The creation and start of production of the double-deck wide-body airliner Airbus A380 put an end to the undivided monopoly of the aircraft, which lasted for several decades. The car is the largest passenger airliner in the world.

Reliability and reduced operating costs ensure good demand for the machine, despite its high cost. The most expensive option was supplied to the family of the King of Saudi Arabia, and cost the customer 488 million US dollars.

History of creation

Work on a new large-sized Airbus airliner began in the late 80s. The aircraft was created as a competitor to the Boeing 747 airliner, which had a monopoly on the niche of such aircraft since the 70s. In parallel, a similar aircraft was being developed by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, but its project was a failure.

The management of Boeing and Airbus realized the limitations of the market for high-capacity aircraft, so in 1993 attempts were made to enter into a partnership agreement that would allow them to divide the market. In parallel, the development of projects was underway, called “Airbus” 3XX and “Boeing” 747X.

For the Airbus, several fuselage options were developed, including a twin-length fuselage from the 340 model. The Boeing aircraft was supposed to be equipped with a fuselage with a nose section increased in height.

Development of the Boeing project was stopped in early 1997 due to the emerging economic crisis in East Asia, which reduced the market for large aircraft.

Airbus decided to continue development of the project, concentrating on reducing operating costs while increasing capacity. It was then that the decision was made to use a double-deck fuselage, which ensured the maximum capacity of the aircraft.

The A380 designation appeared at the end of 2000, when the project was approved by the then management of Airbus. Assembly of the first aircraft began in 2002. A special feature of the production of the A380 aircraft was the use of the production facilities of several dozen enterprises scattered throughout Europe.

The first flight of the Airbus A380 took place in the spring of 2005, and already at the beginning of 2006 the first test flight across the Atlantic Ocean was carried out.

Finalizing the design and solving problems that arose with suppliers shifted the start of aircraft production to 2007, in which only one copy was delivered. Actual deliveries began only the following year, in which 12 A380 aircraft were assembled.

At the beginning of 2017, there were 207 Airbus A380 aircraft in active operation, owned by twelve airlines. During the operation of the aircraft, several minor flight accidents were recorded.

In particular, in the fall of 2017, on one of the Air France airliners, elements of a turbojet engine separated in flight. The cause of the incident was determined to be a manufacturing defect in the fan hub of the GP7200 engine.

Fuselage and cockpit

The fuselage of the Airbus A380-800 aircraft is equipped with two decks to accommodate passenger seats. Between the decks there are stairs located in the bow and tail of the passenger compartment. When laying out the stairs, it was possible to ensure a width sufficient for the free movement of passengers towards each other.

Carbon fiber composites are widely used in the fuselage structure.

The end section of the fuselage is entirely made of composite. A tail horizontal and vertical stabilizer is attached to it. Inside there is a service compartment and an auxiliary gas turbine unit with a generator.

In the forward part of the fuselage there is a pilot's cabin equipped with two seats. To display data, the cockpit is equipped with liquid crystal monitors (the “glass cockpit” concept) of a unified design that allows devices to be replaced.

Pilots do not have a traditional helm. The steering wheel is replaced by joysticks located on the outside of the seats. Joysticks are connected to electric drive controls. The cockpit contains more than 100 thousand wires connecting various electronic and electrical components.

In front of the pilots there is a folding table with a keyboard. Between the seats there are controls, including four throttle levers for controlling engine operating modes.

The Airbus A380 wing was created based on a take-off weight of at least 650 thousand kg, which is considered achievable on future versions.

In addition, this weight was planned for the cargo version of the A380-800F aircraft, which never went into production.

Engines

Depending on the modification, the Airbus A380 airliner can be equipped with Trent 900 family turbojet engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce or GP7200 developed by Engine Alliance.

The GP7200 powerplant is a collection of components developed by several major engine manufacturers. Both types of engines meet modern noise requirements during takeoff and landing.

The table shows some engine characteristics.

Parameter	Trent 900	GP7200
Type	Turbofan three-shaft	Twin-shaft turbofan
Combustion chamber type	Single	Single with reduced emissions of harmful substances
Turbine design	One stage each for high and medium pressure, 5 stages for low pressure	Two stages of high pressure and 6 stages of low
Compressor	One fan wheel, 8-stage medium pressure stage and 6-stage high pressure stage	Fan, 5-speed low pressure and 9-speed high pressure
Length, mm	5478	4920
Diameter, mm	2950	3160
Weight, kg	6246	6712
Take-off thrust, kN	310-340	311

To reduce the travel distance, two engines have a thrust reverser (one under each wing). The engines use aviation kerosene as fuel.

Exploration work is underway to operate power plants using a mixture of kerosene and natural gas converted into liquid fuel. The fuel supply is located in 13 caisson tanks located in the wings and horizontal tail.

The fuel system has 41 pumps that constantly move fuel between tanks to maintain alignment and reduce drag.

Passenger compartment design

The pressurized passenger cabin of the Airbus A380 aircraft has improved sound insulation. The width of the fuselage allows for 11 rows of passenger seats.

All places are connected to communication lines built on the basis of fiber optics.

Passengers board and disembark through two doors located in the forward fuselage on the lower deck.

First grade

The seats are located in the bow of the lower deck. There are 14 seats in total, 4 of which are located singly on the sides, the remaining 6 are located in the central row in pairs. A special feature of first class seats is the ability to be folded into a full-fledged berth.

At the beginning and end of the compartment there is a bathroom and a kitchenette. In addition, first class has a shower facility (not available on all Airbus A380s).

Business Class

Business class seats are located immediately behind first class. The seats are arranged in eight rows at a fairly large distance from each other. The design of the chairs allows the backrests to be folded out to form a sleeping area.

There are a total of 20 rows of seats, the total capacity of the business class cabin is 76 seats.

At the beginning and end of the salon there are kitchenettes and a bathroom. A bar counter is located in the area of ​​the first emergency exit. The second emergency exit is located towards the rear of the Airbus A380.

Economy class

Economy class seats on the Airbus A380 are located on the upper deck in three rows. The side rows have three seats, the central row has four. There are two aisles between the rows. There are bathrooms in the bow, stern and middle parts.

The cabin is designed for 399 passengers. Passenger seats are equipped with an individual screen mounted in the backrest. The economy class cabin has two kitchenettes and three bathrooms.

In the event of an emergency, economy class passengers can leave the Airbus A380 cabin through 10 emergency exits.

It is possible to expand the economy class cabin to the second deck. In this case, the capacity of the Airbus A380 reaches a record 853 passengers.

Chassis

In the scheme for extending and retracting the landing gear on the Airbus A380, a combined drive is used - from hydraulic systems (duplicated) and from electric actuators (also duplicated). Electric actuators operate the chassis via hydraulic systems.

In this way, it was possible to install four independent control systems, which increased the safety of the aircraft and reduced the risk of dangerous situations. The landing gear niches are closed with landing gear doors made of composite materials. The design of the doors is monolithic.

Flight performance compared to competitors

Parameter	A380	A380 Plus	Boeing 747-8F
Wingspan, mm	79 800		68 450
Length, mm	73 000		76 250
Height, mm	24 100		19 350
Empty weight, kg	276 800		191 100
Maximum take-off weight, kg	560 000	578 000	442 000
Fuel capacity, l	325 000		-
Total takeoff thrust, kN	1244-1360	At least 1244	1188
Maximum speed, km/h	1020		988
Cruising speed, km/h	Up to 945		908
Flight range, km	15 200	15 756	14 100
Ceiling, m	13 115		13 000
Crew, people	2
Number of seats, persons	853	933	581

Prospects

In mid-2017, Airbus announced the creation of an improved A380 Plus. The main direction of improvements was to reduce the cost of the aircraft, which in theory should increase demand for the aircraft.

At the same time, the redesigned cabins are designed to accommodate a record 933 passengers. Capacity has been improved due to a tighter cabin layout and a reduction in the area of ​​service compartments.

Externally, the A380 Plus is not very different from its predecessor - the main changes affected the design of the wing, which should have reduced drag.

Modified Rolls-Royce and Engine Alliance power plants have reduced fuel consumption and increased thrust by 7%, but there is no official data on them in the public domain.

Video

At the end of the last century, the aviation industry was at the peak of civil aircraft development. For 30 years, the Boeing 747 had a great advantage over other companies.

The aircraft had a large capacity and excellent flight characteristics, which encouraged other companies to develop more improved models that could compete with Boeing.

Passenger aircraft A380

In 1994, Airbus began developing a new model of a large passenger airliner that would compete with the Boeing 747.

The company's engineers developed many variants of the aircraft, after which the project was given the name A3XX. Boeing engineers also took part in the development, and at the same time they were developing a new and improved version of the existing Boeing 747 airliner.

The joint work was completed in 1996, after which, due to the crisis, the Boeing company was forced to close the project.

At that time, the company developed a project for the A340 passenger airliner, which did not have high flight characteristics, but had good capacity. But these indicators did not reach the characteristics of competitors. One of the problems of the model was the heavy weight of the liner.

In 1996, engineers adopted the option of using a double-deck aircraft design, which had many advantages. Only in 2000, after the project was financed, the new model received the name A380 - the largest airbus in the world, its parameters are simply grandiose.

The design of the new Airbus A380 airliner was approved only in 2001, after which mass production of parts and components began, which was carried out in four countries. After which everything was delivered to Toulouse, where work on assembling the passenger liner took place.

Airbus A380 861 in operation by Emirates Airline

The first A380 aircraft was built in 2005, after which it was demonstrated in Toulouse. The Airbus made its first flight in the same year; during the tests, all the shortcomings were identified, which were reworked and corrected.

At the end of 2007, the Airbus A380 aircraft was certified, after which the model was put into mass production.

Characteristics of the world's largest Airbus A380-800

Technical characteristics of the A380 are shown in the table:

Size

Weight

Passenger cabin

Flight data

The passenger capacity of the A380 depends on the airline that operates the aircraft. Characteristics of the Airbus A380 are designed for 525 seats divided into 3 classes or 853 seats in economy class.

Airlines that use different configurations of the A380:

• Singapore Airlines - configuration for 471 seats;
• Qantas configuration for 450 seats;
• Korean Air - 407-seat configuration;
• Lufthansa - configuration for 526 seats;

Other airlines use standard equipment.

Interior layouts and seat locations

The double-decker Airbus has two decks, upper and lower, which are connected by two staircases at the tail and nose of the aircraft. The decks accommodate first, business and economy classes.

First grade

As with all passenger airliners, first class is located towards the front of the aircraft. All seats in this class are the most expensive and comfortable. But each class has both advantages and slight disadvantages. 1 and 4 rads are located near the toilet, which can cause discomfort.

Business Class

Business class is located in the center of the plane and has comfortable seats with plenty of free space. The seats can be easily folded down into a bed, which is very convenient during a long flight. The most uncomfortable places here are the seats in rows 6 and 26, which are located close to the toilet. Also, the 21st rad is located next to the bar, which can cause discomfort.

Economy class

Economy class is located on the lower deck of a passenger liner and can accommodate up to 400 seats. The main disadvantage is that the seats do not recline, so you will have to spend the entire flight in a sitting position. The most uncomfortable seats in this class are row 88, which is located next to the toilet.

The best places

The best seats aren't just in first and business class. In economy class, you can feel good in rows 45, 54 and 82. Rows 68 and 81 are also comfortable; the main advantage of these seats is their close location to the windows. Rows 43, 52, 67, 68 and 80 can be considered comfortable, as they have a lot of legroom. The worst seats are in row 88, which are located near the wall and the toilet.

Passengers enjoy flying on the Airbus 380-800, no matter what class they fly. This wide-body, double-deck monster is used not only on long-distance routes, but also on regional routes with high density traffic. The capacity of the liner ranges from 400 seats to more than 800 passengers. The aircraft can fly non-stop over a distance of 15,000 kilometers, but fully loaded for 12,000 kilometers.
It seats 42% more passengers and uses 22% less fuel per passenger than the Boeing 747-400.

Airbus A380-800

The double-deck wide-body airliner appeared on airlines in 2007, setting a high bar for competitors that no one has yet been able to overcome. Airbus flies higher, further and quieter, requiring low fuel consumption and operating costs per each passenger carried. The main thing is that the flight is fully loaded.
Russian design bureaus and enterprises also take part in the development and production of the A380. More than half of the concern's needs for ultra-light titanium are provided by the VSMPO production association in Verkhnyaya Salda.

The price of the aircraft is about 400 million dollars.

This is the world's first aircraft with two independent decks, called the "upper deck" (located on the upper level) and the "main deck" (located below the upper deck)
Unlike the Boeing 747-400, the A380 provides direct access through two or three doors to the lower and upper decks.

The liner is equipped with four GP7200 or RR Trend 900 engines with a thrust of 311 kN.

Airports for A380

To understand what airports wishing to receive the A380 must prepare for, just look at the landing gear alone: ​​the aircraft requires a parking space of 80 by 80 meters. It is necessary to expand the waiting rooms, as well as rebuild the terminals so that hundreds of passengers can board on two decks at once. The runways also need improvement: for this aircraft they need to be at least 45 meters wide, with 7.5 meter overhangs on both sides.

Airports that accept A380 in Russia: Domodedovo Moscow, Pulkovo St. Petersburg. In Dubai, in 2012, for the world's largest fleet of double-decker Airbuses, Emirates, a separate terminal was built with the ability to serve twenty aircraft simultaneously.

Technical characteristics of the A380

The table shows the main technical characteristics of the aircraft. Interior dimensions and noise levels can be found in articles devoted to this.

A380 cockpit

The cockpit of the largest widebody has been further developed to incorporate the latest advances in display technology, navigation and flight control systems. The main instrument panel contains 8 large liquid crystal displays. Traditional paper documentation is becoming a thing of the past and has been replaced by an electronic library. There are no traditional steering wheels in the cockpit. Instead, joysticks appeared. The crew workstation is almost identical to the cockpits in other Airbus aircraft of the A320, A330, A340 and A350XWB families. This unification allows airlines to save significant money on retraining and payroll. The conversion course for A320, A330, A340 takes 15 days, and the transition to A350XWB is a record low of 5 days.

Airbus A380 interior

Comfort for all passengers - whether they are premium customers in first and business class, or tourists in the economy class cabin.

Airbus has gone to great lengths to make passengers feel more at home on long-haul flights on the A380, with wider seats, larger personal stowage areas for carry-on luggage and wider staircases and aisles.
The cabin air is completely renewed every three minutes to keep the ambience fresh, and natural light is provided by a large number of windows. There are two hundred and twenty of them.

The cabin noise level of the 380 is lower than that of the A340-600 and significantly lower than that of the Boeing 777-300ER, 747-400.

Operators

Emirates airline has the largest fleet of 380s. A separate terminal was built especially for it in Dubai.

There are no direct flights from Russia on the A380. Only during transfers at other airports, for example to Dubai.

The A380 is an aircraft created by specialists from Airbus S.A.S. It is the world's largest passenger airliner. The vessel reaches 24.08 m in height and 72.75 m in length. The aircraft's wingspan is 79.75 m. In a single-class configuration, it can carry 853 passengers, in a three-class configuration - 525. The maximum non-stop flight distance is 15 thousand 400 km.

The work of the creators

As the developers note, the greatest difficulties were encountered in the process of searching for options for reducing the weight of the A380 aircraft. The aircraft was made lighter thanks to its widespread use in the creation of not only power structural elements, but also auxiliary units, interiors and much more. In addition, the most advanced technological solutions and modified aluminum alloys were used for these purposes. Thus, 40% of the mass of the eleven-ton center section is carbon fiber. Glare hybrid material is used to produce the side and top panels of the fuselage. Laser welding of the skin and stringers of the lower fuselage panel made it possible to significantly reduce the number of fasteners.

The Airbus A380 is an aircraft that took about ten years to create. The cost of the grandiose project was twelve billion euros. According to Airbus representatives, for this amount to be recouped, it is necessary to sell four hundred and twenty copies of the aircraft. Based on this information, you can calculate how much the plane costs. The amount is impressive - 28 million 571 thousand 428 euros per copy.

Where it all began

The A380 is an aircraft that began to be developed with the following goals: to expand the range of Airbus S.A.S. products. and displace the Boeing-747 from its leading position. Debate about the final configuration of the aircraft ended in 2001. The first components of the A380 wing were produced in January 2002. Initial estimates for the program ranged from 8.7 to 8.8 billion euros. After assembly, this amount increased to 11 billion (later it was increased further).

It should be noted that employees of the Moscow engineering center Airbus ECAR made an invaluable contribution to the design of the A380F model. Thanks to the efforts of Russian designers, a large amount of work was completed on the design of individual parts of the fuselage, strength calculations were made, on-board equipment was installed and support was provided for serial production of the aircraft.

Where are components produced and how are they transported?

Specialists in France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain are working on building the main sections of the airliner. Due to their large size, these components were delivered to Toulouse via water and land transport. Some parts still fit into the An-24.

The tail and nose fuselage elements were loaded horizontally onto the Ville de Bordeaux (owned by Airbus) in Hamburg for shipment to the UK. The wing consoles produced at Broughton and Filton were delivered by barge to Mostyn. There these elements were loaded onto the aforementioned “Ville de Bordeaux” board. At Cadiz, the vessel received tail components and lower fuselage sections. Everything was unloaded in Bordeaux. From there the constituent elements were transported to Langon and then transported by land to Toulouse. Already assembled aircraft were sent to Hamburg for final equipment. The A380 is an aircraft that requires 3,600 liters of paint to cover (the total skin area is 3,100 square meters).

Tests

Modern aircraft undergo the most serious tests before being released into flights. The A380 model is no exception in this regard. Five aircraft were built specifically for comprehensive testing. The first aircraft was presented in Toulouse in January 2005. The first flight took place on April 27 of the same year. The flight team consisted of six people, led by Jacques Rossi, an experienced test pilot. The successful landing occurred after 3 hours 54 minutes. after takeoff.

A series of test flights started on December 1, 2005. It was then that the aircraft reached an impressive speed of 0.96 max during a shallow dive.

A380 - an aircraft (see photo above) that made its first transatlantic flight on January 10, 2006. The beginning of the same year was marked by the first unforeseen situation: during a static test at the Toulouse aircraft factory, the wing of one aircraft suddenly cracked, unable to withstand a load of 145% of the nominal load . As defined by aviation safety regulations, no change in integrity should occur at 150% of the specified load. As a result, the management of the Airbus consortium decided to make changes to the design of the aircraft's wings. Due to the addition of reinforcing elements, the total weight of the structure increased by thirty kilograms, fourteen of which were mounting bolts.

The first flight test of the A380 model with passengers on board was successfully carried out on September 4, 2006.

Design Features

And 380 800 is a modification designed to carry 555 or 583 passengers (depending on configuration). In 2007, Airbus began offering customers a ship with a smaller capacity (525 seats) in exchange for an increased flight range (they managed to increase it by 370 kilometers). This transformation allowed us to achieve maximum compliance with premium transportation trends.

There is another modification of the airbus in question. This is a cargo version of the A380-800F. capable of transporting up to one hundred and fifty tons of cargo. The maximum flight range is 10,370 kilometers.

In the future, it is planned to produce jet passenger aircraft of the A380-900 modification. They will have a larger capacity (656/960 passengers) with a similar flight range.

Pilots' workplace

To reduce the cost of additional crew training, all Airbuses are built with the same cockpit layout and flight characteristics. The A380 features an improved glass cabin. The steering wheels can be manipulated remotely using electric drives that are connected to the side control handle. The cockpit is equipped with the most modern information display devices. These are nine interchangeable LCD monitors measuring 20 by 15 centimeters. Two of them are indicators of navigation data, two display basic information about the flight, two more inform about the operation of the engines, one provides data on the current state of the entire system. The remaining two monitors are multifunctional.

To refuel the aircraft in question, a mixture of natural gas and GTL can be used.

Materials used

How much does the plane cost? More than twenty-eight million euros. The impressive amount demanded for one aircraft is largely due to the use of advanced composite materials of construction, including plastic and metal reinforced with quartz, carbon and fiberglass. In addition, aluminum alloys are actively used in aircraft production. In combination with laser welding, this eliminates the need for rivets.

Ensuring a comfortable flight

As experts have established, the noise level in the A380 cabin is half that of the Boeing 747. In addition, inside the aircraft in question, the air pressure is maintained at a higher level. Both of these factors are designed to ensure less fatigue for passengers during the flight.

Two staircases located at the tail and bow of the aircraft connect the upper and lower decks. The A380 offers impressive customization options. That is why, as noted by the Airbus concern, the growth in production rates is not as high as previously expected. The aircraft can be equipped with a shower cabin, a bar counter, a rest room, and a Duty Free store. Thanks to the presence of a satellite channel, passengers are provided with telephone communication or a wireless Internet connection (Wi-Fi).

Currently, air transportation within Russia using the A380 is not carried out. An order has been placed for four aircraft, but none of them have been built yet.

Unexpected situations

The first emergency occurred on November 4, 2010. On that day, the A380, owned by Qantas, was flying from Singapore to Sydney. One of the aircraft's engines failed just a few minutes after takeoff. The plane was forced to return to the airport in Singapore. None of the 433 passengers and 26 crew members were injured, Australian authorities said. In addition, the landing gear tires on the emergency side burst during landing. After this incident, the company's management decided to suspend the flights of all Airbus A380s it owned for two days until a detailed inspection was completed.

The second emergency occurred on April 12, 2011. Then the plane, belonging to Air France, caught the tail of the CRJ 700 aircraft with its wing. There were no injuries.

Conclusion

The Airbus A380 is the result of painstaking work by developers and manufacturers. This aircraft is superior to its closest competitors in many ways. How much does the plane cost, what are the features of its design and creation process? All these questions are answered in the above article.

Airbus A380- This is the largest aircraft in the world. More precisely, a passenger plane.

The height of this giant is 24 meters (~ 8th floor of a residential building), the length and wingspan are almost 80 meters. On 2 decks in a three-class cabin, 525 passengers can freely accommodate, in a single-class configuration - 853!

12 billion euros were spent on the development of the Airbus A380. It can make non-stop flights over a distance of up to 15,400 km, and the maximum take-off weight of the aircraft is amazing - 560 tons.

welcome aboard the largest passenger aircraft in the world!

At the beginning of October, another dream related to aviation came true. Lufthansa invited us on a press tour to show off one of its new Airbus A380 aircraft. The demonstration flight took place as part of a promotional campaign for the A380 show in European capitals.

It was possible not only to board the regular A380, but also to make a circular journey on a giant plane along the route Frankfurt - Prague - Budapest - Frankfurt, be with the pilots in the cockpit and film the work of the pilots during takeoff, flight and landing.

In ordinary life, these giants will not land at any such airport, so many were waiting for the arrival of the A380 in the capitals of the Czech Republic and Hungary. Looking ahead, I will say that I did not even expect such ceremonial meetings and such a number of spectators.

“Our” A380 had just arrived from Johannesburg and while the cleaning team was putting the cabins in order. At this time, the co-pilot walked with a flashlight and inspected the engine blades:

The sun rose, it was time for us to take off:

First floor of an A380-800 modification aircraft- these are three economy class cabins for 420 passengers. In total, this A380 carries 526 passengers. By the end of the year, Lufthansa will already have 8 of the 18 ordered. The company is investing about five billion euros in aircraft and airport infrastructure, maintenance, and crew training.

Passenger seats Lufthansa's economy class was developed by the famous German company Recaro. To be honest, I didn’t really like them - the backs are a bit thin and any movement of the passenger in front affects the comfort of the person behind.

Excellent design portholes. With their standard external size inside the aircraft, they appear large due to the enlarged internal frame. This large oval creates the impression of open space inside the cabin.

The plane is very “quiet”, the engines are almost inaudible. I was surprised by the short takeoff run - I was watching the takeoff in Budapest, I thought that we would be running along the runway for a long time, but the plane took off almost immediately.

The multimedia center with a 9″ screen is very good. In addition to the standard set with music, films and games, the monitor displays images from three external cameras and complete information about the flight. Distance between seats 79 cm, seat width 52 cm:

During the flight, the aircraft interiors were completely at our disposal - we could walk everywhere, sit, lie down, press buttons, climb into all the holes.

Standard breakfast and lunch sets were demonstrated. Special thanks, of course, to Lufthansa for the metal devices in economy class. It’s high time for Aeroflot to switch to them.

For ease of photographing, I asked the flight attendant to turn on full lighting in the cabins. It didn't get noticeably better, but still:

On the second floor- two business class cabins. They say that the company's management doesn't really like these seats and they will change them. There are 98 of them here - an incredible number for an ordinary passenger airliner. The set of options is standard for a modern business class - almost horizontal folding, individual light, socket and USB port for each:

In business class monitors size 10.6″, distance between seats from 145 to 152 cm, seat width 67 cm:

Between the business class and first class cabins there is a huge vestibule with a kitchen and seats for flight attendants:

A subject of special pride for any serious airline - first class cabin. On the Lufthansa A380 it seats eight passengers. Everything here is done practically, but without frills, such as separate cabins. Eight chairs that transform into beds, each seat has a 17″ monitor. Distance between seats 213 cm, seat width 80 cm:

Lufthansa calls these seats the best in their class:

Each first class passenger has his own wardrobe for clothes and belongings:

First class passengers have two such toilet rooms. There is no shower here; the Germans consider it unnecessary; in their experience, few people use a shower during a flight.

A flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo and back will cost a first class passenger 10,000 euros:

So, we are flying to Prague. They are already ready for the ceremonial welcome of the A380 megaliner:

Lufthansa chief pilot Werner Knorr:

The cockpit equipment resembles that installed in the A330 or A321 - in front of the pilots there is only a keyboard and a joystick on the side:

There are hundreds of people below, along the entire landing route - people are standing on the field, on the hills, on the roofs of houses:

I asked one of the Czech photographers at the airport to send me a couple of shots of our flight. Thank you, Vojtech.

The cost of one A380 is $345 million.

To the right of the entrance to the cabin is the crew rest cabin:

You can get to the second floor by two stairs - in front and behind economy class:

A380 at Budapest Airport: