In June 1994, Airbus began secretly developing its own super-large aircraft, a project they hoped would surpass Boeing. Six years later, on December 19, 2000, Airbus officially named the project the A380. This epoch-making jumbo was born. The A380 has a staggering take-off weight of 575 tonnes and a cabin area of 478 square metres, which is 40% more than the Boeing 747-8. In the ** configuration, the A380 can carry 555 passengers, and when the highest density seating arrangement is used, this number can even reach 893 passengers. It can be said that the advent of the A380 became a miracle in the history of civil aviation. As the largest commercial airliner ever built, the A380 broke the record for the highest number of passengers carried by the Boeing 747 in the world for nearly 37 years. The A380 first flew in 2005 and began commercial flights in 2007, and has been well received by passengers for its spacious space, good ventilation system and abundant entertainment facilities. In particular, it has become the standard equipment of the luxury airline Emirates, and its first-class facilities are even more impressive.
However, the A380 also faces many challenges in market operations, including high costs, airport adaptability, and other issues. Crucially, the A380 did not generate significant profits for airlines, resulting in a lack of orders from airlines and eventually having to announce the cessation of production. The A380's sheer size and astonishing maximum capacity make it an icon of modern air travel and indeed the largest commercial airliner in the world. However, in 2019, Airbus announced the restart of the A380 production line, but it was hit by the epidemic. Due to the sharp drop in travel demand in the market, many airlines have stopped the operation of the A380. What is particularly concerning is that China Southern Airlines, the only A380 operator in China, has decided to withdraw from the A380 market, which has brought a lot of sadness to many flight enthusiasts. China Southern Airlines' A380 aircraft completed its last commercial flight in November 2022, marking the end of the domestic A380 era. Although the average age of the A380 is only 10 years, it can be described as the prime of life, China Southern Airlines still chose to retire it. The sourness of this decision is probably something that only China Southern Airlines passengers who have flown on the A380 can truly understand. According to Yi Yige's observation, there are three main issues involved. The first is the high cost of operation.
As a large airliner with four engines, the A380 is extremely expensive to operate. How airlines can achieve profitability is a huge challenge. The second is the lack of scale effect. China Southern Airlines only has five A380s, which makes maintenance, support and operation very tricky, and it is difficult to form economies of scale. Once an aircraft fails, it is extremely difficult to support it. The third is the lack of suitable routes. The A380 is suitable for long-haul international flights and must have sufficient passenger capacity to support its operations, and China Southern's Guangzhou hub is struggling to meet the demand for aircraft like the A380. In addition, the once-expected Beijing international route is also difficult to obtain. In short, the five A380s can only be used as decorations in the end, so it is only a matter of time before they are decommissioned. In this regard, Han Wensheng, General Manager of China Southern Airlines, said: "In the next two to three years, the demand for wide-body aircraft in the international market will be insufficient, so China Southern Airlines has adjusted its overall strategy to appropriately reduce the number of wide-body aircraft fleet. "Currently, Airbus has discontinued the production of the A380, which has led to a rapid decline in its market value. Han explained: "We need to withdraw at the right time.
Considering that the A380 has been in operation for nearly 12 years, according to the six-year overhaul regulations, a large amount of money needs to be invested in repairs in the 12th year. All things considered, it is more beneficial to the overall business to withdraw from the A380 now. Looking back on this series of decisions, Yiyi Ge believes that China Southern Airlines' A380 retirement decision is absolutely correct!However, due to the performance of different markets, the A380 is currently experiencing a recovery in some countries and airlines. The first was the resumption of operations of eight A380 aircraft by Lufthansa. With the rapid recovery of the European aviation market, aircraft capacity has not been able to keep up with the growth in demand. Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline group, has started the resumption of operations on the A380 and has launched a number of intercontinental routes to Asia and North America. To date, Lufthansa has resumed operations with five A380s with the registration numbers D-AIMH, D-AIMK, D-AIML, D-AIMM and D-AIMN. Lufthansa plans to reactivate all eight A380 aircraft by mid-2025. This is followed by Singapore Airlines' 12 A380s, all of which have returned to service.
Singapore Airlines has a total fleet of 12 A380s, all of which are currently in operation. These A380 aircraft are used on some of the more high-demand routes, such as Singapore to Auckland, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Delhi, London, Melbourne, Tokyo and Sydney. In terms of market performance, Singapore Airlines has achieved the best operating performance in its history, and the return of the A380 has also made a significant contribution to this. In addition to Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, airlines such as Etihad Airways, Qantas, British Airways, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have also resumed A380 operations. Some people criticize China Southern Airlines for misjudging the situation, and all I can say is that you don't understand the civil aviation industry