380 Orders so far
 

Complete list of Airbus 380
Air France- 10 A380.800- 4 Option
Lufhtansa- 15 A380.800
Virgin Atlantic- 6 A380.800- 6 option
Malaysia Airlines- 6 A380.800- 6 option
Singapore Airlines- 10 A380.800- 15 option
Qantas Airways- 12 A380.800- 12 option
Qatar Airways- 2 A380.800- 2 option
Emirates - 20 A380.800 - 10 option
Emirates - 2 A380.800F
Fedex Express- 10 A 380.800F - 10 option
:cool:

UPS ordered some A380-800 Freighters recently also. I remember reading about that.

Yes, UPS ordered 10, as well. I imagine both well use them for their China-US service.

So Airbus is averaging 30 orders a year (figuring since 1999, going back to the A3XX announcement). They have 149, and need about that many more to break even (considering the huge launch discounts customarily given for new aircraft by both Airbus and Boeing). Then another 500 or so to make the 20% return on the $13 billion investment (so far) they promised. But EADS is hoping to sell upwards of 750 over the next thirty years.

Good luck to them. I just don't see it happening. I think the 7E7 is going to be much more successful in the long term, but not a grand slam either. The airlines just don't have that much capital to invest.

They will easily sell that many, even if the majority are freight. As 747s get older and more expensive to maintain (and fuel), freight companies will replace them with the A380 since Boeing decided not to compete. Additionally, as the Chinese middle class grows, there will be a large Chinese market for this plane. Finally, there is only so much traffic major airports can handle. With landing and gate slots at a premium in large markets, airlines will want large planes for heavily traveled routes. The 787 just isn't big enough for LAX-SYD, HKG-LHR, SIN-LHR, etc.

Correction: the US airlines don't have much to invest. Qantas made a 500million profit last year for example...

Whos ready?
 

Many large international hub airports are not ready for such a large aircraft. The runways and taxiways both need to be wider then needed for a 747.
SFO is ready, both in runway and gates. I wonder if that will give it an advantage over other West cost hubs for Asian travel??

Most US hubs have one 200ft wide runway. Most taxiways won't need widening, the corners may be flared on routes that will be designated for taking the A380 depending on the turning radius. It's really much less of a deal than people are making it into.

Yes, thanks. I was only thinking of U.S. and most European legacy carriers. Asian airlines in general are doing very well.

And Airbus may indeed see a large proportion of orders for the freighter version (and as I've said earlier, I'm totally excited about seeing the FedEx birds flying over IND!). But I read somewhere that Boeing is still mulling the possibility for offering an updated 747 with the Dreamliner engines and updated controls and avionics. So I wouldn't yet conclude that Boeing decided not to compete. I think they just decided that they couldn't provide the return on investment that their shareholders require by designing a completely new jumbo from the ground up.

Guess what, unless you are talking about Olympic and Swiss, you are wrong again! AF/KL make loads of money, the books of BA, LH, SK and AY are well balanced (even if not consistently profitable), EI has turned itself around, OK is profitable, LO is profitable, TP is profitable (I think, not 100% sure), IB is profitable, OS breaks even comfortably....so which European airline were you referring to?

Thai Airways has also ordered A380s -- I saw their logo on the side of the plane at the unveiling yesterday...

Emirates has ordered 45, two of which are freighters, according to this Daily Star article. Largest aircraft order in civil aviation history, totaling $19 billion.

I guess these orders look good, but how much do they have to put down to place the orders, and what's the penalty if they cancel them? Especially within the last few years, there have been many reports about airlines deferring or cancelling future orders.

That $19B looks nice, but I'd guess that proper accounting practices don't allow it to be reflected as sales until the aircraft is actually delivered.

Jeff

It varies, but usually airlines put down around 25% or so as a deposit, and then once the plane enters the production queue, they make regular payments, with a final lump sum made at delivery.

Cancellation fees are probably the deposit, but oftentimes Boeing and Airbus will work with the customer to either defer delivery, adjust the price, or swap out a different plane type (like UPS did, cancelling ~36 A300Fs for the 10 A380Fs).

All of the airlines that ordered the A380 have "walk away rights" meaning that they can return the airplane and have all of their fees returned if they find that it does not fit their business plan, etc.. In the US those types of sales are not able to be counted as orders but in the EU they are considered sales.