How the A380 Almost KILLED Airbus - What Happened?

Airbus A380 - Thanks DeleteMe for sponsoring this video! Protect your online Info Today! JoinDeleteMe.com/TwoBitDavinci
There's little I love more than amazing ambitious engineering. Without it, we'd be stuck with stuff that's 2-3% better over time. But sometimes you have to dream big, and that's what Airbus did with the largest commercial jetliner of ALL TIME, the Airbus A380. In many ways, it was a marvel of engineering, but ultimately it would be a commercial failure. So what happened, and what lessons can we learn? Let's figure this out together!
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Chapters
0:00 - Introduction
1:50 - Development
4:17 - Specs
7:30 - Why it failed
10:00 - Times Change
14:00 - Successes
15:30 - Law Changes
16:00 - Context
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[@maGnetar333]

Flew in the A380 (premium economy) on Emirates from DXB to LHR. Just a wonderful experience! The A380 is truly a sight to behold in person.

[@troublemakershenzhen]

I used to fly the A380 regularly between Asia and Europe. One time I got a free upgrade to business class. Those chairs transform to fully flat beds and they are so damn comfy that by the time I arrived at my destination, I didn't want to leave the plane. 😁

[@blacquejacqueshellaque6373]

Every international flight I have been on, with every make and model plane, does that.

[@juliemanarin4127]

Nice!

[@Skinflaps_Meatslapper]

@@blacquejacqueshellaque6373 Your international flights must not be very diverse, if that's the case.

[@alastorgdl]

@@Skinflaps_Meatslapper WASP minions will say anything to defend their masters

[@vogel2280]

"I used to fly the A380....One time I got a free upgrade" That stuff worries me...If the pilots are getting upgraded to businessclass...who is flying the plane? 🤣

[@brentboswell1294]

One big thing that you didn't mention: the A380 delays happened because of differing versions of Dassault's CATIA software that were in use by different teams. The airframe feam used CATIA 5, whilst the interior fixtures team were still using CATIA 4. When the wiring harnesses for the interior fixtures were test fitted into actual airframe test articles for the first time, it became abundantly clear that the wiring harnesses wouldn't work. The teams had special scripts for the computers that was supposed to bridge the differences, but it turns out that it didn't work. It took two years, lots of training for the interior fixtures design team, and billions of dollars in wasted efforts to fix the problem!

[@JoeHamelin]

Boeing uses CATIA too.

[@mdquaglia]

Billions to fix the design of wiring harnesses seems like a stretch. If engineering hours cost $200 each, 5 million hours (2,500 engineers full time for a year) would need to be spent to reach a billion. Given that a whole A380 costs $170 million, the wiring harnesses can't be more than $10 million per plane. Are you saying that fixing the wiring harnesses took 2,500 engineers working for a year PLUS scrapping 100 planes worth of harnesses?

[@brentboswell1294]

@@mdquaglia don't forget the fines built into delivery contracts for failure to deliver the product on time! The previous poster is right: UPS and FedEx were prepared to receive their A380 freighters, but both of them ended up cancelling their contracts with Airbus for the A380, due partly to the financial crisis of 2008...had the first aircraft gone to the freight operators, those orders would have likely never been cancelled.

[@mdquaglia]

@@brentboswell1294 - do I believe that the overall costs to the program for the delays that were caused in part by wiring harnesses ran into the billions? Yes. Do I believe it cost billions to fix the wiring harnesses? No.

[@mylesgray3470]

It’s amazing how incomparable different versions of Cata are. I’ve started a design in the wrong version which looks identical to the older version, but the files could not be opened in the earlier version. Had to just delete the files and start over.

[@FutureSystem738]

Well done, as usual. However, as a retired Qantas pilot, I have to correct you on one thing. Yes, Perth to London direct is incredibly successful for Qantas with fabulous high load factor - I’ve done it. However it’s done with the Dreamliner (Boeing 787), not an Airbus.

[@johncorson6599]

Cool .. I was an engine flight test engineer on the 747-8 freighter and passenger, 787-8, 787-9 and 737 MAX .. flew way too much as the hr demands were killing me (no backups available) .. just wished Boeing used more comfortable flight test seats for us grunts in the back lol .. favorite tests were max roll rate to max bank angle though it was one of the few tests that consistently made me nauseous lol .. still was a thrill

[@FutureSystem738]

@@johncorson6599My favourite aeroplane is STILL the dear old queen, the 747-400. What a fabulous machine. (Never flew the 800. Unfortunately Qantas went with the A380. I still honestly believe the 747-8 would have been a much better option.

[@johncorson6599]

@@FutureSystem738 I’m no expert on plane types like a pilot or frequent traveler I did fly on the 747-400 down in Victorville for about a year for the LEAP1A engine (A320) testing by the engine manufacturer .. we went up to Alaska for natural icing tests in June and we found it alright .. got the test data but came back with all of the CF6 engines heavily damaged .. bent fan blades (titanium) and the lining inside the fan inlet all ripped to shreds .. hey but the test engine was perfect lol .. finally had some days off in Anchorage while they repaired everything Even though the flight test seats in back were horrible . I liked the 787-8 and flew so much in that when we started flying the 787-9 I could actually tell the difference in cabin altitude (both are quite low) but it was harder to get off the plane when we landed in lapaz bolivia for high altitude lapse rate takeoff cert tests (13,000 ft altitude airport) .. one pilot ended up in the hospital with fluid in his lungs from hypoxia there for the 737 max .. I flew 1 day with food poisoning there .. oh so much fun NOT .. but it all worked out and we got out of there ok

[@NoName-zn1sb]

@@johncorson6599 lol

[@Rocker-1234]

exactly, think he meant london to sydney which is the one that uses a380s out its ass

[@russneedham5234]

Another aspect that you did not mention is that Boeing reduced the cost of the 747 (the program had long since paid for itself) to offer airlines a reduced cost alternative to the A380.

[@johniii8147]

That’s not really true. Boeing actually sold very few passenger versions of the 800. Almost all of the sales were for cargo.

[@frankpinmtl]

And then BA wrote off $1 billion in losses on the 747-8 when it was all said and done.

[@Paolo-sw8ys]

The B747-8i was/is a far more attractive airplane than the A380… IMO And I think the 747-8i functioned better economically than the A380 but it didn’t matter as the final nail in the coffin for quad jets had already been laid by the time the 8i came out.

[@brianadamson6607]

As a passenger there is no better plane than the airbus A380 . I have flown on These planes many times , the comfort on these is 2nd to none

[@chrisgray118]

agree 100%

[@shadir007]

💯 I flew first class on the a380 twice and it was the absolute best experience I’ve ever had in the sky. You could barely feel take off, landing, or and turbulence at all. And it was so quiet I would whisper to my wife. The showers were nice, and the bar was just next level.

[@brianadamson6607]

@@shadir007 I hope to try that experience one day

[@VergilArcanis]

I have never felt that sort of comfort in flying

[@herehere3139]

I flew in a 2 seater cesna once, IT was the best flying experience, FAR better than anything else could compare.. the shower in it was great, what you would do is look over head and poke some holes in a trash bag filled with rain water it had collected.. the toilet was built into the seat so you could just poop in mid conversation!! Although if you're like me, when You're flying around 20k feet, you have to be careful when peeing because your weiner can hit the tree tops. Yes this comment is crazy lol

[@ozzy8286]

Flown in the A380 4 times. The most comfortable avaition experience ever and so smooth.

[@loicdub5475]

A380 was a passion for me as a kid. I lived not far from Toulouse, and the a380 would actually go threw my town a 1 in the morning on its way to get built in Toulouse. The thing was massive on insanely long trucks. A real pleasure to be able to get up close to it (in bits yes bu still haha) The roads were though to be able to let this thing pass, like low roundabouts, road going around bridge, and even parking spaces designed for it to stay during the day !

[@Snaproll47518]

I once sat through a late-night traffic jam created by A380 subassembly transport outside of Toulouse. No doubt locals in the beautiful French countryside were relieved when the A380 program was cancelled.

[@MM-fq9gi]

An amazing ride for a guy that has been flying near 50 years and a world traveler, I can't say enough about how massive and stable the A380 is, a super comfortable ride for those long haul trips.

[@terrybrown8539]

I've flown economy in a 380 about 4 times on 9 hour leg but for all its fantastic features and quietness I found it a bit claustrophobic even though, on paper, its not. I much prefer the A350 and have very fond memories of the airy interior of the 747. The 747 misses out on the tech a bit because its so much older but it was the right aircraft for the time and a credit to the vision of Boeing management at that time.

[@darthsirrius]

@5:28 I'm sure you meant to say Mach .85, not Mach 8.5 lol. Considering Mach 1 is roughly 700 miles an hour... Especially considering the SR-71 Blackbird couldn't hit Mach 4, and the experimental X-15 was like a tad over Mach 6.

[@arlo4051]

I saw that too, 6300 MPH is pretty good for a passenger plane, it could double as a hypersonic missile .

[@BondiAV]

Maybe that's why some people paid over 100k$ for a seat, because they were told they were going to fly at record breaking speed?

[@johnstirling6597]

Built in redundancy perhaps, designed to melt at high speed.😁😁

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

The X-15 did do Mach 6.72. Of course, that was the last flight of the X-15-A2. The jet was retired immediately after because it was so heat-damaged.

[@bagpussmacfarlan9008]

Only a factor of 10...

[@Pushing_Pixels]

As someone who lives in Australia, just about every direct international flight is a long-haul flight. The A380 is the only aircraft comfortable enough to make direct flights to Europe or North America bearable. I will change my flight plans or pay more to make sure I don't have to sit in a smaller, noisier and more densely packed aircraft for 18+ hours. As someone who also lives under the landing approach of a very busy international airport, I love the A380 for how quiet it is. It makes less noise flying overhead at low altitude than aircraft half its size, with half as many engines. All future aircraft engines should be as quiet as the ones on the A380. I don't know why they changed the 3-engine rule for trans-oceanic flights. Can a twin engine aircraft fly that far on a single engine? A four engine aircraft can definitely limp across on three engines, but I wouldn't trust an aircraft to do it on one.

[@julianbrelsford]

When actually designed for it, the fuel efficiency of airplanes improves as the number of engines decreases. A twinjet is only approved for transoceanic routes if it can fly extremely long distances on one engine, but I think if you consider only the range on a limited quantity of fuel, jets lose little to no range when an emergency forces them to shut down one of their engines.

[@Pushing_Pixels]

@@julianbrelsford Thanks. I wasn't thinking about range and fuel consumption so much as just the ability to stay in the air with half as much thrust that is also unbalanced. It makes sense that range wouldn't be affected though.

[@MartinVanBoven]

Yup no other plane comes near in terms of silence, stability, and general comfort, neither other Airbuses nor Boings.

[@moestrei]

Fully agree.

[@oteckie]

@@Pushing_Pixels I would think it will need to burn more fuel as the setup isn't as efficient anymore. one engine pushing all the while trying to fly straight

[@williambramblett6382]

I rode one of these sweet planes a couple of years ago. Took two gates to load…one up top, one below. The economy seats were better than most comfort plus, or whatever, seats on any other aircraft. Plush seats, wide, legroom, footrests…..an echo of airlines of the past. Quiet, good storage, comfortable. Too bad they couldn’t fill them up.

[@halweilbrenner9926]

Good point. Looks like Quantis will keep flying them & maybe purchasing them from other airlines until they age out.

[@der.Schtefan]

Btw, it is less complicated than you might think to locate a cable break. Besides that it is rare for wires to span the whole distance of the plane, you can send down an impulse to the wire. Any miniscule defect, break, impediment, etc. will show up as a signal reflection. Even a total wire break causes the impulse to be reflected. You can time the reflections and graph the position. Works with copper and with fiber optic cables equally well. Besides aviation, this is done as part of a self test for communication cables like undersea or burried cables to detect failures early.

[@hvymettle]

I was getting my MBA in 2001 and one of the case studies was the Airbus decision to build the A380 vs. Boeing's decision to build a smaller, more economical, long-haul plane. The consensus in the class was that Boeing had the correct read on the market and Airbus was going to build an amazing aircraft for a limited market segment that couldn't recoup their investment. The A380 is an amazing plane. But the case analysis based on the available data in 2001 showed that the A380 was obsolete before it ever flew.

[@halweilbrenner9926]

Bohemoth dinosaur

[@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc]

Concur completely.

[@Snaproll47518]

It’s not hard to understand. For example: a tourist wants to fly New York to Nice, France. Take an A380 with a connection in Paris or take a B787 non-stop. Case closed. The A380 was a great engineering achievement but airlines have to turn a profit. Some early production A380s have already been scrapped. Decisions made in the 1990s have long lasting financial consequences.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

If I was an Airbus competitor, I would've run ads that showed 600 people in baggage claim trying to get their luggage.

[@fabianmckenna8197]

Flew economy 747 and A380 from UK to Washington DC and A380 just wins hands down! Quiet and smooth take off as well as very spacious airy atmosphere on both upper and lower decks in economy. I suppose hindsight is a wonderful thing when throwing the dirt at Airbus while the noisey and rattly 747 had years to succeed.

[@larrybolhuis1049]

Living in the U.S. Midwest it took me until this year to even SEE an A380! I was at London Heathrow and stayed on the airport for an early flight the following day and watched A380s line up for departure there. So amazing to watch that massive airplane take off, the size of it make it look like its barely moving! However I didn't get to fly one, as my flight back to the U.S. was on, you guessed it, an A350.

[@geoffhaylock6848]

By far the best plane I have ever flown on. Makes long haul flights almost pleasant. 😀

[@j.robertbois610]

Dear Ricky, you said it flies at “Mach 8.5” - that’s pretty darned fast! I think “Mach .85” is probably more appropriate. Keep up your good work.

[@MikesTropicalTech]

Came here to say that!

[@tonyhawk123]

If Airbus had put those 10's of billions into underground vacuum tubes, so people could realistically travel that fast, Airbus would have taken over long range travel. The speed of space flight but without the huge expense and delays of getting to space. Irony of being called Airbus isnt lost on me!

[@icosthop9998]

TY

[@MikesTropicalTech]

@@tonyhawk123 Underground vacuum tubes? Where on the planet is this technology in use for human travel??? Airbus is an *airplane* company, they're going to make airplanes.

[@mrxmry3264]

@@tonyhawk123 would you be willing to be sealed into a capsule and shot down a vacuum tube at supersonic speeds? If anything goes wrong, so much for your existence. What if your capsule leaks? What if the tube collapses under all the external pressure? What if...? No, even if the hyperlink goes into operation, I'll never use it. Too much can go wrong.

[@vinaypradhan6041]

Excellent. Thank you. Just some comments, it's Mach 0.85 not 8.5, Powerplants are from Rolls Royce or from Engine Alliance (Joint venture from GE and PW specifically for A380. They knew market is not going to be huge to support independent contesting but didn't want RR to go unchallenged. GE designed the inner core and P&W the fan and LP turbine). Also Qantas operates Perth to London route with Boeing 787-9 equipment and not A380. Qantas chairman also separately said that it's more economical to operate two 787 flights to the same destination than a single A380 flight for a long ranged city pair. Look forward to more videos on aviation. Thanks again.

[@MikesTropicalTech]

I've flown A380 several times, smooth, quiet, fast loading and unloading. Sending this video to an aviation geek friend, thanks!

[@ExaltedDuck]

I remember riding into LAX on a Southwest 737 and while taxiing to the gate, got a great look at a Korean Air A380 and I had the feeling like it was something special to see, something that only a limited number of people would ever get to see. That was in January of 2019. It was only a few weeks later that Airbus announced that the line would be cancelled. It was bittersweet to see one in the Mojave Boneyard last week. Its size is striking and even from a few miles away it just catches the eye. The aesthetics of the bulbous fuselage are odd and unique but that organic and flowing wing with that curve like a gliding gull... that is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in aeronautical engineering.

[@Michael-xp9ln]

I’ve flown on the Airbus 380, 3 times. Try it, you’ll really enjoy the flight!

[@kdganske53]

The writing was on the wall from the get go. The A380 was built for the sake of pride. Boeing was building the Dreamliner. It wasn’t until the Boeing product was selling like hotcakes (even before first flight), that Airbus thought to design the A350. My employer an airport) had a contest. We were expecting our first A380. I won with this: Touloose Goose. Reminded me of something in Spruce 🤣.

[@Richard-jt6nt]

Love the channel, it's so informative. I'm very surprised that you didn't catch that 560 mph is closer to 0.72 Mach. Mach 8.5 is 6500 mph

[@TL-angzarr]

6500 mph is Mach 8.47, I'm surprised you didn't catch that.

[@cesardavrieux3767]

@@TL-angzarr Debe haber sido un error no buscado poner 6500 en lugar de 650, puede suceder fácilmente.

[@cesardavrieux3767]

También me sorprende mucho que solo hables de MPH. que son millas terrestres por hora (1.608 metros) Porque los aviones comerciales utilizan los Knots (nudos) para medir Velocidad, que es 1 milla (de 1.852 mt.) por hora. El Nº Mach relaciona la Velocidad en Knots corregida por Altitud y Temperatura cuando se desplazan sobre rutas de mucha altura (ej: sobre los 29.000 pies (foots) ya que la Velocidad del sonido es de 1.235,52 Km/h... pero solo con presión a de nivel del mar (m.s.n.m.) en un día Standard, por éso son más o menos a 0,8 Mach. según el tipo de avión y la Altitud de vuelo.

[@TL-angzarr]

@@cesardavrieux3767 Hey Dummy it's a joke. The Op corrected the guy for a simple mistake but made one himself. Now pull the stick out of your butt so you can find your sense of humor.

[@E.L.RipleyAtNostromo]

@@TL-angzarr You know you don’t need to be a jerk about it; it was a perfectly valid observation. Big difference between 560 mph and 6500 mph and your few miles per hour smart response.

[@sixtazegarra7962]

GREAT INFO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH . KEEP UPTHE GOOD WORK

[@bobgehrls8538]

Love your enthusiasm!!!!! Great video.

[@Israel_Two_Bit]

The real sad part about this is how the A380's failure dampens innovation and risk-taking among aircraft manufacturers. I'd love to see whether or not Boeing will go forward with the new trus-braced wind design on new commercial jetliners.

[@rcpmac]

The failure was in incorrectly assessing market demand for another even larger jumbo jet although it's got to be nearly to forecast any market trend 10 or 15 years into the future.

[@themikecranston]

I followed the A380 through development. I was working at FedEx at the time and we were starting to market our planned A380-F. Would have been awesome! I'm an aviation junkie as well... I'm keeping a list of all aircraft types I've flown on with the top missing goals of, A380 and 747. Seems like all of my long flights are the widebody, 2-engine variants.

[@Michael-xp9ln]

Try Korean Air to Asia. From the USA, there are 10+ cities with direct flights to South Korea. Many are with the A-380. Enjoy!

[@ClockworksOfGL]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the freighter version of the A380 was mostly an afterthought. When Boeing designed the 747 in the 60s, they assumed passengers would soon be riding on supersonic planes, so they built the 747 to be a great cargo plane once it was relegated to package hauling.

[@mariomenezes1153]

Beautiful video! Thank you!

[@sandyt4343]

Really enjoying this channel. Rickie does an outstanding job

[@Seasherm]

I remember when Boeing decided not to build a new version of the 747. They decided that there wasn't enough market room for both the Airbus and a new Boeing. They also thought that the market was marginal for even one new plane design, and they were right.

[@user-nd7wy6jl4s]

Thank you Ricky for the amazing content, always informative and well delivered to your fans. Please keep up 👍 the content Sir.

[@noken11]

A380 has returned to Perth Australia to Doha flights with Qatar airlines. I just flew 1st class after being upgraded from business for both Perth-Doha legs. Very hard to go back. Slept like a baby. Wonderful service.

[@randym9147]

Dude, I am sooo like you; I love every second of every flight I've ever taken. And now I watch them on youtube!

[@southend26]

I love flying in the A380. Sucks that we won't get as many chances in the future.

[@vbulota]

I had an a internship at Dassault Systems (the 3D modeling software used to design Boeing planes) doing customer support for the subcontractors of the 787 dreamliner back in 2007. Back then it was already running late on its original launch date and it was just the beginning. They had many failures after that. Not as costly as the A380 but still very bad for their image.

[@JoeHamelin]

This Safran IT Systems Engineer waves at you.

[@mylesgray3470]

Ah, Catia. I have a love hate relationship. Spent 5 years using that’s software daily.

[@vbulota]

@@mylesgray3470 I feel you. I spent 5 years at school using it. We were slowly introduced to solidworks as well and we all quickly realized it was much more commonly used in the overall design industry...

[@jimsteinway695]

Even if it’s a failure it’s still a great exercise in engineering. It furthers the development into the future

[@philosopher4279]

Im always a bit surprised people are willing to tackle such incredibly difficult tasks like these planes. Impressive all around

[@ah244895]

One of the positives of the A380 is that it kept Airbus engineers employed until they could work on projects like the A350. That is worth quite a bit.

[@fltof2]

Qantas' route from PER to LHR (and soon CDG) is flown on the 787 Dreamliner, and the SYD-LHR flights will eventually be flown on a special A350. As nice as the A380 is for passengers, it always amazed me how long it took to turn-around on the ground.

[@sjazzp]

Indeed, I believe MEL-LHR and SYD-LHR with stops at SIN are still made with the A380 while the A350s arrive. Currently, long routes as MEL-DFW or SYD-DFW are made with 787. In Brisbane we only get old and worn A330s from Qantas to fly everywhere 😣 while other airlines use A350s, 787s and of course, Emirates with an A380

[@youwebz]

Well actually, they don’t take any longer than any other Airbus or Boeing. If anything, it’s to do with a PTS - precision timing schedule, and any apparent delays would be due to slots / gate constraints at the arrival port.

[@1subhraguha]

beautifully explained. and i love ur passion

[@JeffRedington-zq7je]

Thanks! Enjoyed a lot!!!

[@allanmoulding5526]

Correction: the speed is mach 0.85, not 8.5

[@theprinceofinadequatelighting]

No no no, see if you look at the captions it's actually "mock 8.5" which is 8.5x the speed of me mocking Ricky right now.

[@docw6055]

I’ve flown a lot of different aircraft. For me, the A380 is hands down the best plane I’ve ever been in. And if you happen to have the privilege of flying with Emirates, their superb service makes it as close to perfect as it gets. The plane is comfortable, and no amount of turbulence can move it - smoothest flight ever!

[@gator1984atcomcast]

GREAT review!

[@WileHeCoyote]

Awesome video Ricky!! The nuances that exists between the CAD model, and the IRL economy.....😅

[@icosthop9998]

To me the 747 is the most beautiful passenger plane ever built. 🥇 🏆 👌

[@mrxmry3264]

That makes 2 of us. IMHO the a380 is ugly.

[@iblockpuncheswithmyface1490]

Yeah, she was a beauty.

[@oak7OO5]

​@@mrxmry3264​ I can't believe you just said that A380 ugly. If that's the case then the 747 is also ugly, cause I love the 747 also. If it's that 747 catches my attraction then I'm pretty sure that's also the case which attracts me to A380. Which's there beauty and magnificence. I say A380 is the most handsome and badass aircraft ever.

[@REDSHlFT]

I do a lot of trips from the US to SE Asia. I’ve flown the A380 with Korean Air many times. I love flying Korea Air and loved flying on the A380, I wish it was more commercially successful 😢

[@garymetzker5770]

Thank you very much for this video, im an airplane person also. Im 61 and never been on a 747. I would love that. Great job..

[@mikekearsley2407]

Great vid. I worked for three years on the A380 wing tooling at Electroimpact in the Seattle area.

[@dunggg]

I rode on the A380 from Doha to DC. The economy class feel like Delta domestic first class and feel like riding in a luxury SUV than air travel.

[@fighter5583]

If it was on Qatar, you flew on the A350. Qatar never uses the A380 on their route to DC.

[@dunggg]

@@fighter5583 proabbly right, I did stop at london. So it was the A380 to london.

[@fighter5583]

@dunggg Which means you flew with British. Seen their A380 at IAD numerous times; engineers hate it from a service standpoint because half the time the thing always arrives late and something is always broken on it. Passengers like flying it, but to employees servicing it it's like having a luxury car that has problems under the hood.

[@zeemalota732]

The A380 is the best aircraft to fly in as passenger. I've flown it many times from Sydney-Singapore, you can stand up to fully height under the storage bins on the lower deck (if you're under 6ft), and it is quiet enough that you don't need earplugs to save your hearing - even seated next to the engines. I've flown every current Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and the A380 is by far the best experience, with the 787 and A350 being tied for second.

[@cliffmorgan31]

The terminal experience is particularly fun. Think mountains of luggage and obscenely long wait lines at both ends of the flight…

[@juliemanarin4127]

Never been on A30 but I have been on the 747 several times and I loved it!

[@andersekstrand2028]

Best airplane ever. Flew it again this sunday from Hong Kong to Sydney. Sat upstairs and loved every minute of it.

[@Lloyd2605]

What a great video mate..!

[@mitchellschoenbrun]

I recently flew an Air Bus 380 to and from San Francisco to London. Everything you say is true. They were the nicest flights I've ever taken. My first flight was in 1959 when I was four years old, so that's saying something.

[@jarekkosmal4727]

Love the content keep up the good work! But, did i miss something? 560 mph is not Mach 8.5. Isn't it Mach 0.73?

[@REDSHlFT]

You are correct, the exact Mach to mph conversion depends on the atmospheric condition so it can vary but he did say 8.5 😂. Perhaps he meant Mach .85 because that is close to the design limit of many subsonic aircraft. The design cruise speed of most commercial aircraft is around Mach .85 so I’m sure that’s what he meant.

[@davidavard8461]

As @redshift2941 mentioned, the speed of sound varies with atmospheric conditions (specifically temperature and pressure), so that at airline cruising altitude 560 mph is roughly Mach 0.85, since the speed of sound is roughly 660 mph at 35,000-40,000 ft, and standard temperature, which is roughly -50C.

[@mhsvz6735]

Excellent, thank you!

[@rodpettet2819]

The A380 is a passengers dream. A beautiful, safe, comfortable plane. Simply the best to date. I think many will still be flying for decades.

[@KevinT3141]

I know that technically the A380 is the better aircraft, but I've always loved the grace of the 747's lines. The A3-ugly, well, let's just say its development costs aren't the only thing that was bloated...

[@loicdub5475]

I must say I prefer the a380's line to the 747's one lol, it must be because I grew up with it in France hahaha

[@KevinT3141]

@@loicdub5475 I saw your other comment about seeing the giant parts driven through your town on the way to final assembly, that's really cool, and I totally get your attachment to it. I'd be the same in that situation.

[@icosthop9998]

The 747 is the most Beautiful passenger plane ever.

[@mrxmry3264]

A3-ugly? Gotta remember that one :-)

[@loicdub5475]

@@KevinT3141 yeah that's why I love it so much !! I really was sad when they announced that production was stopping haha But I think that we can all agree that there are people crazy enough to come up with these types of massive aircrafts and that actually manage to make them fly lmao 2 bloody football pitches wide 💀💀

[@charlie2640]

In the late 1990s I was working with a company called L&F industries. L&F (among many other things) made stretch presses which were used for many of the parts on Boeing airplanes. In the late 1990s Boeing was negotiating with L&F to make some extremely large stretch presses for a follow on to the 747, a new plane that would have been larger and competed with the A380. Boeing did not end up ordering these stretch presses, something that was not good for the long term survival of L&F Industries. At the time some of the people at L&F thought that the interest in very large stretch presses was by Boeing was a bit of deception by Boeing to convince Airbus to build the A380 and that Boeing had no intention in building such a huge plane.

[@E.L.RipleyAtNostromo]

First time I’m seeing your content, great animation and detail! The specs section was excellent. I thought I knew this plane, but still learned a lot. New subscriber here! 👍

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

So glad to hear it!

[@laneromel5667]

The A380 story is not over yet, there is growing demand for the A380 as airlines move away from transfer hubs.

[@rcpmac]

Airbus ended manufacture of the A380 in 2021, with just 252 of the 500 passenger double-deckers built. Some have been scrapped

[@FutureSystem738]

The A380 story is definitely over, apart from existing built aircraft. There is no possible way that they will ever make more of them. The A380 burns a lot more fuel per seat that other new designs. Yes, passengers love them, but they’re gas guzzlers and far too expensive to operate.

[@craigmoy5428]

I agree they will be around for decades yet where they make sense they make sense, and the USA is not that

[@fighter5583]

The A380 is slowly being phased out, which would've accelerated if traffic hadn't returned the way it did. At this point, Emirates will be the last A380 operator; and then those planes will be replaced by the 777x.

[@craigmoy5428]

I think betting that COVID would permanently stifle global travel is like betting on back packers not coming back once the mask mandate was gone (and with the advanced retirements in 2020 of 747's and some 380's supply was always going to be the limit by 2023). I agree the lifespan of the 380 will be less than many hope but having travelled on many of these vs 777/787 etc the big birds are in a world of their own and when living in a country where a quick flight to the neighbours is 24 hours it makes a lot of difference. @@fighter5583

[@user-iq6wz4wv4u]

"The Queen still rules"-Me

[@gaiaiulia]

When the Airbus A380 was just starting service, we had the Tall Ships come into Dublin (Ireland) port . British Airways did an Airbus A380 flypast over Dublin. It was absolutely amazing and I got a couple of photos. Also, we were on the flightpath into Dublin Airport and the Boeing 747 regularly flew over the house. That was an amazing sight too.

[@carloberruti178]

I agree with what is said at the end of the video: if you have the chance to fly on a A380, do so. Especially with those airlines that make the most of it, with nice layouts and special treats. It’s by far the best aircraft to be in, from a passenger’s standpoint. Good video btw.

[@randybentley2633]

If memory serves, Airbus was teetering on whether or not to commit to building the A380 and Boeing found out about it. To give them that last little nudge, Boeing announced the 747 modernization & refresh. These upgrades to the Queen, though not unsubstantial, weren't all that earth shattering either, but it wasn't expected to be given its ulterior and successful motivational push that sent Airbus careening into the A380 money pit.

[@roberthowell7095]

That is true. Boeing did entice Airbus to keep the a3XX program alive, along with the billions in costs with the announcement of the 747-8. Once Airbus was committed to it. Boeing then announced the 787. This is confirmed by an Airbus executive in a tv documentary on the a380. This same Airbus spokesman also acknowledged many in Airbus said not to go ahead with the a380. Airbus misread the market for this aircraft, while Boeings prediction was the future was moving away from the hub & spoke approach in favor of point to point with smaller, more efficient twin aircraft. History shows Boeing was correct with the 787, and the later a350 having a combined orders in the order of over 2,000 aircraft and still climbing.

[@yolo_burrito]

Emirates found they could run 3 777 ERs for the cost of one A380. I’ve done the 380 from Dubai to Bangkok. You can barely feel it taking off.

[@punditgi]

Fascinating story very well told. I do wish you decide to consistently add metric units everywhere you use Imperial. Many thanks for your consideration. Do carry on bringing us your fine videos. 😊

[@randomstuff9322]

I don’t think it was a failure. It served its purpose and was the flagship plane for most non U.S. airlines. I love flying on it. You don’t feel the turbulence and you can fit a lot of people on it.

[@Objectified]

It ended production barely 15 years after it launched. Airbus lost money on most unit sales, and will never recover the cost to develop the plane. It's an engineering marvel, but it turned out that Boeing's reasons for declining to develop a new very large passenger liner were well founded.

[@gustoreno1546]

Do you really know how many non US airlines there are??? Most of them will never get to see an A380.

[@randomstuff9322]

@@gustoreno1546 I believe every reputable non US airline has a a380 in its fleet. Low cost airlines will never have one and unfortunately that is where the market is going I guess. These things go in cycles, so in another few years we will be going back to wide bodied airlines

[@daphnescombine]

The A380 is a fantastic aircraft to fly in. It’s so big and comfortable. I’ve also enjoyed flying the Dreamliner but now find the A350 more comfortable than that plane. Still doesn’t beat the A380 though.

[@BoNajdrovsky]

I just flew A380 from London - Heathrow to Chicago - O'Hare. Indeed, it wasn't full. Nice ride.

[@turningpoint4238]

Used to live near Limoux in France which is an area Airbus test their planes. The A380 test plane flew over my place very low on it's second flight. Back then it seemed massive, now after flying on it quite a few times got used to the size. It's a great place to watch air craft do crazy things as they test them, shows what those planes are really capable of.

[@johnpoldo8817]

I was most impressed with the B777 when taking Emirates on a non-stop flight from Boston to Dubai. Seats, service, food & beverage were outstanding. At $7,000 RT, it’s not a bargain, but so much better than first class at $21,000.

[@rover-t]

The A380 is king of the skies: the quietest, most comfortable for all classes. I always look at who’s offering the A380 on my route and choose it. Emirates and other carriers are now bringing them back into service as much as possible. The 747 was good in its day, but too old now.

[@rajinikanthrajini3247]

A380 take of is so smooth then any other planes. I traveled to DXB to Korea and France to Qatar, DXB to Mumbai. So smooth.

[@gwmattos]

❤Fantastic review. Thanks!

[@summersky77]

Even when the A3XX concept came out in the late 90s, the writing was already on the wall. The 777 was already a thing, 767 had already proven the long and skinny concept for nearly two decades and planes like the MD-11 were already having their existence questioned. It NEVER made sense to make the 380.

[@jonjohns8145]

Of course it didn't help AirBus that they are run less as business and more like a Social and Political organization that is more dedicated to providing jobs for as many people across many European countries as they can and satisfying the political whims of the various government agencies involved in their decision making. Honestly I am almost always surprised by how they are able to put out products like the 380 or the 350 neo given their bureaucracy.

[@heathwirt8919]

If only a true conservative businessman like Elon Musk was running AirBus, he could show them how to lose 29 Billion dollars in six months.

[@jonjohns8145]

@@heathwirt8919 🤣🤣

[@maxsaviation9512]

In that case, Boeing is run by business men wanting money and the ones suffering are engineers. Boeing is just as bad.

[@marklefler4007]

I have flaow on the A380, and we had an upgrade to the fold flat first class seats. They are wonderful.

[@GregWampler-xm8hv]

I'll make it easy; Boeing correctly read the tea leaves and Air Bus did not. Boeing's early years they were terrible but starting with the Dash 80 Boeing's ability to do market analysis (yes not actual tea leaves) and determine where the market is headed is unmatched.

[@dac7046]

As an aviation geek within a family loaded with professional pilots I love the big long-haul aircraft and have been on many (B707, B747, DC10, L1011, B777, B787) for long transoceanic non-stops and I just have to say that the pleasure I derive from being in and around these glorious machines evaporates upon being crammed into a narrow (and I’m a skinny person) uncomfortable seats realizing I’ll be stuck there for 12 to 20 hours. I think the A380 is magnificent though borderline ugly and regret I’ll now likely never have opportunity for a flight.

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

well said!

[@kenmcclow8963]

Airlines choose the seats and the manufacturer puts them in. Some of the newer lie flat premium seats have to be put in before the fuselage parts are joined, but the regular seats seem to get smaller every year while I get bigger

[@Israel_Two_Bit]

@@kenmcclow8963 same here!!

[@Michael-xp9ln]

Try Korean Air from several U.S. cities. I fly Las Vegas to South Korea, then to Cebu in the Philippines. 2 flights only. Sometimes I add an extra leg to LAX, on the Airbus’s A-380, on the return flights. Best leg room in the airline industry. Give it a try, to a beach location, like Phuket and enjoy!

[@wvc72]

Wouldn't be watching with background music.

[@user-or4hs7xq9u]

I also hate an annoying music bed, especially when the music drowns out the narration

[@ghostridertom]

My Masters Thesis was on this topic. :-) Point to Point travel (787) or Hub to Hub (A380) strategic analyses. I did predict the possible A380 problems 15 years ago. But I also did admire both companies for what they do. I hope we can see A380s for at least 20 more years. Great video.

[@daverobinson1574]

Great video!

[@ianfowler2652]

I have flown on A380 and it was the best plane I have flown on. I have also flown on Boing aircraft and have been highly upset by the high sound level. I know search out A380 and avoid Boing like the plauge.

[@dundermifflinity]

Boing 😂

[@mrxmry3264]

@@dundermifflinity and scarebus

[@xraylife]

"If its Boeing I ain't going"

[@aldozampatti]

Funny I see this video today! I booked ny first A380 from London to DFW this past week. Very excite to make the flight and check My bucket list aviation item 😉

[@jetsons101]

As a A&P mechanic, I approve of this video.... lol My two favorites are: TWA's Lockheed Super Constellation. for early Mid-Century TWA's Boeing’s 707-300 “Intercontinental." for late Mid-Century without

[@Sharmil99]

A380 is the most comfortable aircraft I have ever travelled on. even the normal economy seats were comfy and had a good leg room.

[@cactuscanuck6802]

I've seen a number of 380s but never been on one. Did fly home from Mexico on an A340; that thing was a bucket of bolts! 787 Dreamliner is a beautiful plane - flew on one from Calgary to London. What a machine! Smooth, quiet, powerful and still fairly comfortable for an 8 hour tour in premium economy. Maybe I'll get a chance to compare the 380 one day 🤔

[@alabama1413]

Love the A340, especially the 500 & 600’s which I flew on several occasions. Such a beautiful aircraft & the best flying experience, bar the A380. Boeing have lost their way over the past few years with shoddy workmanship on the 787s & Max’s. Sad to see

[@k0b3r]

One thing I point out about the comfort (@7:21 on your vid) of that plane - the economy seats (at least on the back of the second deck) are anything BUT comfortable. Only reason this was built was to deliver as much people as possible, not as comfortable as possible. The comfortable travel is possible on A380, but it is not in economy section. I had chance to choose my flight over Atlantic so I chose B747-200 one way and A380 back. To be fair, being economy flyer was not really a joy on either one, but it was nice to fly those big birds.

[@ginopanthers5070]

Never flown on an A380 yet but the first time I board the B747 from the terminal, I thought I arrived in another hall in the airport terminal. It was huge felt unreal to be an aircraft. Few minutes later that huge space filled with people lifted off into the night sky

[@ianjeffery3762]

a few A380's go over my house every day from LHR, you can always tell its an A380 by the engine noise :-) - magnificant machines.

[@cheeseheadfiddle]

You’re so cool. Love your channel.

[@chrisdekock8864]

Mach 8.5 for a380. That is super impressive, but as you compare it to falcon engines, that is awesome!

[@fighter5583]

Don't you mean Mach 0.85? That plane ain't hypersonic 😂

[@davidmangold1838]

I was an AA pilot for 39.5 years. I flew long haul flights in the 767. Never took the chance (seniority) to fly the 747 or L-1011. I wished I had. So knowing my pedigree, I would have loved to have flown just two planes; 1. The Concorde and 2. The A-380. What comprehensive research you did to make this video! The videography, photos, tables and your analysis was fabulously produced. Thank you, I enjoyed this very much. Dave

[@mickeysmiths]

What a crock. The A380 has never been, & never will be, a failure. Hundreds of millions transported & not a single fatality in 16 years ! That is mighty impressive ! I'm not even gonna waste my time watching this video

[@shortylucy]

Loved your video! I’m an AV geek myself and I just love the Queen 747 and the King A380! I hope one day to be able to fly either, or both! Both would be better lol. 😅

[@Snaproll47518]

Thank you for your well researched spot on explanation of the A380 program. In the end it’s always about profit and a few profitable long range routes are not enough to sustain an aircraft program.

[@Nerple]

Flew the A380 in 2012 from Seoul to JFK in NYC, but don’t remember it at all as I was a medical transport flying with a neurologist and two nurses after suffering from two strokes in Korea. If I wasn’t in a coma, I wasn’t that far off. There was a major delay in my transport home as I required a lay down seat from Seoul to Boston or NYC. As an aviation enthusiast, I wish I remembered it! I still recall looking at Lufthansa’s A380s on the tarmac of Frankfurt’s airport while traveling to a gate in an A320 or A330 after landing and just being in awe of its massive size. Very similar to the same awe I felt watching a C5 at Dover AFB in 2010.

[@stratisk1258]

Excellent video. You could have spoken to us about the Beluga, the custom made transport plane designed to move around A380 parts (has been inspired by the shape of the Beluga whale and hence the name). Had a chance to take my students to the assembly factory and also flew in it a few times. It is a wonderfully smooth and quiet plane. Beautiful design. Why is it that superb ideas, design and engineering e.g. see also Concorde fail so often in comparison to bog standard ones?

[@bernardkealey6449]

Love the A380. Yet to have a shower on one, but done a few relatively short hauls (trans Tasman) business class, and long hauls in the “magic” seat - window one row behind an exit row; exit row doesn’t have a window seat so row behind gets like 10 feet of leg room… In Sydney used to live under the flight path and the “wake up call” of the early morning flights arriving from Dubai was a weird joy.

[@robertpaul7119]

I was lucky enough to participate in the building of the 380 complex through a company called Electroimpact. The budget was somewhere around $400 million just to us one of the problems with the 380 that I did not hear you talk about is its weight. It caused any airport that wanted it to land to go through at least $1 billion to fix the runways to handle the weight so only a few airports were able to handle it. I got to fly on the 380 several times going to Australia to work as well. I got to say I was really lucky.