Airbus set to unveil world's biggest passenger jet

Airbus set to unveil world's biggest passenger jet

Sunday, January 16, 2005 (Paris):

Airbus, which has delivered more airplanes than Boeing for the second year in a row, is about to unveil the world's largest passenger jet.

The A380, a four-aisle, four-engine, double-decker "superjumbo," will roll onto the tarmac on Tuesday at Airbus headquarters in southern France.

Sales have beat expectations so far, and most of the technical problems that have dogged the program have been resolved, at a price.

Testing time

But the real sighs of relief won't be heard in Toulouse before March 31, when the A380 hauls its 308-ton frame aloft, the Airbus says.

That's when the plane's engineers will begin to find out whether their gargantuan offspring lives up to the performance promises, as the first test-flight data streams in.

In a standard three-class cabin configuration, the A380 will carry 555 passengers, which is one-third more than the Boeing 747, the plane it is designed to displace.

The Airbus also claims that on a full tank, it will carry them five per cent further than Boeing's longest-range jumbo, with costs per passenger one-fifth below that of its rival. (AP)

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