The Airbus A380: The Incredible Plane that No One Wants

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The absolute most financially irresponsible thing I've ever done was buy a business class ticket on a Qantas A380 from LAX to Sydney in fall of 2019. Man, what an experience. It's mind-boggling that that thing can even get off the ground, and once you're up there it's sooo quiet you forget you're even on a plane. Best flight of my life. Once Covid hit and they started parking all the jumbo jets for what looked like it was gonna be forever, I was like yep, zero regrets. I'll be grateful we were able to do that for the rest of my life.

Having worked for years on the A380 as cabin crew, can confirm it was just as much of a pleasure to work those flights as it was to be a passenger! The plane is truly a dream 😍

My dad worked for Emirates Airlines for 35 years and I got to fly in almost every iteration of the A380 the airline had to offer. From the bar at the business class to the shower in the first class. One of the best planes I have ever had the luxury of being in.

Love the A380 for long haul flights. I fly it often to Munich from the states. Its modern, quiet, and reliable. The way they change the lighting in the plane to match your destination to minimize jet lag is amazing.

There is a difference of what airlines want and what passenger want. For long haul flights is the best airplane ever produced. Quiet, spacious and comfortable.

I've been working in the airline industry for eight years at one of the world's busiest airports. When I first started, we received two A380s a day, one by Emirates in the morning, and then later with Qantas in the afternoon. Now, only British Airways flying the hulking beast into our airport. Every time I see it take off, I'm still amazed that an aircraft that size still gets off the ground!

I feel like it is a tragedy to lose these aircraft from active service. To this day, the A380 is the only plane I have managed to get a good nights sleep on in Economy long haul.

This made me sad. RIP Chonk…you’ve gotten me safely across the pacific countless times, and quite comfortably at that.

As a passenger, these are the best long haul planes I've ever flown on. Very sad to see them going out of service already.

Ex Qantas Crew here, I flew Sydney to Dallas on the 380 nearly a hundred times. It was the best aircraft to work on, especially for a flight that long. When the company changed it to the 787 after covid it was such a downgrade. For some reason Dallas will always feel like a second home to me!

I flew one from LA to Paris many years ago. It's like riding a train in the sky. One thing that you don't usually think about: customs and security get really busy when 600 people arrive at the same time. Be ready for long lines.

I recently passed by the China Southern A380 fleet gathering dust in the Mojave Desert. Gave me chills seeing them sitting there casting shadows over all the other abandoned and deteriorating aircraft.

I've been on a few flights with the A380, all with Emirates, and in each cabin class. It's an outstanding aircraft, and as a passenger, I hate to see it dying.

When I worked for GE Aviation we worked on many pieces of equipment that go into the A380. Very proud of my work to supply them.

The 747 will always have a very special place in my heart but in my opinion the A380 is amazing.

No mention of why the demand turned out to be so much less than Airbus expected. It's because the 777 and 787 were able to fly enough passengers far enough and efficiently enough that the hub and spoke air travel model created by the 747 was rendered obsolete. Now the air travel market is virtually all point to point (again), and there are few point to point routes for which the A380's high capacity is called for over the fuel efficiency of a modern two-engine airliner. He did mention that the A380 would never earn back it's massive investment, but didn't mention that, worse, it will never earn back a SINGLE EURO of that huge investment, PLUS they lost ADDITIONAL money on each aircraft built. At one point Airbus hoped to soon increase production enough for economy of scale to make a profit on each aircraft, but lack of demand forced them to cancel those plans. Though the A380 is a technically very impressive airliner--a technical tour de force--it is far and away the biggest economic failure in the industry's history, and one of the biggest economic failures of any business product in history. With every lost Euro taken from the European taxpayer's pocket, the A380 was an economic disaster. This contrasts starkly with the great economic success of the 747. He makes it sound like Boeing pulled out of the joint project, and canceled plans for a large 747 successor, because they didn't think they could compete with the A380. No, Boeing's change of plans was because unlike Airbus they anticipated where the market was headed, to a place where 4-engine airliners, along with the hub and spoke model, would soon be a thing of the past.

I just flew it from Miami to London, so not even a real long flight. I didn’t want it to end! So smooth and quiet. Landing was unbelievable. It is truly a marvel!

I spent years traveling for my job, and as a passenger and frequent traveler the A380 was by far my favorite airplane to fly in. It's so quiet compared to the Boeing 777 and 787. By far the quietest commercial airplane out there.

Personally, I find it sad that the 380 will not continue, though now being retired my likelihood of ever flying on it again is markedly reduced. Prior to retirement, I must have flown on it a couple of dozen times and it quickly became my favourite aircraft when flying as a passenger.. (flying as a pilot I have a completely different set of criteria) ! Amazingly quiet, superbly comfortable even on occasions when I flew economy..Flying out of Dubai at night when the aircraft was barely half full and less power was set for take-off, I looked out to see where we were on the taxi-way only to discover we were climbing through around 6000ft.. I hadn't even been aware of the take-off..