AIRBUS | A380 News & Discussion

[hkskyline]

Qantas to resume A380 services to Los Angeles from Jan. 16
11 January 2011

SYDNEY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Qantas Airways will resume Airbus A380 flights between Australia and Los Angeles from Jan. 16, the airline said on Tuesday.

Qantas said in a statement the decision followed extensive consultation with engine maker Rolls-Royce , aircraft manufacturer Airbus and the Australia's Civil Aviation Authority.

Qantas was forced to initially ground its fleet of A380 aircraft after an engine in one of the aircraft disintegrated mid-flight in November.

It has since resumed some A380 flights but was not flying the aircraft on the route to and from Los Angeles, which had required the use of maximum engine thrust on take off.

[Vrooms]

image hosted on flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5086/...3f22a278_b.jpg

image hosted on flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5090/...6e80294d_b.jpg

[hkskyline]

EU watchdog defends Rolls engine certification
11 January 2011

PARIS, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Europe's top aviation safety inspector defended the methods used to certify the type of engine which blew up on a Qantas A380 superjumbo in November, saying it was impossible to predict every emergency.

A Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine disintegrated in mid-flight on an Airbus A380 shortly after take-off on Nov. 1, forcing Australia's Qantas to ground its fleet.

Patrick Goudou director general of the European Aviation Safety Agency, which provides airworthiness certificates for aircraft and engines for 31 nations, said the methods used to certify the airliner's Rolls-Royce engines were sound.

But the Cologne-based agency would apply any lessons to be drawn from the accident.

"I don't think the certification process is to blame. Everything is audited and we use similar processes to the (U.S.) Federal Aviation Administration," Goudou told reporters.

"You can't predict everything. The working life of a material sometimes allows you to discover a problem. This is not particular to aviation or to Rolls-Royce," he added.

"If we find anything particular that can be improved, then of course we will do it."

Goudou was speaking at an industry press lunch in Paris.

Qantas said earlier it would resume Airbus A380 flights between Australia and Los Angeles from Jan. 16.

The airline, which suspended A380 flights after the engine failure, has since resumed some flights but not those on the route from Los Angeles which require a higher take-off thrust.

[Davodavo]

SYDNEY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Qantas Airways will resume Airbus A380 flights between Australia and Los Angeles from Jan. 16, the airline said on Tuesday.

At last!!!
Thanks for the pictures Vrooms, they are amazing, as usual.

[Vrooms]

Originally Posted by Davodavo

Thanks for the pictures Vrooms, they are amazing, as usual.

Your welcome!!

[ulrico]

I like that picture here.

http://planepictures.net/netshow.php?id=1005876

[Sonic from Padova]

Recently I've flew with an A380 of Lufhtansa, from Frankfurt to Tokyo.
It has been one of my longest flight ever (12 hours!) but the airplane was so nice and confortable! So the time has passed fast on it!

[Vrooms]

Originally Posted by ulrico

I like that picture here.

http://planepictures.net/netshow.php?id=1005876

I agree. I like that pic too.......................

[Vrooms]

image hosted on flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5042/...e1c6d070_b.jpg

image hosted on flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5244/...02575d24_b.jpg

[hkskyline]

A380 strife to cost Qantas $80m
14 January 2011
The Australian

RBS analysts have reduced their pre-tax profit outlook by 9.5pc

THE Qantas A380 engine drama is expected to wipe almost 10 per cent from the airline's pre-tax profit this financial year, a new analysis says.

The Royal Bank of Scotland estimates November's A380 engine explosion and its aftermath will this year cost the airline up to $80 million.

The figure does not include an estimated $70m to fix the damaged plane, but takes into account factors such as staff costs, spending on hotels and lost revenue.

While RBS believes Roll-Royce will be forced to cough up for at least three quarters of those losses, it does not see this happening until next financial year. As a result, it has reduced its 2010-11 pre-tax profit estimate by 9.5 per cent to $766m and increased the fiscal 2012 figure 5.1 per cent to $1.25 billion.

Qantas grounded its entire fleet of A380s after the explosion on November 4 near Singapore severely damaged on of its A380s.

It reintroduced some London flights later that month but was forced by operational restrictions to delay returning to Los Angeles until this coming Sunday.

RBS estimates leasing, staff, hotel and other costs stemming from the drama total $20m and calculates passenger revenue lost due to the grounding at $28.4m.

Other revenue losses, including a reduction in load factor and yields due to safety concerns, total $31.8m.

``While the majority of losses are expected to have occurred during November and December, we expect some impact in early 2011 as Qantas's network gets back to full strength,'' RBS analysts Mark Williams and Michael Newbold said in a note.

``Looking longer term, we believe that the issue is likely to have caused reputational damage which may result in lower load factors and yields but have not yet factored this into our forecasts.''

The profit downgrade saw the analysts reduce their price target from $3.09 to $3.06, but did not stop them from upgrading the recommendation on the stock from hold to buy.

They believed the worst of the adverse media coverage was behind Qantas and that its shares offered good value compared with the carrier's global peers.

``Longer term, we continue to believe competitive pressures remain a challenge for Qantas, and hence prefer Virgin Blue on a longer-term view, but we think it is difficult to ignore Qantas on six to 12-month view given it is trading at 1.0 P/B (share price to book value ratio),'' they said.

Qantas shares yesterday closed up 1c at $2.52.

Qantas Airways net profit

2005-06 ... $479.6m

06-07 ....... $672.6m

07-08 ....... $969m

08-09 ....... $117m

09-10 ....... $112m

[hkskyline]

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/521/5212143.html

[Dubaiiscool:)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL-LZN1toOU

[Dimethyltryptamine]

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/griffs0...n/photostream/
image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jj_bart...n/photostream/

[klm.b777]

When will Korean and China Southern get their first A380.????

[Vrooms]

Source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...105056/1/.html

Qantas resumes A380 flights to USA
By Tan Qiuyi | Posted: 16 January 2011 1723 hrs

SINGAPORE : Qantas has resumed its A380 service to USA, which was grounded last November after a mid-air engine blast.

QF93 left Melbourne at noon on Sunday.

The airline said the resumption of its Los Angeles-Australia route comes after extensive engineering analysis and consultation with Rolls-Royce, Airbus and the European and Australian regulators.

Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said the airline is progressively re-introducing A380s to its network as engine inspection continues.

Qantas will operate 14 A380 services per week for the remainder of January, and frequency will steadily increase from February onwards.

Qantas grounded its fleet of six A380s for intensive safety checks more than two months ago after the mid-air engine blast which forced the Singapore-Australia flight to turn back to Singapore.

- CNA /ls

[Vrooms]

image hosted on flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5081/...1947f42b_b.jpg

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by klm.b777

When will Korean and China Southern get their first A380.????

For CZ and KE both should be this year :

CHINA SOUTHERN TARGETS 30% OF ROUTES TO BE INT'L IN THREE YEARS
2 December 2010

BEIJING, Dec 2 Asia Pulse - China's largest airline firm by fleet-size China Southern Airlines aims to raise the proportion of international routes from the current 15 per cent to 30 per cent in three years, Hong Kong media reported.

Of China's three largest airlines, namely China Southern, Air China (SEHK:00753; SSE:601111), and China Eastern Airlines (NYSE:CEA; SEHK:00670; SSE:600115), China Southern boasts largest fleet size and highest passenger transport volume. It currently owns more than 400 aircraft and transported 66.28 million passengers in 2009.

However, China Southern's international flight routes only account for 13 per cent of all its flight routes, leaving it lagging behind Air China and China Eastern, which have 34 per cent and 26 per cent respectively. The high proportion of domestic flight business has affected the profitability of China Southern, as ticket prices are lower with shorter distances and maintenance costs are higher with more frequent take-offs and landings.

China Southern plans to bring in a total of eight Airbus A380 airplanes and Boeing 787 airplanes in the next year, which will all be put on flight routes to Europe, the US and Southeast Asian countries.


Korean opts for low-density A380
11 January 2011
Flight International

Carrier's superjumbos will have just 407 seats and an all-business upper deck that promises sense of 'exclusivity'

Korean Air is to configure its Airbus A380 superjumbos with just 407 seats, the lowest-density layout for the type of any carrier so far.

The airline has disclosed details of its seating arrangement for the twin-deck aircraft, which will include an all-business upper deck.

Korean Air says this deck will have 94 lie-flat sleeper seats, with 74in (188cm) pitch.

This will give business passengers a sense of "exclusivity", says passenger business division chief Walter Cho.

Travellers on the upper deck will be able to feel "like they're travelling in their own private jet", he adds.

On the lower deck there will be 12 first-class and 301 economy-class seats. It will retain the three-class layout, rather than introduce a premium-economy cabin on the type.

Korean Air is to put the aircraft into service in May 2011, initially on short-haul routes to Japan and eastern Asia.

These initial routes will be followed by longer A380 services to the USA and Europe in August. It has 10 of the type on order, and five will arrive by the end of 2012.

Cho says the aircraft's layout will have a level of comfort that will "provide us with a competitive edge".

Korean Air's Boeing 747s are fitted with 333-384 seats while the airline's Boeing 777-300s are listed by the carrier as having 291-342.

Before the revelation of its seating layout for the A380, Australia's Qantas had offered the lowest-density configuration at 450 seats, including a premium-economy cabin of 32 seats.

Four other carriers operate the A380, with both Emirates and Air France using differing seating layouts depending on the route. Air France's layout of 538 seats is the highest density in operation.

Indian Ocean-based carrier Air Austral, however, is plans to acquire the type with an all-economy seat plan for 840 passengers.

[KingNick]

Can't help it. The Qantas A380 is such a beauty!

[JF97]

I lovee the china southern livery in the a380!

[Oasis-Bangkok]

It's real ???