The A380 Revelation

[PeterRS]

It's the plane that was just supposed to die after the pandemic. Now dozens are back in the air with probably more to come as a result of the even further delays to the Boeing 777X aircraft.

Only posting this vdo because I like it!

Just as I really like another with three of the same types of aircraft landing, only that time I was rather sad. It was three Concordes landing at Heathrow  for the last time. One was the regular flight from New York; the other two special charters. But it was the end of an era and the last time we saw that miraculous Delta-wing shape in the air. Much of the discussion is by John Hutchison who was a senior Concorde pilot for many years.

[Keithambrose]

On 6/27/2025 at 11:16 AM, PeterRS said:

It's the plane that was just supposed to die after the pandemic. Now dozens are back in the air with probably more to come as a result of the even further delays to the Boeing 777X aircraft.

Only posting this vdo because I like it!

Just as I really like another with three of the same types of aircraft landing, only that time I was rather sad. It was three Concordes landing at Heathrow  for the last time. One was the regular flight from New York; the other two special charters. But it was the end of an era and the last time we saw that miraculous Delta-wing shape in the air. Much of the discussion is by John Hutchison who was a senior Concorde pilot for many years.

I noted, when landing  at Suvarnabhumi yesterday,  that Thai still had 5 A380s lined up in a row, defunct, paint peeling off. No way they will be serviceable for years.  There were 3 777s as well. Appalling management.

[PeterRS]

3 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

I noted, when landing  at Suvarnabhumi yesterday,  that Thai still had 5 A380s lined up in a row, defunct, paint peeling off. No way they will be serviceable for years.  There were 3 777s as well. Appalling management.

TG has a dreadful reputation for the manner in which it purchased too many different types of aircraft and then pulling them out of service relatively quickly. Their 10 A340s purchased primarily for the American routes have not been operating since 2015. As the first only entered service in 2005, they should have been sold as quickly as possible for whatever the market would bear. Instead, with one exception, they remained rotting at various domestic airports. In 2022 The Nation reported that five were sold for a relative pittance, but even these aircraft remain stuck in Thailand! Three are on the tarmac at Don Mueang; six at U-tapao.

Similarly with the six A380s. Instead of just keeping them maintained when pulled out of service at the start of covid, they have been left basically to rot at BKK. Even with other carriers putting some back into service, TG cannot because it will cost far too much just to get them properly maintained. I read somewhere that to make these aircraft airworthy will cost an absolute minimum of US$30 million - each! They are on the market in an 'as is, where is' condition and worth a small fraction of what TG paid for them.

[vinapu]

beautiful sight of three A380 landing but watching it I got goosebumps thinking about crowd in terminals  after three beast released  their passengers at the same time

[PeterRS]

Looking back through some old photos last night, I found these showing three A380s parked in adjacent bays at Hong Kong airport. As I was there for a long week-end with a Thai friend, he loved the Emirates upper deck and especially the bar at the back. The barman even allowed him to take his place - but only for a few minutes.

[floridarob]

2 hours ago, PeterRS said:

The barman even allowed him to take his place - but only for a few minutes.

Depending on the route, that back bar can be quite active... my last flight, the attendant in my section was a hot Brazilian....the photo behind the bar is cool, I have a few with different things going on in them, lol 

[Riobard]

On 7/7/2025 at 10:10 PM, PeterRS said:

Looking back through some old photos last night, I found these showing three A380s parked in adjacent bays at Hong Kong airport. As I was there for a long week-end with a Thai friend, he loved the Emirates upper deck and especially the bar at the back. The barman even allowed him to take his place - but only for a few minutes.

Telepathy or rote practice to get the snack order right? 

[daydreamer]

A recent article from the Bangkok Post about the issues airlines are facing with the A-380 aircraft:

 

The world’s biggest passenger planes keep breaking down

The world’s largest commercial passenger jet, the Airbus A380, enjoyed an unexpected resurgence hauling full loads of passengers when global travel rebounded after the pandemic. But keeping the ageing superjumbo safely airborne is becoming an increasingly expensive headache for airlines.

Two decades after its maiden flight, regulatory bulletins ordering repairs, inspections or replacement parts for the massive four-engined plane are piling up. While some are procedural, such as a demand for timely equipment checks, others are more serious. 

Leaking escape slides, cracked seals and a ruptured landing-gear axle feature among 95 airworthiness directives for the A380 listed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency since January 2020. 

 

-- continues at the following link:

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3077697/the-worlds-biggest-passenger-planes-keep-breaking-down?tbref=hp. 

[PeterRS]

Being grounded for any length of time is not welcomed by anyone involved with an airline. But I think a touch more realism is worth considering. Not mentioned in the above post by @daydreamer are the comments later in the article about some problems having arisen partly as a result of the aircraft being grounded by most airlines for some years during covid and the belief by most at that time that they would not reenter service. It is largely thanks to the inefficiency and many other problem issues at Boeing - in particular with the massively long 7-year delay in getting the 777X ready for delivery - that the A380s were brought back into service in the first place. Some of the problems that have arisen are unquestionably the result of airlines bringing them back without doing at least a small number of regular checks which naturally is unforgivable. Worrying though that can be, I personally have no issue whatever flying the A380 on a scheduled airline as it is an aircraft I love flying in, whereas nothing will persuade me to ever get on a 737 Max.

Being such a large aircraft, the time for regular maintenance was always going to take considerably longer than smaller aircraft. For Blomberg to suggest this is a problem is stupid in my view! What is the comparison in terms of time, I wonder, compared to maintenance schedules for, let's suggest, two older A330s or two of the original 777s, both aircraft types having been in the air for 30 years?

Interesting that the Bangkok Post - never the most accurate reporter on quite a number of issues, although being fair in this case it is merely quoting from a Bloomberg article - should accompany the article with a photo of a THAI A380. As we all know, for years THAI left its A380 fleet out in the open air in the heat and very high humidity at BKK without any maintenance whatever. Most airlines parked their unused A380s in very dry desert conditions in the USA or Australia. As a result THAI's A380s cannot fly and will need something like US$30 million each in maintenance we have been told before they can even get off the ground. THAI has them up for sale in an "as is where is" condition! Another gross waste of masses of cash by TG who have always ended up with too many different types of aircraft, some of which it cannot sell - e.g. the A380s and its fleet of A340s. Buying the A380 was purely a vanity exercise and a total waste as it was not a good fit for either its route structure or its existing fleet.