Airbus just can’t take flight
The A380 was supposed to change aviation as we know it. The plane can hold more than 500 people — Airports around the world even remodeled to accommodate the huge jet.
But apart from Emirates Airline, the double decker jet hasn’t sold well.
Robert Mann, a former airline executive, says the reality is there are only a few airlines and airports in the world where the A380 makes sense.
“The A380 is a niche airplane,” he says. “Anybody who had a need for them, or could conceive a need for them has ordered them.”
That’s left an opening for Boeing.
Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at the Teal Group Corporation, says most airlines are interested in long haul, twin engine jets that can seat between 250 and 400 people.
“That’s where the action’s act,” he says.
Aboulafia says that fits nicely with what Boeing offers with the Dreamliner and its redesigned 777X. He says it “puts Airbus at a competitive disadvantage.”
Airbus is trying to answer Boeing with a slightly smaller jet: the redesigned A350XWB. Though, the company is having difficulty getting the planes off the ground — Last week, Emirates Airline canceled its order for 70 of those planes.
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