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mfcorey1

(11,001 posts)
Sat Feb 16, 2019, 07:37 AM Feb 2019

Airports Worried the A380 Was Too Big. Turns Out, That Wasn't the Problem.

When Airbus SE rolled out plans in 2000 to build the world’s biggest passenger jet—a 555-seat “super jumbo”—skeptics warned it would be too heavy, too tall and too long for many airports. Officials at the world’s biggest hubs scrambled to upgrade facilities to accommodate the behemoth.

Instead, what doomed the jet was something altogether different—a new breed of smaller jets that could bypass those giant airports in the first place.

Airbus said Thursday it would stop making the A380 in 2021, after orders dried up and some of the plane’s biggest early fans backtracked on commitments. Boeing Co. realized around the time the A380’s development began that with technological advancements, like carbon fiber parts and super-efficient engines, it could make smaller jets that flew as far as the big boys.


Airlines, it turns out, preferred them to the A380 and Boeing’s own humpbacked giant, the 747. The smaller jets were easier to fill and could fly direct to more places around the world without funneling through hubs. Airbus woke up to the new demand, and came up with its own smaller plane eventually.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/airports-worried-the-a380-was-too-big-turns-out-that-wasnt-the-problem/ar-BBTCltq?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout

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Airports Worried the A380 Was Too Big. Turns Out, That Wasn't the Problem. (Original Post) mfcorey1 Feb 2019 OP
Bring back Zeppelins! Dennis Donovan Feb 2019 #1
Here's a great documentary of a 1929 round-the-world Zeppelin journey LastLiberal in PalmSprings Feb 2019 #2
Agreed! I've seen it, at least, a few times... Dennis Donovan Feb 2019 #3
Thanks for posting this. cwydro Feb 2019 #4
I flew on an A380 to Indonesia in the fall - best plane i ever traveled on. onenote Feb 2019 #5
I flew one to Dubai mainer Feb 2019 #6

Dennis Donovan

(18,770 posts)
1. Bring back Zeppelins!
Sat Feb 16, 2019, 07:48 AM
Feb 2019

Not these little, semi-rigid blimp-like things. I'm talking like the Graf Zeppelin!


Why not? We have a Nazi in charge here just like Germany in the 30's.

2. Here's a great documentary of a 1929 round-the-world Zeppelin journey
Sat Feb 16, 2019, 07:58 AM
Feb 2019


It's told through the eyes of the only woman reporter aboard.

Dennis Donovan

(18,770 posts)
3. Agreed! I've seen it, at least, a few times...
Sat Feb 16, 2019, 08:04 AM
Feb 2019

I know, through technology, the old, rigid zeps would be impractical today, but it must've been something to see an 800 ft long behemoth floating over your head!

 

cwydro

(51,308 posts)
4. Thanks for posting this.
Sat Feb 16, 2019, 09:06 AM
Feb 2019

Going to watch it later. I’m on my own journey around the planet right now, so I look forward to it.

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