Final Airbus A380 Ever Manufactured Makes First Flight

Aviation geeks around the world must have let out a collective sigh on Wednesday with news that the final Airbus A380 superjumbo jet ever to be produced departed from the manufacturer’s headquarters in Toulouse. It arrived Hamburg, where it will be painted in the livery of its airline, Emirates, before heading to a new home in Dubai. The flight marks the end of an era, and a shorter runway than Airbus anticipated when it launched its ambitious double-decker project back in 2000.

The first Airbus A380 entered service in October 2007, flying for Singapore Airlines. Since then, other carriers around the world have ordered the massive marvel of engineering, including Air France, ANA, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qantas, and Qatar Airways, among others. All told, nearly 250 of the aircraft have been produced in Toulouse. Notably, no U.S. airline ordered the jet.

With capacity for up to 853 passengers (though no airline shoehorned that many seats into their versions), it was heralded as ushering in a new era of aviation that would make high-traffic routes more efficient and profitable. Unfortunately, the economics proved not to work, and an imminent end to the A380 program that had already begun was only hastened by the Covid pandemic and the decision by several major carriers to ground their A380 fleets.

The plane’s death knell sounded in February 2019 with a joint statement from Airbus and Emirates, the jet’s largest customer, that the airline would reduce its existing A380 order at the time from 162 to 123 aircraft. The next-largest customers were Singapore Airlines, which took 24 A380s over the years, Lufthansa with 14, and British Airways and Qantas, with 12 each. “As a consequence and given the lack of order backlog with other airlines, Airbus will cease deliveries of the A380 in 2021,” Airbus announced at the time, shifting its focus to smaller, next-generation aircraft like the A350 and A330neo.

Although a substantial travel recovery will be necessary for airlines to bring their stored A380s back into service, chances are fliers will see them in the skies for the next 10-15 years as they serve out their productive lifetimes. Beyond that, though, the A380 might become a mere memory, much like the Concorde.

Though much shorter, the jet’s story reflects that of the rival it was meant to dethrone, the Boeing 747, which first flew in 1969 and attempted a comeback in the past decade with a more fuel-efficient 747-8 model. It, too, found a dearth of customers given the expense of the plane itself and its operating costs. Production of that plane will come to an end in 2022.

In many ways, though, the A380 was in a class of its own, and the largest passenger aircraft ever designed. With two complete decks, and powered by four engines, the plane weighs 1.265 million pounds, and has a range of 8,208 nautical miles, which is why many airlines deployed it on their long-haul routes. Many passengers appreciated the plane for its smooth cruising potential and the quietness of the cabins. It became the flagship aircraft for many airlines, with almost unbelievable amenities in certain first- and business-class sections, including full-service bars and lounges, oversized bathrooms with showers, and even a three-room “Residence” in the case of Etihad.

While the future of commercial aviation is heading toward smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft that can be deployed on leaner, more seasonal routes (and hopefully emit fewer greenhouse gases overall), the A380 will still loom large in the passenger psyche. Now that the plane’s final countdown has begun in earnest, travelers might want to try to secure a flight on one of these majestic birds before they eventually go extinct.