FLUG REVUE March 2005: Airbus A380 "reveal" at Toulouse

March 2005

A380: THE NEW GIANT UNVEILED

By Volker K. Thomalla

5,000 guests, including four heads of European states, attended the glitzy unveiling of the A380 in Toulouse. The biggest passenger aircraft in the world has thus achieved another milestone.

Airbus A380

The unveiling of the A380 was all about dreams and visions and their conversion into reality. Airbus had moved the aircraft debut into the assembly hall and therefore named the event a “reveal” ceremony rather than the normal “rollout”. For Airbus shareholders EADS and BAE Systems, the occasion was a dream come true. Like their competitor, Boeing, they now have a complete family of passenger aircraft on offer, ranging from the small A318 through to the A380, with its 555 seat capacity. The premiere of the aircraft in Toulouse was hyped up into a major event, the first such occasion to be attended by all four heads of state of the main Airbus countries: Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schröder, Tony Blair and José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. In their speeches they stressed the importance of the programme for Europe. Gerhard Schröder called it a proud day for Europe. On this day, he said, a new page in the history of European industry was being written. It demonstrated that Europe still harbours the dynamism necessary to accomplish industrial projects on a grandiose scale.

In fact, the A380 marks a decisive point in the history of Airbus, which now spans over thirty years. This the company communicated at the “reveal” in the fact that it had selected the A380 to be the first Airbus to display the company's new colours. The rainbow colours of the past have had their day, and in the new design different shades of blue on a white background are the dominant feature. The new paintwork creates a lighter impression and, through its intertwined lines and areas, it is intended to symbolise the coming together of different cultures, people and knowledge, as it is precisely this diversity which, according to the company, has made Airbus a success. The new colours are to now be gradually extended to all the Airbus aircraft.

Shortly before the formal unveiling, several airline CEO's released further information about their plans for the A380's they have ordered. Thus, Qantas plans to accommodate 501 passengers in three classes on both decks of its superjumbos. The first routes on which Qantas will fly the new mega-liner will be Sydney-Los Angeles and Melbourne-Los Angeles.

According to its President, Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Air France will carry 538 passengers in the A380, nine of them in First Class, 80 in Business Class and 449 in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways looks as if it will be offering its passengers the most spacious seating arrangement: the maximum number of passengers to be carried on its aircraft will be only 490. “Although it will be another four years before we take delivery of our first A380's, we are already working on the cabin interior to ensure that it is sufficiently spectacular to give our passengers a unique experience on board,” said Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, in Toulouse. The A380 will make its debut at Qatar on the Doha-London route.

Lufthansa has not yet announced its seating plans, but the Chairman of its Executive Board, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, said that the A380 would offer more comfort, lower costs and lower emissions, making it good for customers, shareholders and environment alike. “We shall fly the A380 on every continent,” he added.

Virgin CEO Richard Branson announced that the “approximately 500 passengers” onboard Virgin Atlantic's A380's should not be bored even on long flights as, “We shall be equipping the aircraft in a very innovative way. There will be a fitness room, generously sized bars, a beauty salon and a casino. We will also have some double beds on board.”

Only a few days before the “reveal”, Airbus was able to announce a new A380 customer: the American express freight company, UPS, placed a firm order for ten A380's on 11 January, with options for a further ten. This raises the number of orders and firm letters of intent to 149 aircraft. In addition, there are around 60 options. At least one additional A380 order is expected this year. There was speculation earlier in the financial press that Cathay Pacific and another Chinese airline would be announcing further orders on the occasion of the premiere in Toulouse, but this turned out to be false.

From page 6 of FLUG REVUE 3/2005

Last updated 12 February 2005

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