Development of the A380

Development of the A380
Main article: Airbus A380

In the summer of 1988 a group of Airbus engineers led by Jean Roeder began working in secret on the development of an ultra-high-capacity airliner (UHCA), both to complete its own range of products and to break the dominance that Boeing had enjoyed in this market segment since the early 1970s with its 747.[43] The project was announced at the 1990 Farnborough Air Show, with the stated goal of 15% lower operating costs than the 747-400.[44] Airbus organised four teams of designers, one from each of its EADS partners (Aérospatiale, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, British Aerospace, EADS CASA) to propose new technologies for its future aircraft designs. In June 1994 Airbus began developing its own very large airliner, then designated as A3XX.[25][45][46] Airbus considered several designs, including an odd side-by-side combination of two fuselages from the Airbus A340, which was Airbus’s largest jet at the time.[47] Airbus refined its design, targeting a 15 to 20 percent reduction in operating costs over the existing Boeing 747-400. The A3XX design converged on a double-decker layout that provided more passenger volume than a traditional single-deck design.

Five A380s were built for testing and demonstration purposes.[48] The first A380 was unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse on 18 January 2005, and its maiden flight took place on 27 April 2005. After successfully landing three hours and 54 minutes later, chief test pilot Jacques Rosay said flying the A380 had been “like handling a bicycle”.[49] On 1 December 2005, the A380 achieved its maximum design speed of Mach 0.96.[48] On 10 January 2006, the A380 made its first transatlantic flight to Medellín in Colombia.[50]




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