# 20 Amazing Facts About the A380 Superjumbo > We've gathered 20 amazing facts about the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner. Discover how the superjumbo era will be remembered. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/20-dyvovyzhnykh-faktiv-pro-superdzhambo-a380/ - Language: en - Published: 2024-09-18 - Categories: Travel, Culture, Historic Sites, Tours, UAE, Relaxation --- Loved by passengers for its space and comfort, but disliked by airlines for its running costs, the Airbus A380 has already entered its twilight years, even though its commercial debut came just 14 years ago. Its final chapter grew clearer this week, when Airbus delivered the very last A380 ever built to its new owner, Emirates, wrapping up 18 years of building the aircraft. The supergiant was conceived at a time when bigger planes ferrying hundreds of passengers between hubs looked like an appealing bet, but by the time it entered service a different business model had taken over the industry: smaller jets connecting smaller airports. Even so, the largest airliner ever built gathered a loyal following, and although much of the fleet won't survive the pandemic, news of the plane's return to the skies has thrilled those who go out of their way to seek it out when booking a flight. Today several airlines, including Emirates, British Airways and Singapore, are once again offering long-haul flights on the supergiant. Whether or not you plan to catch a ride on the A380 while you still can, here's our pick of 20 of the most fascinating facts about this unique aircraft. ## 1. Bigger Than Ever As the only full-length double-deck passenger aircraft ever built, the A380 is so large that it could theoretically hold a maximum of 853 passengers if every seat were economy class. Yet no airline has ever fitted out an A380 that way: the highest recorded capacity is 615 people in a two-class layout (economy plus business). ## 2. Miles of Wiring ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-111-1-2024.jpg) Every A380 contains more than 480 kilometres of electrical cables and wires, and installing them proved so tricky that some of the early production delays traced straight back to the wiring. In 2009 Airbus streamlined the process by speeding up the installation of the brackets that support the cabling, of which there are up to 80,000 in each plane. ## 3. Turbulent Air The supergiant's size and weight can spell trouble for smaller planes following too closely behind, a phenomenon known as "wake turbulence." In 2017 a small private jet flipped over in mid-air after crossing paths with an A380. Recent guidance suggests that light aircraft should wait four minutes before taking off or landing on the same runway an A380 has just used. ## 4. A Serious Paint Job ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-111-2-2024.jpg) Covering the A380's entire 3,530 square metre surface takes 3,600 litres of paint. A standard coat of paint adds 635 kg to the plane's weight. The process usually takes about two weeks. ## 5. No Need to Pack Light The A380's cargo hold can carry up to 3,000 suitcases, and two loading belts, one at the front and one at the rear, can run at the same time to speed things up. ## 6. A True Globalist Each A380 is made up of 4 million individual components produced by 1,500 companies across 30 different countries. They all converged by road, air and sea on Toulouse, in the south of France, where the final aircraft was assembled. ## 7. The Chance of a Shower ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-111-3-2024.jpg) A fully stocked bar with onyx countertops on the upper deck is a fairly common sight on the A380. Less common are the fully functioning shower suites fitted in the first-class cabins of the Emirates and Etihad A380s, or the full-size double bed that Singapore introduced in its Double Suites. ## 8. More Room Than a Basketball Court With its full-length double deck, the A380 offers nearly 557 square metres of usable floor space, roughly 40% more than the second-largest airliner, the Boeing 747-8. ## 9. An Emirates Favourite By far the biggest operator of the A380 is Dubai-based Emirates, with 123 orders, followed by Singapore Airlines with 24. In all, 14 airlines ordered and operated the A380. When Emirates cancelled an order for 39 A380s in early 2019, Airbus decided to shut down production of the plane entirely by the end of 2021. ## 10. You Can Own a Piece of One ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-111-4-2024.jpg) Although Emirates has only just received the last A380 ever built, it has already retired the first one, bought 14 years ago, and handed it over to be recycled and turned into furniture. Among the items put up for pre-order at the Dubai Airshow in November were coffee tables made from wheels, clocks made from wing fuel panels and the plane's entire 24-metre tail. The aircraft's luxurious upper-deck bar was also put on sale. ## 11. A Secret Compartment With a flight-deck crew of three and up to 21 cabin crew, the A380 has the largest crew of any airliner. The galley has enough room for five people to work at once, and crew members can rest in a "secret" area on the third deck (the cargo deck below), fitted with bunk beds and a private lavatory. ## 12. Not for Everyone ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-111-5-2024.jpg) Because of its size, the A380 can't operate at every airport, and many have had to make modifications to be able to handle the supergiant. Munich had to build special hangar doors to fit the plane's tail. Airbus claims that 140 airports worldwide are compatible with the aircraft, while more than 400 could take it in the event of an emergency landing. ## 13. The Longest Flight Emirates operates the longest scheduled passenger flight on the A380: Dubai to Auckland, 14,160 km and more than 17 hours in the air. In 2019 Qantas ferried one of its A380s back to its base in Sydney from Dresden, Germany, after repairs. The plane was empty and flew for over 18 hours, covering roughly 16,000 km. ## 14. The Shortest Flight Singapore Airlines announced that it would offer a new shortest A380 flight in the world: a quick 290 km hop between Changi Airport in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. That record had previously belonged to Emirates, with a flight from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, of about 340 km. ## 15. The Freighter That Never Was ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-111-6-2024.jpg) When Airbus launched the A380 in December 2000, it offered a cargo version called the A380F, designed to compete with Boeing's equivalent 747 freighters. UPS and FedEx initially placed orders for the plane, but after its release was delayed they cancelled them, which led to the A380F programme being scrapped altogether. ## 16. Trembling Wings During takeoff the A380's wings flex so much that they bend upward by as much as 4 metres. That's a lot, but not as much as planes with more composite materials, such as the Boeing 787, whose wings can flex up to 7.6 metres. ## 17. Giant Depreciation The Airbus A380's list price was around $450 million before the discounts that are standard practice. The fleet's current value, however, has plummeted: by one estimate, a 2005 model is now worth just $77 million, while a new A380 built in 2019 is worth only $276 million. ## 18. Two on Each Wing ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-111-7-2024.jpg) The plane's four engines are at once one of its most distinctive features and a drawback, since they burn more fuel than a twin-engine aircraft. They are built either by Rolls-Royce in the UK or by Engine Alliance in the US, and can lift the plane, at a maximum takeoff weight of 650 tonnes, to cruising altitude in 15 minutes. ## 19. No Buyers From the US One of the main reasons the A380 never became a commercial success is that no American airline ever bought the plane. Big European carriers such as Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa did buy it, but in small numbers. By the time the A380 became available, US carriers had already moved on from jumbo jets to more economical twin-engine planes such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. ## 20. A Partial Comeback ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-111-8-2024.jpg) The pandemic hit the aviation industry hard, and the A380 even harder. Lufthansa and Air France never brought their A380s back into service after grounding them, choosing instead to retire their entire fleets, while Qatar sent half of its fleet into permanent storage. On the other hand, Qantas, British Airways, Emirates, Qatar, Singapore, All Nippon and Korean Air have announced that they are bringing the A380 back into service.