widebodies

[@internetperson9813]

@@danb2234 True, most airlines are looking towards aircraft such as the A321XLR

[@paxundpeace9970]

Point to point travel isn't even that much of an problem for the A380 because it operates many routes that are to long for efficent point to point.

[@karlc848]

Traveled on this marvel a fair few times now, First, Business and Economy. An absolute pleasure in all classes

[@michaelkenny4124]

It's sad that the A380 wasn't more of a success. It's such a beautiful, well engineered plane.

[@dahorn100011]

It came to the market too late. As stated in the video point to point operations mean more smaller planes at smaller airports. So the A380 only works on high demand trunk routes like the London to Dubai, or London to New York routes. Efficiency is the game now

[@truthful3777]

I just saw SAM Chui video on how Emirates have facilities to maintained their A380s. They striped it down during C check and check for any defects for repair. Reassembly with new wall paper and paint job. Even their upholstery was stripped and reupholstered. It is like a completely new plane after the C check. They invested a lot on this facility, the maintenance crew and the tools required. I can see the A380 going to fly for some time in Emirates. As for fuel troubles, Emirates have no trouble as they have a lot of oil under their feet...

[@manun7448]

I think there are 3 possible outcomes for all non-emirates A380s: 1) Scrapping them (would be very sad) 2) Passenger to Freighter Conversion 3) Somebody else is going to build a huge A380 Fleet. Either an Airline that never had it before, or another airline extends their fleet.

[@luigiweegee7152]

Passenger to freighter version will never come since the a380 won’t be able to carry a full load of cargo.

[@luigiweegee7152]

@@69ingchipmunks68 nah it won’t, there isn’t an a380 freighter and also it wouldn’t be able to carry full load.

[@aviationlba747]

2 and 3 are never gonna happen.

[@kingeon197]

40 sec after I finished my assignment and this gets uploaded. Nice video as always!

[@harrisonschutz6893]

Gotta love that!

[@stephanguitar9778]

Lets hope it continues. As someone who has to travel from London to Australia at least once a year the A380 is the only thing worth flying on. Will chose Singapore air A380 as a preference as it does the 13 hour night flight in one go before often being switched to a 777 for the shorter hop to Australia. None of the new 777 or 787 configurations are fit to fly a night flight on. A350 is a bit better.

[@drjesubalan639]

Jumbo experience is mind blowing. One of the most stable flying experience ever had in air.

[@devariemckoy5176]

EMIRATES have a big fleet of A380 while other airline have a small fleet.

[@johniii8147]

And it’s costing them now

[@Joa_sss]

Wow nobody knew That yet...

[@jonahsgang8830]

Well never

[@janvandenbosch3821]

As a frequent flyer it is a pity that the A380's production has been stopped. Quiet, comfortable and luxurious but that is from a customer's point of view and most of the airlines do not care abt customers...... A perfect example is the US & UK where comfort and luxury aircraft combined with decent food and service have totally disappeared.

[@roshanantony64]

If you have 10 A380s, you have a problem But if you have 100 A380s, you're fine😄

[@user-daddyuwu]

Emirates is one of my favourite airlines, but they needa keep their fleet straight forward.

[@francishallare204]

A380 would probably be the reason why many choose to fly emirates on long haul routes.

[@jmonsted]

Video idea: What will the early death of the A380 project do to parts availability for the few operators who remain?

[@grigandy]

I don't think that would be a problems, usually manufacturers are required to provide parts for as period of time after the production has ceased. This was also the case for the Concorde, Airbus provided support for 20 years even if there were only 15 planes in service.

[@arleneracho5382]

A380 Used To Fly in Manila But Never Operate passenger Service due to Limitations Too Bad I Like The A380 Due To Size and Power of 4 engines Even I never got To ride It Still Look Powerful In Picture

[@jonahsgang8830]

I’ll miss the new queen of the skies even though it is young change has to change and even though we may not like it (as I do not like it going away) i will miss this aircraft greatly it is by far one of the best aircraft in the world it is quiet sleek and has an amazing look it makes the 747 tiny .☹️😢♥️

[@larrydugan1441]

Sleek? It is an engineering achievement but is bone ugly.

[@Marta-ri8xz]

I hope I will be able to fly onboard A380 before it's gone

[@tdestroyer1882]

Do you think you could do a video on why emirates did not choose the Boeing 747?

[@derekearles9844]

Been on both emirates and qatar A380,s last june with qatar and with emirates in nov /dec 2 flights outbond man to bkk and 2 flights inbound bkk to man its a wonderful aircraft

[@bartmudde2619]

It's not about planes, it's about airports. Many airports will face restrictions in number of flights in the future, due to tougher noise and environmental issues. Then it wil become feasible to have larger seating capacity per flight. Re-engine may also become more common practice, to extend lifetime of the expensive jets.

[@mrcannotfindaname]

Singapore airlines has plans to continue their A380 fleet, albeit for how long remains to be seen. Generally SIA would prefer a Yong fleet with average fleet age about 7-10 years old, but A380 may become an anomaly.

[@robyyuan1999]

These big planes like to hub, and spoke about it. although some has left, the remaining ones still do this, just in a quieter manner.

[@Maximus-ch4ir]

Lmao

[@congresswallah]

That was before the March 10th 2020,before the pandemic. Its a very very different story now.

[@CinemaDemocratica]

There's one simple reason why the A380 works for Emerites, and it's geography. The enormous inefficiencies of a hub-and-spoke route structure don't apply if your entire customer base would need to fly straight over your hub airport anyway.

[@aviationphu9603]

Why am I watching this at 4AM I have classes at 8AM 😂

[@defencover7697]

LOL

[@zaksacc]

Where do you live haha

[@arzxyaan8384]

Bruhh seriouly me tooo rn its 4 n i also have clsses at 8

[@CausticLemons7]

Because it's dope, and your life is dope.

[@sharjeelkhan7437]

A380 is absolutely amazing so as emirates

[@vanzylluke]

2:35. My Home airport. LOL. Cape Town. Nice to see it!!!!

[@azizbature8893]

Another great video from you .Thank you lad🤝🔥

[@johniii8147]

It’s not really working for them anymore. Even pre-pandemic they were going to go smaller. They are just stuck with it now until the leases expire.

[@palmaken]

I hope it stays in the air for many more years to come. Best airplane EVER.

[@anwerabdallah569]

نتمنى لطيران الامارات التوفيق و النجاح طيران عربي محترم نفتخر فيها كعرب. و كمان طيران الاتحاد نتمنى لهم كل التوفيق و النجاح.

[@airzulu2733]

Good to see the Emirates 380 arr at Heathrow tonight .

[@crewman101]

The A380 does not work for Emirates as their hub and spoke model needs to change if they are going to make it long term. You correctly stated the smaller planes are replacing the A380.

[@linesided]

Not true. Dubai will always be a transit point. There is simply not the demand to and from that city to justify P2P services. Having said that the smaller aircraft are needed in order to reach airports that can't handle F class aircraft.

[@emirateslover2911]

EMIRATES is the best airline on this planet and having the a 380 is the best thing ever done by EMIRATESXXX.

[@izhanshafiq324]

Man I hate the fact that they changed my A380 flight from Riyadh to Toronto to a Boeing 777-300ER. I'm leaving on 15th of May and I just found that out today they changed it to 777. A380 was the reason I went with Emirates, Turkish Airlines was much cheaper.

[@stephanguitar9778]

That happened to me with Qatar airlines a few years ago. Went from an A380 to an A320 on the final leg.

[@izhanshafiq324]

@@stephanguitar9778 man, that's such a huge downgrade. I hope at least it was A320 Neo and not Ceo

[@vishalgiraddi5357]

@@stephanguitar9778 i don't understand why qatar does such shady shit They're notorious for last minute equipment change

[@peeticek1624]

Best plane ever!

[@antr7493]

Do we really know if it works for Emirates? We don't know how much they paid for each aircraft or how much they made off their flights. Plus all the maintenance costs.

[@lmlmd2714]

It does work for them, but their situation is unique. * Ability to place massive orders thanks to govt ownership. Big orders mean big discounts. When you're buying half the entire production run, AND are a prestige carrier, those discounts will be huge. * Fuel burn isn't a big problem for EK - fuels of all kinds are extremely cheap in the UAE. * laser focus on premium traffic, in a region where there is a disproportionate amount of premium traffic domestically, and on ultra-long routes (i.e. kangaroo route) where few, if any, non-stop flights are available. * Homogenous, long-haul, widebody only fleet.

[@wadehiggins1114]

Your voice is so soothing

[@shipmanasmilos]

CEO Tim Clark is right because each A 380 makes running costs for an other A 380 or an B777 team work and one plane makes money for both the other planes and the company how can you achieve this move by having only 10 A380

[@Jeffco0001]

Until you try Emirates. I am glad the spoke and hub has kept the A380 flying. Possibly the best aircraft in the world. Emirate has my vote.

[@debbiekest7845]

I think Lufthansa should keep the a380 demand will come back very very strong by the end 2021 2022 BH

[@johniii8147]

Nope you don’t know what you’re talking about they already announced it’s not coming back

[@InTeCredo]

@@johniii8147 Lufthansa has been talking about retiring A380 as part of "restructing", but Lufthansa hasn't officially announced the A380 retirement. I think Lufthansa might revisit this in 2022 and decide.

[@johniii8147]

@@InTeCredo No they won’t. The CEO himself and the investor conference said himself it won’t be coming back it’s just a financial matter of how they’re going to dispose of them that’s the only part they haven’t figured out

[@internetperson9813]

I mean Lufthansa already has a sizable 747 fleet, one of the largest in the world now that many other airlines are retiring their 747s. They probably don't need the A380.

[@savagecub]

I can’t believe you’re even thinking that they’re geniuses or something ! More likely to do with one brother being head of their version of the FAA, a cousin in charge of all airports, another cousin has the jet fuel conglomerate etc etc etc…………If Tim Clarke were in fact that clever why didn’t some North American airline hire him away to fix their problems ? And it’s not because they couldn’t afford him - see what some of the North American carriers CEOs have been paid during good years, to include stock options. As a matter of fact I would love to see how long Timmy would last at the reins of Delta (worlds largest airline).

[@michaeltorpy3366]

A 380 best airliner ever built been on it to dubai Bangkok route and Bangkok Hong-Kong many time it will be missed keep it going Emirates as long as you ca

[@kingofskies4138]

I bet that within 2025 Airbus will start a380 production with improved version of a380 cause Emirates will place order if they started cause a380 is Emirates successful fleet

[@brentflora8965]

😎 YES it works for emerates but only for emerates! I'm wondering if we will sort of retract to under 300 passenger Air liners! AB & Boeing dukeing it out over single isle, long haul aircrafts. Big IF!!

[@jmagx]

Dare I say queen of the skies? Love the A380 to bits and its sad that it has reached the end of the road, but I hope that Emirates can her flying despite of the onslaught by the twin engines.

[@BenianausKI]

I think the A380 still has future for emirates, but for other airlines they might switch it with twin-engines

[@noaerrr]

And British airways will use it for prestige

[@roshanantony64]

@@noaerrr they'll retire it soon, i bet

[@noaerrr]

@@roshanantony64 within 10 years

[@madzen112]

Please keep them in service a bit longer, haven't flown with one yet!

[@il3077]

I love these videos 😂

[@jacob-xz4lr]

the day emirates retires the a380 is the day that it’s over for the aircraft

[@B51217]

Awesome and Nice video

[@FireChicken747]

What do they do with retired airplanes, recycle them?

[@dasautopilot7097]

At this point could someone just compile a list of the airlines actually keeping them.

[@Meechooilka]

airlines change their plans as often as do covid regulations. There is no point in making any sort of list, as it will immediately be outdated.

[@scottfeatherstone7156]

Yes, Emerates.

[@radagasdas]

Hope to travel soon

[@josecorreia8280]

Qantas Plans To Reactivate Its Entire Airbus A380 Fleet

[@zenokada2278]

With the longer ranges And more efficient planes coming now, I’m not sure the future for emirates looks good

[@robshipway2269]

I could be wrong, but I think that the A380's that have been built still have a place in the Air market, even if it is operating Hub to Hub. I think that the ground floor of the A380, should be converted to be cargo, so that you can have combined cargo and passenger flights, which would be better for the environment rather than sending two separate planes between two hub places.

[@InTeCredo]

The problem is the floors of A380 airframe aren't strengthened for the cargo pallets. That's why UPS rejected the freighter version of A380.

[@robshipway2269]

@@InTeCredo I am pretty sure that the same was said about converting passenger 767's, 747's and A340's into cargo planes. But there was companies out there able to replace the floors with strengthened floors to be able to take pallets. But also remember, that not all cargo needs to be in a pallet to travel on a plane.

[@a-12dhanwinmehta40]

Many travellers prefer to fly the A380 as it offers more space,so Emirates can and will greatly capitalize on this opportunity. They have a really nice business model for sure 👌👍😊👌👍

[@leMiG31]

Imagine a380 neo

[@FlyingExplorer2022]

A380 trumps my most flown aircraft by passenger distance at 117,263 km. At number 2 is the 737 at 38,183 km

[@mj242jr2]

Everyone has been asking for a touble decker aircraft why do people hate the a380

[@Aphmau_Animations]

i think the airbus a380 was just inveted at the wrong time i love the airbus a380 i would fly it from DIA to saint louis if emirates flys there or southwest buys it

[@ananthfx]

I have travelled twice in a A380. Both were with Emirates. It's a engineering marvel. But what I understand is these plans are more responsible for CO2 emission. Maintenance cost is really high compared other planes. I think it will fade away in future. Airbus should come up with a better offering which will be fuel efficient and with less maintenance costs.

[@pocketdynamo5787]

They have, actually twice. One is called A350, the other one A321XLR. Alongside the B787 (and potentially a new NMA from Boeing), this is gonna be the future of long haul aviation in the next one or two decades.

[@AyAy008]

Still less carbon emission per person than the private jets of the liberal politicians and celebrities who tell others to reduce carbon emission.

[@nazmaster1]

They gave up because of the pandemic effect but soon thing will go back to normal so hopefully we see them back

[@pakhilnair]

Lufthansa is bringing back their decommissioned A380s!

[@henryharman]

If the specs at 0:15 is true an a380 can go Mach 1.1 at 35,000 feet. THATS INSANE

[@abhigyakhandelwal9215]

The biggest problem with the A380 was that by the time it came to market A350 and B777-X were announced and were afr better options for Airlines

[@johniii8147]

Not true at all neither aircraft existed prior to the development and marketing

[@abhigyakhandelwal9215]

@@johniii8147 just after 7 years airbus had a more efficient aircraft so many potential customers must have have shifted to that one plus Airlines always have knowledge about upcoming products

[@KhanhLam777]

no,because of the new demands on 2 engine long haul is raising,even if the A350 or B777X were not the A380 still die

[@johniii8147]

@@abhigyakhandelwal9215 That’s trend started in the 80s it was nothing new by that point airbus did it for its own reason not reading the market

[@TomGD]

The A380 would be in our skies, well with Emirates and ANA, for now in the skies.

[@mastergun57]

A380 all the way

[@JoloNavarro]

Love these A380s

[@christopherbatty3837]

Well...success is relative. Last fiscal year, Emirates losses exceeded TWO BILLION USD. This, at LEAST the third consecutive in-the-red (seriously). ✈ Other negative factors are unique engine @ USD $20 million/unit which have a significantly higher SFC/seat mile. And: convincing an airport authority to spend enormous sums to accommodate a few select slots/day. I recall Singapore spent $USD 100 million on tarmac, hardstanding and handling facilities/docking machinery etc. And for what ?

[@cameronlewis1218]

Um, the loss in 2020 was mostly due to covid, not the A380.

[@christopherbatty3837]

@@cameronlewis1218 a major point, yes - but pls note preceeding 3 yr annuals. 747 requires 85% BOS/occupancy to reach break even point on typical sector. A380 requires 100% with slim margin. Reasons include SLOT & GATE fees/hour - highest in world & fuel burn 20% higher than other Heavies.

[@cosmicloops3471]

A380 The real queen of sky ...

[@nurrizadjatmiko21]

By the end of March 2021, Of the 246 A380s are been delivered, my prediction number is that 22 A380s are dead including all 10 Air France A380 and A6-EDB.

[@salehali5401]

They need to change all of the economy class to premium economy and will succeed 👍

[@jacobjonasson7903]

The 747 is good for cargo. Why isn't the 380 good for it?

[@spongebubatz]

It’s too heavy and the floor height isn’t beneficial, also you could only use the lower deck.

[@lucariccio5138]

Will just end this video saying that probably the A380 will continue to exist thank to ANA and Singapore airlines... they will bring it back quicker as you think

[@larryhou968]

Delta

[@mecharenacharlord3882]

Is this plane loving? Wait thats illegal!

[@NHDICKSON]

Emirate is a state sponsored airline!!

[@a320family6]

Give or sell them to emirates

[@totallysquidy4319]

Wow 5 mins ago!!!

[@johniii8147]

One of the reasons they can make it work is that get free fuel in Dubai. Their government owners pay for it. So on half of a round-trip they are only paying for one leg.

[@mann2520]

Its a miracle Emirates loves the superjumbo

[@WChocoleta]

FYI Guangzhou is pronounced 'Guaang-Joe'. I know it doesn't make sense but it's true😂

[@CausticLemons7]

I hope that by the time the A380 retires they're testing hydrogen planes.

[@kirulappan1477]

I really like a A380 flight my favorite air ways but I am not flying

[@-maddhruv]

Half the video over, I still don't know why A380 works for Emirates! Please improve content format

[@creatureofrabbit2036]

How to make 2:30 of video stretch to 10 minutes.