TPG climbed into the dusty hangar of aviation history to find out about two-floor aircraft: Some that pioneered international air travel, some that were one-of-a-kind and some you still can fly today.
The mega-jet is dead. In a move that surprised no one in the industry, Airbus announced that its A380 line in Toulouse will close in 2021, once the final aircraft on order has been delivered.
Captain James Basnett is at the controls of a British Airways Airbus A380 mega-jet, serenely cruising far above the stormy North Atlantic. More than 450 passengers are enjoying the inflight service, watching a movie or just sleeping away the overnight flight from Boston to London. Comfortably cocooned in the technological marvel that is a modern airliner, the passengers are blissfully unaware that their plane is just one of hundreds in a massive aerial armada heading to Europe from North America.
It's the middle of the night in the sleepy French town of Lévignac, in the countryside just outside of Toulouse. There are people lined up along the town's main road, waiting for a parade to begin. But there are no marching bands or decorated floats at this 1 a.m. event. Instead, a convoy of six trucks appears, each pulling an enormous trailer carrying a massive component of the world's largest passenger airliner, the Airbus A380.
Rumors have been circulating of late that Tim Clark, president of Emirates, might be considering the “R”-word – Retirement. Not so, Clark says. “We’re lucky to have a strong management team in place with many potential candidates to take over when I choose to leave. However, for now I’m still here and enjoying what I do.”
Western Canada’s first scheduled Airbus A380 service began on Sunday evening, with the arrival of British Airways flight BA85 at Vancouver International Airport. YVR is the airline's only Canadian A380 destination, and is one of only nine city-pairs worldwide served by one of British Airways’ eleven megajets. The A380 replaces British Airways’ daily London-YVR Boeing 747 service for the summer season.
