The Airbus A380 is one of the aircraft worst hit by the pandemic. It was withdrawn from service by a number of airlines, and many giant aircraft will never return to heaven. The demand for used aircraft is not on the market now, so even just a few years old machines are heading for the junkyard.
Airbus wants to change that. Therefore, it is asking airlines if they would be interested in an arrangement in which there will be cargo on the first floor instead of passengers. People would travel on the upper deck, the server writes, citing its sources Freightwaves.
Finding a place in the market
Airbus did not confirm the existence of the survey, but did not refute considerations about modifying the aircraft. “If there was sufficient demand for the A380 conversion, we would consider this option in more detail,” said company spokesman Bart Greer.
According to Stan Wraight Airbus, head of Strategic Aviation Solutions International, the adjustment would pay off if he won at least fifty to sixty orders.
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Combined aircraft for the transport of passengers and cargo are nothing new, but the history of their operation is infamous. The Boeing 747 last offered this arrangement in the 1990s, and the only major airlines to operate the aircraft were the Dutch KLM. However, they also prematurely withdrew the last machine of this type from the fleet due to a pandemic.
Major technical barriers
Experts do not believe in the implementation of Airbus’ new plans. For example, analyst Steve Fortune points out that the lower floor of the A380 is not high enough to hold a standard air pallet. Ascent analyst Chris Seymour agrees: “I don’t think the A380 conversion for freight is viable. Mainly because of its payload, this aircraft is relatively heavy. “
Also, the airlines approached by Freightwaves magazine do not show much interest in the proposed variant of the aircraft. A spokeswoman for Emirates, the largest operator of the A380, said the airline’s cargo division had a large enough fleet to meet current demand.
“We do not know of any real situation that would allow the deployment of the A380 converted for freight,” said Lufthansa spokesman Andreas Pauker. Singapore Airlines has stated that it intends to continue to use its 12 aircraft of this type to carry passengers.
