But Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Korean Air, Japan’s ANA and Etihad, the Abu Dhabi flag carrier, have all done a U-turn at 39,000ft and re-introduced the A380. (Only Air France and Malaysian Airlines have stuck to their original decision).
What’s more, those airlines which remained committed to the A380 all along have improved it. Singapore Airlines has refurbished its superjumbos, even introducing double beds in Suites Class at the front of the upper deck. Qantas’s A380s now boast top designer David Caon’s business-class suite and a bar in the nose cone. British Airways’ chief executive, Sean Doyle, recently announced that his airline’s 12 A380s will be refitted with the new Club Suite on the upper deck and a new First Class, also likely on the upper deck, rather than downstairs as it is now.
A new kid on the airport block, Global Airlines, recently secured its first A380, which it flew from the US to Prestwick in Scotland for a refit. Global’s founder, James Asquith, wants to use a fleet of A380s to “transport passengers back to the golden age of air travel”, starting with flights from London to Los Angeles and New York. The former investment banker is refurbishing the first of the four superjumbos he and his investors have bought to create a large bar on board. First-class ticket holders will be chauffeur-driven to the airport for Global flights. Food and drink will be “the best at 39,000ft” and include Laurent-Perrier champagne, even for economy-class passengers, he promises.
Overall, 145 Airbus A380s are back in the air, spread across 10 airlines, according to aviation analysts ch-aviation.
The A380 is back thanks to the double whammy of rising demand and constrained fleets. A new aircraft that many airlines had hoped would replace it, the Boeing 777X, the world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jet, is years behind schedule. It should have been in the air by now but has been delayed by a combination of post-Covid supply-chain snarl-ups and Boeing senior managers’ desperate efforts to rescue the firm’s troubled 737 Max, which has distracted from new jet development.