Malaysia Airlines and Airbus together marked a major achievement March 14, with the hand-over of the 100th A380 to MAS at Airbus’ Henri Ziegler Delivery Centre in Toulouse, France. The aircraft is the sixth A380 for MAS.
“We are delighted that our 100th A380 delivery is to Malaysia Airlines as this gives us an early glimpse into the future shape of aviation,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO. “We see a growing demand from dynamic, competitive airlines such as MAS for larger aircraft, with many markets and routes, and in particular in the fast developing Asia-Pacific region, being ideally suited to A380s.”
Now in its sixth year of commercial service, the A380 is flying with nine world class airlines. To date, the worldwide fleet has carried some 36 million passengers in 100,000 flights. Previous generation Very Large Aircraft (VLA 400 seats and above) would have required 140,000 flights. This reduction in flights brings essential relief to airport-congestion and the environment. The corresponding saving of 5.7 million tonnes of CO2, demonstrates the A380 generates more revenue whilst minimizing emissions and noise.
The A380 fleet performs over 140 flights per day and carries over one and a half million people each month. Passengers can hop on board one of the A380s which are either taking off or landing every six minutes at one of the 32 international airports where it operates to date. On top of these, more than 50 other airports are getting prepared to accommodate the A380 and answer the airlines’ need for more A380 destinations.
Over the next 20 years, more than 1,700 VLA such as the A380 will have been delivered. Asia Pacific leads demand (45 percent) for these high capacity aircraft, followed by the Middle East (23 percent) and Europe (19 percent).
Typically seating 525 passengers in three classes, the aircraft is capable of flying 8,500 nautical miles or 15,700 kilometers non-stop, carrying more people at lower cost and with less impact on the environment. The spacious, quiet cabin and smooth ride have made the A380 a firm favorite with passengers, resulting in higher load factors wherever it flies.
Since 2006 the A380 has registered repeat orders by satisfied customers every year, bringing the total order book to date to 262 from 20 customers.
