That only works if you actually have the ability to fill the aircraft, smaller WB/UWB aircraft are cheaper to maintain, require less crew (even per passenger), consume less fuel and are much less restrictive in terms of airports in which they can land and be serviced.
People don't count the fact that one of the reasons why smaller jets are more successful these days is that airports became much better at air traffic control, planes land and take off much faster on average than even few decades ago, combine it with more airports being built or expanded into multi-runway airports and you got much more landing/takeoff slots than before.
Big planes take quite a bit of space in the airport, they need special taxi considerations, and special terminals (especially the A380 with it's full double deck design), all of which comes with a premium in airport taxes when operating such aircraft. It would not surprise me if landing a single A380 costs more than double what landing a A330/787/777 costs these days.
And since It's not only cheaper to fly more smaller planes to the same destination, but also more commercially appealing to customers I highly doubt that companies will continue to run big ass planes for much longer, yes the A380 won't go away, neither will the 747-800 but i really doubt they'll get much more beyond the original orders, and even most of those I'll suspect will be converted into cargo within the next 10-15 years.
I flew on the A380 and the 787-800 to HK (Lufthansa and BA), and on a 777/787 on the same route, and I have to say the smaller aircraft are much nicer to fly on, fewer people, quieter, you get more personal service from the staff, bathrooms don't look (nor smell) like a porta potti at a Kiss reunion concert after the first 3-4 hours of the flight.
most of those I'll suspect will be converted into cargo within the next 10-15 years
My understanding is that it's currently unsure whether the 380 can be converted to cargo at all. The division of the passenger cabin into 2 decks makes for 3 decks total, which will necessitate installation of internal lifts, at significant cost, weight and complexity.
Well, it'll probably happen, but it will probably push the economics out a bit.
OTOH, I took the A380 from SF to France last year and thought it was the quietest, most comfortable plane I'd been on.
Hopefully the same tech advances that hit that plane hit the smaller ones too. That was the first flight where my noise canceling headphones actually seemed somewhat superfluous.
Well add drunken British tourists flying to Sidney via HK and the less you have of them the better :)
All new aircraft has quite quiet engines overall (and i use active noise canceling headphones anyhow), that said having half the people onboard helps it quite a bit, If you fly 1st class i don't think it would matter, and the 380 has probably the best 1st class offerings out there but for anything below that i rather have less people around me :)
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They surely have their niche - Europe to East Asia, USA to UAE.
I think they'll survive.
That only works if you actually have the ability to fill the aircraft, smaller WB/UWB aircraft are cheaper to maintain, require less crew (even per passenger), consume less fuel and are much less restrictive in terms of airports in which they can land and be serviced.
People don't count the fact that one of the reasons why smaller jets are more successful these days is that airports became much better at air traffic control, planes land and take off much faster on average than even few decades ago, combine it with more airports being built or expanded into multi-runway airports and you got much more landing/takeoff slots than before.
Big planes take quite a bit of space in the airport, they need special taxi considerations, and special terminals (especially the A380 with it's full double deck design), all of which comes with a premium in airport taxes when operating such aircraft. It would not surprise me if landing a single A380 costs more than double what landing a A330/787/777 costs these days.
And since It's not only cheaper to fly more smaller planes to the same destination, but also more commercially appealing to customers I highly doubt that companies will continue to run big ass planes for much longer, yes the A380 won't go away, neither will the 747-800 but i really doubt they'll get much more beyond the original orders, and even most of those I'll suspect will be converted into cargo within the next 10-15 years.
I flew on the A380 and the 787-800 to HK (Lufthansa and BA), and on a 777/787 on the same route, and I have to say the smaller aircraft are much nicer to fly on, fewer people, quieter, you get more personal service from the staff, bathrooms don't look (nor smell) like a porta potti at a Kiss reunion concert after the first 3-4 hours of the flight.
My understanding is that it's currently unsure whether the 380 can be converted to cargo at all. The division of the passenger cabin into 2 decks makes for 3 decks total, which will necessitate installation of internal lifts, at significant cost, weight and complexity.
Well, it'll probably happen, but it will probably push the economics out a bit.
OTOH, I took the A380 from SF to France last year and thought it was the quietest, most comfortable plane I'd been on.
Hopefully the same tech advances that hit that plane hit the smaller ones too. That was the first flight where my noise canceling headphones actually seemed somewhat superfluous.
Well add drunken British tourists flying to Sidney via HK and the less you have of them the better :)
All new aircraft has quite quiet engines overall (and i use active noise canceling headphones anyhow), that said having half the people onboard helps it quite a bit, If you fly 1st class i don't think it would matter, and the 380 has probably the best 1st class offerings out there but for anything below that i rather have less people around me :)
787-8 only. No 800. I know...it broke convention
You're right, I meant the 747-8 :)