Flight Craft 23: Airbus A380

On 27 April 2005, an aircraft lifted away from the runway of Toulouse-Blagnac Airport under the power of six massive Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofan engines. It carried a six-man crew, it was making its first flight, and it was making history. For this was the Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft in the world. Airbus Industrie was a latecomer to the commercial airliner market, and initially struggled to win orders away from the well-established US giants, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. Part of Airbus's strategy for success was to offer customers distinct families of aircraft that could be tailored to meet a wide range of performance and capacity demands. Before 2005, the largest and arguably most important members of this family strategy were the Airbus A330 and 340 high-capacity airliners; then along came the A380. With air traffic continuing to double every 15 years, the A380 was designed to meet the needs of the passengers and airports, while also delivering the level of