Airbus A380 Will Be
Highlight of Dubai Air Show
16 November 2005
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Airbus' A380 will be the
highlight of the Dubai airshow where,
wearing Emirates colours, it will fly
each day. This is the first time that the
Airbus A380 has displayed at an airshow
outside Europe, the first time that it is
wearing a full airline livery, and the
first time that it has visited Dubai.
Emirates was the first airline to select
the A380 and is the largest customer for
it, with plans to fly 45, including two
on lease. The double-deck 21st Century
flagship has been chosen by 16
prestigious airlines that have already
ordered an impressive 159 aircraft,
including Etihad Airways and Qatar
Airways, with four and two, respectively.
Offering passengers wider seats, even in
economy, the Airbus A380 is the world's
most economical aircraft, being 15-20 per
cent better per seat than today's largest
aircraft. It is also a good neighbour,
with fewer emissions and only half the
noise of very large aircraft flying today
- as spectators will be able to judge for
themselves.
The Airbus A380 being displayed at Dubai
is one of five aircraft in a flight test
programme that began in April this year
and will total some 2,500 hours. Its
cabin is full of heavy
test-instrumentation - including
recorders and barrels of water to
simulate the weight of passengers and
cargo.
The three aircraft currently in the
flight-test programme have now flown more
than 520 hours in over 140 flights, and
continue to make excellent progress.
Milestones include an early demonstration
of an automatic landing, minimum
unstick-speed trials, and a thorough
check of aircraft behaviour throughout a
wide range of speeds and heights.
Airbus also began A380 airport
compatibility checks in October, with a
visit to Frankfurt.
Airbus is present at the Dubai airshow
with a chalet A45-46 and on stand 206 in
Hall C, at which it will highlight the
whole of its product line. It has always
recognised that airlines need different
aircraft for different jobs, and offers
point-to-point aircraft such as the A330,
A340 and A350 - as well as the hub-to-hub
A380.
Launched in October, the Airbus A350 is
Airbus' newest aircraft, and carries 30
more people, eight per cent more
economically per seat and 300 nm/555 km
further than the newest competing
aircraft. A completely new aircraft,
featuring a carbonfibre wing and 60 per
cent advanced materials, the A350
nevertheless retains the same type-rating
as the A330, allowing pilots to switch
easily from one to the other.
Qatar Airways is the first and largest
customer for the A350 with an order for
60, and other airlines in the region are
also interested in it. Total sales of the
Airbus A350 stand at more than 140, from
ten customers, highlighting the keen
interest that it is winning from airlines
in the Middle East and around the world.
Airbus forecasts that airlines in the
Middle East and North Africa will need a
total of more than 1,000 airliners, of
all different sizes, worth $124 billion,
up to the year 2023. With the world's
most modern airliner family and
long-established partnerships with
carriers in the region, it expects to win
at least a half of this market.
Airbus has won the most airliner sales
worldwide in five of the past six years,
will deliver the most airliners this year
for the third year running, and is the
leader in airliner innovation and helping
its customers to get the best out of
their aircraft.
Airbus is an EADS joint company with BAE
Systems. |
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