[SIZE=7]How the Airbus A380 superjumbo went from an airline status symbol to being sold for spare parts in just 10 years[/SIZE] Benjamin Zhang https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/5a4553814aa6b5c7198b7294-750-563.jpg
A Singapore Airbus A380 superjumbo.Flickr / Aero Icarus
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[li]The Airbus A380 is struggling to find takers in the second-hand market.[/li][li]Dr. Peters Group announced that it will strip down two off-lease Airbus A380s and sell them as spare parts.[/li][li]The German investment firm expects the pair of ex-Singapore Airlines planes to generate $80 million apiece.[/li][/ul]
The Airbus A380 entered service in 2008 with great fanfare. A decade later, the arrival of an Airbus Superjumbo remains an event to behold.
But, the A380 has not been the game-changer Airbus had hoped it would become when it conceived the massive double-decker. This is especially the case on the financial front.
For much of its service life, Airbus has struggled to find airlines willing to put the A380 into service. And now aircraft leasing companies are facing the same struggles. In fact, the market for second hand, off-lease A380s is virtually non-existent.
On Tuesday, Dr. Peters Groupannounced that two of its Airbus A380s will be stripped down and sold for spare parts after the company failed to find any takers for its second-hand superjumbos.
“The market for the A380-800 aircraft type has not developed positively in recent years,” Dr. Peters Group CEO Anselm Gehling said in a statement. “Some airlines have canceled orders from Airbus, while others have opted for smaller long-haul jets.”
The German investment firm expects the two ex-Singapore Airlines planes to generate $80 million of income each.
The depreciation is fairly jarring when you consider that a new A380 carried a $300 million price tag back in 2007when these planes were built. While a new A380 today has a list price of $445.6 million.
According to Reuters, the $40 million it costs to refurbish a used A380’s interior is a major turn off for many in the market for a second-hand superjumbo.
The two soon-to-be-disassembled planes are believed to be the third and fifth A380s ever built. A third ex-Singapore A380 did find a new a home. The sixth A380 built will enter into service with Portuguese charter airline Hi-Fly this summer.
Here’s a closer look at the turbulent history of the Airbus A380:
Indeed a very comfortable, less noisy plane and above all, minimal turbulence. It is fast too. Reaching 1050km/h on occasions and so you arrive early. Halafu a dozen cameras around the plane including pilot’s view and the top of vertical stabilizer view.
Apart from operating costs, the number of times the model has experienced uncontained engine failure imetishia many buyers
Yeah beautiful plane but flawed. Build for the airlines who are your customers. Even airports had to install double decker air bridges to be able to accommodate A380. One landed in Dar after experiencing bad weather in Indian ocean on it way to Mauritius. The ground crew just stared. Their staircases where shorter for the plane. Luckily the had one that is extendable otherwise they had no idea how to disembark the passengers.
Ustadh kimbia ufuturu kwanza yaonekana ubao ina affect your ability to think clearly…charley fulani amesema yeye hutumia Airbus kutoka na kufika Dubai…JKIA ni Boeing.
hii imenikumbusha turbulence ilinipata nikienda hongkong. The plane felt like it hit a pothole in the air, everyone of the plane kept quite and it was dark asf. Hapana cheza na airspace ya kathmadu
No, it can land and take off but we can only disembark one stream of passengers first then the upper floor. Now that its most certainly being faced out then its not necessary to upgrade airport for this plane alone but for our own general needs.
