Airbus A380

Emirates airline, the biggest buyer of the "superjumbo" Airbus A380, said Wednesday it is considering increasing its order for the double-decker plane despite delays on existing orders. Emirates airline Chairman and Chief Executive Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum told reporters the Dubai-based carrier is looking to boost its order beyond the 58 it has already requested — the most booked by any airline. "We are considering that, actually," he said when asked about additional orders ahead of next week's Dubai Air Show. "We're actually looking at the market as very positive for the next few years ... We are always one of the ... Read Full Story

Air France on Friday became the first European airline to take delivery of the new Airbus A380 superjumbo passenger jet, which it says will make it great savings in tough economic times. The French flag carrier received the huge craft at the Airbus plant in the northern German city of Hamburg in a ceremony and then flew it to Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport. Its first commercial flight is scheduled for November 20, from Paris to New York. The director of Air France, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, told AFP that the A380 would enable it to save money by running fewer flights on long-haul routes. "To ... Read Full Story

Air France will launch flights to New York from Paris this month using the Airbus A380 . The airline took delivery of its first A380 on October 30th and will receive three of the 12 planes that it has on order from Airbus before spring next year. From November 23rd, the Air France A380 will operate daily flights from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to JFK Airport in New York , which will be followed by a service to Johannesburg from the French capital during the winter 2009-10 season. The airline is the first European carrier to use the superjumbo and will be ... Read Full Story

News added by Mark Benson under Airline News N ew Airbus A380 superjumbo has been delivered to Air France and it becomes the first European airline to take the delivery. Air France on Friday became the first European airline to take delivery of the new Airbus A380 superjumbo passenger jet, which it says will make it great savings in tough economic times.The French flag carrier received the huge craft at the Airbus plant in the northern German city of Hamburg in a ceremony and then flew it to Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport. Its first commercial flight is scheduled for November 20, from Paris ... Read Full Story

An engine problem on a Singapore Airlines A380 superjumbo airliner was a "non-event" in technical terms, the chief executive of the company that built it said Monday. Singapore Airlines said the plane carrying 444 passengers from Paris to Singapore was forced to return to the French capital on Sunday when the as-yet unspecified problem was detected two and a half hours into the flight. The A380 is the world's largest passenger airliner and Singapore Airlines (SIA) is the first to take delivery of it, having ordered 19 with an option for six more. Speaking in Paris, Louis Gallois, chief executive of Airbus manufacturer EADS, ... Read Full Story