Bald1983 wrote:Slug71 wrote:Bald1983 wrote:
If a bullfrog had wings he would not bump his butt so much. Boeing is a lot closer to meeting its sales projections; the A-380 is not. But for Emirates, the program would be dead. Even if the parameters change, the A-380 was designed to fly from one mega hub to another mega hub and there are not that many mega hubs. It would be very expensive to build shells and wait for someone to buy them. It is expensive to build them and it is expensive to store them.
Which is exactly why Airbus needs give the A380 a big update. Understandably (because of costs), they are reluctant to spend more money on the program. With good reason. But by the sounds of it, new engines might be a must. The GP7200 is done this year and RR won't provide anymore PIPs for the T900. Any potentially interested buyers will not like that. I wouldn't. That would be a GAP of almost 10 years until another efficiency improvement is done when the Ultrafan is available. Most likely the 10 years of commitment EK is asking for. Airbus most likely knows, that means they'll have to certify new engines now (which wasn't foreseen).
It sounds like you are starting from the position of saving the A-380 and working backwards. The better approach is to go with aircraft that meet your needs and that would be twins, 787's A-350's, etc. The A-380 was built and marketed on a flawed premise, mega-hub to mega hub. If it were not flawed, there would be a lot more of them flying, write now.
I am for saving the A380. It truely is a great aircraft to fly in. But I think it's going to take a big commitment to get more sales. Risky move and a decision i'm glad i do not have to make. It may have been a flawed premise, but the crash of the global economy was by far the biggest flaw. The aviation industry was hit really hard. Airbus is very lucky EK's business plan worked, and they'll be in good shape if air travel does double by the mid-2030s as expected. The A380 isn't limited to mega-hub to mega-hub.