What does the A380 mean for British Airways?
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Last Thursday British Airways took delivery of the UK’s first Airbus A380. The moment was a great photo opportunity for its owner and the event managed to make headlines around the world. BA is now the tenth carrier to have the world’s largest commercial aircraft in its fleet; a move which will supposedly herald a “new era” for the company according to its CEO Keith Williams. But why is the Airbus A380 such big news? Rarely will a fleet acquisition make headlines outside the trade press, so what makes the A380 so special? And how does it compare to the plane it is replacing – the classic Boeing 747-400?
There are a number of factors which come into play. For BA, and the other nine carriers that currently own A380s, the aircraft is 16% more fuel efficient per seat than the Boeing 747-400. And, given that BA’s superjumbo can hold up to 469 passengers in comparison to the 747’s 345 – while offering first class passengers 30% more space – the latter is no longer representing value on a passenger: fuel ratio.
The one plane which offers genuine competition to the A380 is Boeing’s much publicised Dreamliner. The aircraft, which looks to have finally emerged from its much documented battery issues, is one of the quietest aircraft ever produced. Something which has had many carriers – including BA – signing contracts to have the Dreamliner in their fleets.
Speaking to Travel Daily UK, Frank van der Post, British Airways’ managing director of brands and customer experience said: “There are significant environmental benefits to both the A380 and 787. The aircraft we’re buying will produce up to 30% less carbon emissions than the aircraft they are replacing.
“Both are fantastic new additions to our fleet and we know our customers will love them. They’re now going through an entry into service programme before they start flying in September. The new aircraft are the centrepiece of our GBP5bn investment in products and services to benefit our customers.”
In having orders with both Airbus and Boeing, British Airways is in the unique position of being the only carrier in Europe to own both the A380 and 787 Dreamliner – however with 12 A380s due for delivery by 2016 – including three arriving this year and five in 2014 – the Airbus model is starting to develop a presence in BA’s fleet. In fact if BA keeps to its current A380 configuration that will be 5,628 passengers flying at a far superior capacity to anything Boeing can currently offer. According to Reuters, if you look at the planes BA has on order with both Boeing and Airbus, the company is due to save around GBP100 million on its GBP4 billion fuel bill by 2017. Within the current climate that is clearly a significant number. This is especially crucial given how high fuel efficiency is on the agenda of every carrier operating today. It doesn’t matter how you look at it, the economics of the A380 are changing the way companies approach their long-haul business. And, if you dig a little deeper into the A380s credentials – and go beyond the aircraft’s well-documented environmental record – there are some interesting things to consider too.
For starters, despite Airbus being a Franco-German company, the A380 is a big success story for British manufacturing. The aircraft not only has four Trent 900 Rolls Royce engines but also comes with wings which were manufactured in Filton (near Bristol) and Broughton in North Wales. According to the Airbus website, around 100,000 jobs are generated in the UK by Airbus wing work alone. This is both directly and indirectly through a supply chain of more than 400 companies.
However, perhaps the most surprising benefit of BA’s decision to acquire the A380 is that it might help secure a much needed expansion at London’s Heathrow Airport.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Williams said that his company was “mindful” of the A380’s noise reduction capabilities when it placed the order with Airbus back in 2007.
Williams told the FT that: “When we made the A380 order we did have in mind the fact that reducing the noise footprint at Heathrow in particular was important…I think it does help the case for expansion.”
Williams’ comments are in line with those of BA’s parent company, International Airlines Group, which isn’t publicly backing a third runway at the UK’s major hub, but is in favour of expansion.
The airport will be making a case for a third runway later this month to an independent commission. To many, the alternative to expansion is finding another site for a London airport – the touted ‘Boris Island’ in the Thames estuary for example – an idea widely criticised as costly and potentially damaging to London’s airport economy. To many experts the answer lies a little closer to home. And with noise pollution one of the greatest barriers to Heathrow expansion, both the quieter A380 and Boeing’s Dreamliner, could be amongst the first generation of aircraft which will support the case for expansion at London’s overcrowded hub.
But if the A380 has the potential to change so much within the UK – one of the most mature aviation markets in the world – what could it do elsewhere?
One of the most tantalising prospects is offering the two deck airplane as a pure economy product. The aircraft would see flights with around 850 people onboard. To put that into context, if the plane was operating at just under capacity – with 840-passengers onboard – the A380 would use just two litres of fuel for every passenger per 100 kilometres. That’s around half the consumption of a Toyota Prius.
All of the above is a good indication that the future of the aviation industry is looking strong. The hard work – and rivalry – of Boeing and Airbus is producing aircraft which are pushing both companies to innovate at a fantastic rate. The good news is that it is showing no sign of slowing down. As carriers host aircraft from both manufacturers in their fleets, brand loyalty is virtually non-existent. This again is a positive; as both Boeing and Airbus follow the path of environmentally friendlier aircraft – the benefits of such development are likely to be felt by far more than those onboard or in the board room.
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