Airbus A380 on Schedule

WHEN IT ENTERS AIRLINE SERVICE NEXT year, the Airbus A380 will be the biggest and heaviest airliner in the world. Compared with the current behemoth of the skies-the Boeing 747-400-the A380 is some 8 feet longer and 16 feet taller, and it has a 28-foot-wider wingspan; moreover, fully loaded, it will outweigh the 747-400 by 360,000 pounds.

The premier Airbus A380 is scheduled to make its first flight early in 2005 and to enter commercial service in spring 2006. As of June 30, 2004, Airbus has received orders from 11 customers for 129 A380s (including 17 A380Fs).

The A380 family begins with the 555passenger, three-class version with a range of 8,000 nautical miles. The A380F freighter will carry a 330,000-pound payload over 5,600 nautical miles. Longer, shorter and extended-range versions will be made available when the market requires them.

A380 variants will be powered by four 81,500-pound-thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or four 70,000-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney GP7000 turbofan jet engines (the prefix "GP" designates General Electric and Pratt & Whitney). The latter is based on a combination of technologies being shared by the General Electric GE90 and Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine families.