Sat, Jun 09, 2007 page12

• Super-sized Airbus A380 touches down at Taiwan Taoyuan

  • By Jessie Ho / STAFF REPORTER
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  A new Airbus A380, the biggest aircraft in the world, touched down at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday, impressing passengers and airport workers who craned their necks to see the gigantic airliner.

  The aircraft has also visited Tokyo and Sydney in the A380 World Tour this year and will fly back to Toulouse, France, on Sunday after carrying local airline and government officials on a compatibility trial today.

  The A380 stopped in Taiwan to introduce the aircraft to local carriers including China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空). Neither airline has yet placed an orders for the jet.

  

  A curious crowd gathers around a new Airbus A380 after it touched down at Taoyuan International Airport at 3:50pm yesterday. The aircraft, the world's largest with a seating capacity of 519, has visited more than 40 airports around the world.

  PHOTO: YAO CHIEH-HSIU, TAIPEI TIMES

  "It's up to the passengers to decide what aircraft to buy," Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy said at a press conference after the A380's arrival.

  Passengers who have boarded the new jet during the demonstration tour have given it high marks, Leahy said.

  "They said this is the future of flight and they don't want to go back to the past," Leahy said.

  The airliner can accommodate 525 passengers in a typical three-class configuration, or 40 percent more passengers than Boeing Co's B747-400 passenger jet -- the largest aircraft in service -- can carry.

  For Taiwanese carriers, the A380 could serve on the Taipei-Los Angeles route, the second-busiest route in the Asia-Pacific region, Leahy said.

  The only complaint that customers have had about the A380 is its delayed delivery schedule, Leahy said.

  Manufacturing problems have delayed the introduction of the aircraft for two years, he said.

  Airbus has received 160 orders for the A380 from 14 airlines. The first will be delivered to Singapore Airlines in October.

  If buyers place orders for A380 now, they will have to wait until 2012 for delivery, Leahy said.

  The A380's passenger comfort improvements include wider seats and more floor space in the cabin for all passengers, Leahy said.

  The airliner is also the quietest commercial aircraft in the world, he said.

  "The loudest noise during my flight was a man who snored in front of me," Leahy said.

  Despite its size, the A380 is the world's most environmentally friendly airplane, consuming 17 percent less fuel per seat than the largest aircraft today, he said, adding that the jet had earned the nickname "green giant."

  The A380's fuel efficiency will reduce airlines' operating costs by 15 percent to 20 percent over other aircraft, he said.

  The airliner also has 15 percent greater range, which can help to bring down ticket prices, he said.

  The double decker A380 is the first long-haul aircraft to consume less than three liters of fuel per passenger over 100km, a rate comparable to an average economical car, an Airbus statement said.

  Airbus said in a statement that it estimates that air passenger traffic is expected to increase by 5 percent per year over the next 20 years.

  The company is looking for more business from emerging markets such as China and India, where an increasing number of people can afford international air travel, the statement said.
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