Another A380 uncontained failure

This time on a Air France powered by GP7200 engines. This one the entire fan section separated taking part of the cowling with it.

http://avherald.com/h?article=4af15205&opt=0

 

I think the romance with the A380 is about over. 777s that can fly non-stop from London to Australia are on the horizon and they are much cheaper to operate than an A380 or even an A340.

 

RR needs to explain this. This is not the first time this has happened.

 

The 777 is not even in the same league as the A380. The A380 is a far, far better plane to fly long distances.

It's not about romance. The A380 is superb when it comes to the passenger experience on long haul flights. The 747 800 is a close second but the A380 is the best jumbo in the skies.

I flew the Dreamliner non-stop LA to Melbourne in coach -- 15h 45 minutes, and I would say it wasn't bad at all.

 

They did end up using a 777 to take the passengers the rest of the way (in addition to a 737) so I suppose it would be best to cut to the chase and just use 777s from now on.

 

Isn't fuel the largest cost for airlines? Even over flight personnel... also, doesn't the A380 have a flight engineer, so 3 in the front?

And with most airlines, it's all about the money... not the 'experience' (Emirates, Etihad, etc. excluded)

 

There is no flight engineer and only two in the cockpit.

 

This is not a RR Trent 900 instead a Engine alliance GP7200 co developed by GE and PW

 

Hmmm... I thought the A380 engines were only RR. If not, my mistake.

 

On the A350 RR is the exclusive engine.

 

Oops... was looking at Wiki... and it shows a flight engineer's station on the A380... but that was only on the first prototype... I didn't read the whole caption.

 

Bob- I was not talking about the cabin experience on the A380, but the airline experience with them. As an example, it took hours to get the passengers off the one with the busted engine because none of the GSE would fit.

 

No I understand what you mean but people who fly would prefer flying long hauls the A380 over the 777 every time even at a slightly higher price.

 

I think both the novelty of flying on a double decker and the updated interior are both factors in that. However, with enough time and updates to other aircraft, I think people will start to shift away. I'd say the same thing happened with the outdated 747s when compared to the newer interiors found on other widebodies (non-double deckers). Although the 747 is my favorite and cool with the double decks, it wouldn't be enough to make up for an old interior as any updates to that would be late.

 

The A380 is SPACIOUS on either deck. The overhead space is enormous and easy to get to. The restrooms are well positioned. It's easy to embark and disembark. It's also remarkably quiet.

I like flying this plane long hauls. I've flown the new 747 also, both on Lufthansa, and I prefer the A380. And no way the 777 comes anywhere close to either when it comes to passenger experience. If I had the choice I would pick the A380 over the 777 everyday even over a lower price. I think a lot of people would agree if they know the difference.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't think a current 777 would compare without having been on an A380 yet simply because it's far newer in design. Is the 787 similar in experience to the A380 at least? With the new 777 models coming out, I see the gap narrowing if not completely going away by then.

 

I like the dreamliner. It's a lot smaller though. United just put brand new 777's between SFO and Hong Kong replacing the old 747's. Honestly, a step BACKWARDS

 

Not in cost, and that is the whole point.

 

Radio traffic....video shows an A380(I don't think this is the actual one) at altitude but all 4 engines are leaving contrails....there should only be 3 contrails.

AFR66 A380 Engine Fan Seperation F HPJE Emergency Landing ATC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCKg4zObV_U


more radio traffic of landing

[REAL ATC] Air France A380 LOSES ENGINE COWLING over the Atlantic! #AF66

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrbxtVPY0rE

 

Dont these engines (including RR) stream real-time data/info back to HQ???

 

Qantas will be using 787s to fly direct from Perth (Australia) to London next year.

 

That video was shot prior to the failure or of another AF A380 as you can see the cowl is intact on the #4 engine.

 

IIRC there is some telemetry sent back to the manufactures in flight but I am not sure just how much. I did read where the Pratt GTF is sending back tons of data to the point that PW had to build a bew data center to support that engine.

 

The A380 has very limited to zero future. Emirates is the only airline that actually loves the aircraft and they are not ordering any more unless A) Other airlines start ordering them, or B) Airbus passes out major residual value guarantees. Emirates has tried to push Airbus to create a NEO upgrade version of the 380 but even Airbus won't d this because of the lack of potential buyers. Malaysia Airlines has their fleet of A380s parked, for sale without buyers. Airbus is trying to sell the story that there is a future for sales to Chinese airlines but that certainly has not been seen by anyone else. Unlike the 747-8, the 380 does not make a cargo version viable,

The A380 is a solution for only a very few city pairs where there is huge passenger volume and landing slot constraints.

4 engines are just too costly to operate with fuel and maintenance.

 

About 40% of the A380 planes have the GP7200... That's what Emirates ordered on theirs on the later orders.

(Maybe as a result of the RR Trent issues.)