The Hindu : Front Page : A380, a triumph of science and engineering

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 19, 2005

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A380, a triumph of science and engineering

AIRBUS A 380 UNVEILED: The double-deck super jumbo, the world's largest passenger plane, on display near Toulouse, France, on Tuesday. — AP

TOULOUSE (FRANCE), JAN. 18. Airbus showed off its giant A380, a double-decked behemoth that could revolutionise long-haul flying, at a lavish ceremony on Tuesday with European leaders gathered for the first official look at the world's largest passenger plane.

Airbus is betting its newfound status as the world's leading jet maker on the ``superjumbo'' that has an 262-ft wingspan, a tail as tall as a seven-story building and cost $13 billion to develop.

The leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Spain — Airbus' government backers — and CEOs from the 14 airlines and freight transporters that have ordered A380s attended the elaborate ceremony at the company headquarters in Toulouse, southern France.

Making history

``We may have reached for the stars ... but as far as the aeronautical industry is concerned we caught some of those stars,'' said the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, who called the A380 a ``triumph of European science and European engineering.''

The French President, Jacques Chirac, said ``this veritable liner of the skies will mark aviation history'' and that its debut ``is for all of us a moment of emotion and pride.''

The show before almost 5,000 guests debuted with music, clouds of dry ice and dancers in the A380 assembly hangar, one of the largest enclosed spaces in Europe.

Projected images of Airbus planes sped across the walls and dancers suspended on wires appeared to walk on air.

Four children tugged on a white cord to pull down a curtain, unveiling the plane lit in blue behind.

The A380's launch seemed certain to become a milestone in civil aviation history alongside the 747 and Concorde.

Unlike the supersonic Concorde, however, whose claim to fame was how fast it crossed the Atlantic, this latest fruit of European aerospace cooperation will ultimately be judged on how fast it makes money.

Orders pour in

Airbus already has 149 orders for the $280 million plane, ``which for a plane of this size that has not yet flown is an extraordinary commercial performance,'' said CEO Noel Forgeard. Airbus says companies have options on dozens more and that the programme will break even after 250 sales. A380 sections are made at plants around Europe and transported by ship, barge and road to Toulouse.

Wings come from Britain, fuselage sections and vertical tailplanes are built in Germany, noses are assembled on France's west coast and rudders and horizontal tailplanes are made in Spain.

In a three-class cabin layout, the A380 will carry 555 passengers — 33 per cent more than the plane it is designed to displace, Boeing's veteran 747. The A380 has 49 per cent more floor space — leaving additional room for features such as on-board shops, bars, casinos or even nurseries. — AP

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