08 October 2023 , 10:02
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The beautiful ‘big bird’ had her wings clipped in the pandemic with planes grounded globally and many facing the scrapyard – but now the awesome Airbus A380 is back in the skies.
With worldwide aviation passenger demand tipped to pass pre-Covid levels by the end of the year, it’s the perfect time to celebrate 15 years of Emirates airline flying the double-decker superjumbo as it enjoys a new lease of life.
In August 2008 the UAE giant was the second carrier to debut the four-engine jet and now flies them to its base in Dubai from Birmingham, Heathrow, Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle airports.
Emirates Airbus A380 superjumbo taking offIt’s the world’s largest carrier of the iconic Airbus jet, with a total of 116 in its fleet, and here we reveal some fascinating flying facts about this remarkable aircraft…
- When it first took to the skies many airports had to overhaul their runways and air bridges to accommodate the huge two-deck plane, as it can weigh up to 560 tonnes – two and a half times the weight of the Statue of Liberty.
- Its wingspan is 262ft – as wide as 32 double-decker buses – and the eye-catching tail fin stands at 79ft tall.
- The wings were made at the Airbus UK factory in Broughton, North Wales, then shipped to the final assembly facility at Toulouse in France using specially adapted ocean and river vessels.
Emirates Airbus A380 economy cabin- With space for as many as 615 travellers in a two-class configuration, it has 5,920 sq ft of usable floor space across two full-length decks.
- There are up to 24 Emirates crew on a A380 flight, which means every day in the UK more than 300 crew fly on A380s to serve passengers.
- The A380 offers some of the world’s best in-flight experiences with amenities in first class such as the Shower Spa featuring Emirates Private Collection Bvlgari amenity kits.
- There are 14 fully-enclosed private suites available in the A380’s first class, where guests can request fine dining at any time, and the Onboard Lounge is just a few steps away.
The bar on board the Emirates A380 double-decker- High-end gastronomy at 43,000ft is created by 1,800 chefs with more than 12,000 recipes a year for the Emirates fleet, including the A380. It is the only commercial airline in the world officially serving Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Pérignon on board and A380 first class travellers can enjoy unlimited champagne and caviar during their flight.
- The A380 is literally in for the long haul, capable of flying up to 9,320 miles between take-off and landing. The longest Emirates A380 route is Dubai-Auckland, with a flight time of over 17 hours. Its shortest hop is Dubai to Jeddah, taking two hours 50 minutes.
The first class cabin on an Emirates A380 jet- There can be a whole lot of luggage on board too, with the A380 capable of carrying up to 20,000kg of baggage. The A380’s vast cargo capacity also means the aircraft carry a host of items for export including flowers, fresh meat and fish, luxury goods and pharmaceuticals.
- The ice in-flight entertainment system offers 6,500 channels of movies, TV shows, live sport and breaking news, alongside in-flight wi-fi.
- With a cruising altitude of 43,000ft, the A380 is travelling 42 times higher than London’s Shard skyscraper.
- The superjumbo is typically powered by four Engine Alliance GP72000 engines, with around 326,000lb of take-off thrust across the wing – the equivalent of eight RAF Typhoon fighters on full afterburner.
The Emirates A380 jet even has a shower on board- Each wheel from the 22 that make up the landing gear supports around 26 tonnes, around the weight of four bull elephants.
- Emirates is in the middle of a $2billion refurbishment programme of its A380 fleet, offering new Premium Economy seats alongside the latest cabin interiors in first and business class. For the new livery, unveiled in March, it takes more than 880 gallons of paint to cover the entire 38,000 sq ft surface.
Covid-19 recovery
The Covid-19 pandemic was almost the end for the superjumbo. With aviation near-halted globally almost all 251 A380s in service in early 2020 were mothballed at storage airports around the world.
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Fine dining in Emirates Airbus A380 first classDespite being popular with passengers and crew thanks to their spacious design, comfort and quietness, they’d been struggling somewhat before the virus anyway, with airline orders favouring smaller twin-engined jets such as the Boeing Dreamliner and the Airbus A350.
Airbus halted production with the last A380 delivered on December 16, 2021. But with post-pandemic passenger demand soaring, airlines needed the huge capacity the double-decker offers and many are now back on long-haul schedules.
- More info: For flights from the UK to Dubai and 73 onward connections visit emirates.com/uk