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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 1190.PDF
Operators "First and business class passengers will board directly from the lounges to the upper deck" Modification of Standards (MoS) package for review by the US Federal Aviation Administration. "We are quite confident Kennedy will be well prepared," says Preuss. Los Angeles International Airport is set to be another early A380 destination for Virgin, Qantas, SIA and possibly Emirates. It has only just finalised its MoS package, however, and there are currently some concerns about whether its runways and terminals will be adequately prepared in time. By contrast, the other early US A380 airports, San Francisco International and Miami International, have submitted their MoS packages for FAA evaluation. Airbus says that of the remaining "early A380 airports", Sydney Kingsford-Smith has updated its master plan to include more gates and upper deck jetties. The airside upgrade of Paris Charles de Gaulle has already begun and the requirements for ter minal work are being studied. According to Champion, the other early A380 airports - Dubai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo Narita and Singapore Changi — are preparing for the arrival of the giant "without major issue". Dubai International Airport, home to the largest A380 customer Emirates, is undergo ing a $2.5 billion expansion programme, which will see it fully prepared to handle the new Airbus from 2006. A new terminal, for Emirates' exclusive use, is being built with two concourses that will open in 2006 and 2007. These will have 23 A380-compatible stands, all equipped with two-level jetties. Emirates chief director (airline) Tim Clark says the carrier has taken advantage of the all-new facilities to come up with a novel plan to utilise the A380's unique configuration for its premium products. "The upper deck will be configured entirely with premium [busi ness and first class] cabins," he says. The new concourses will have all their premium lounges on the top floor, enabling first and business passengers to board directly to the upper deck of the aircraft, says Clark. Efforts are already under way to ensure there is a co-ordinated approach to mainte nance and support of the A380 from the moment it enters service. Jean-Daniel Leroy, vice-president of Airbus customer support and services, says "now is the time" to start planning for the A380's future needs and the manufacturer is taking the opportu nity to look at its whole customer support structure and policy. Leroy says Airbus will meet with each of the A380 launch customers individually in the coming months to understand their individual needs, By August, it is planning to hold a meeting of all the launch customers' senior management to encourage dialogue on the aircraft's support requirements. Various syn ergies will be examined such as spares pooling and maintenance joint ventures. "Details of our plans will become available next year, when we have got feedback from our customers, vendors, maintenance providers, etc.," says Leroy. Reliability Airbus is targeting a dispatch reliability level of 99% for the A380 at entry-into-service, and has developed a rigorous analytical approach to improving maintainability in the run-up to operations. "The ultimate goal is to make sure we meet 100% of customer expectations," says head of maturity and maintenance Thierry Herault. Procedures for the removal of the body-mounted main landing gear, for instance, have been developed by Airbus in conjunction with the airline customer focus group. The complete cycle, using one minilift, will take 18h. The group also had crit ical influences on areas such as improving access to the waste tank, section 19 (rear fuselage), radar and air generation units. The sheer size of the A380 means special safety harness connections have to be pro vided for maintenance staff. The radome, for example, sits 8m above the ground while the top of the fin reaches to 24m. As most air port "cherry pickers" only reach to 15m, Airbus has put all major inspection areas on the fin at heights below this. Overall planning for the A380's upkeep is being undertaken by a joint Maintenance Review Board (MRB) which involves industry, customers and regulatory bodies. Overall targets for base maintenance (A check) intervals are 750 flight hours per 1.5 month, light maintenance (C check) 24 months, and intermediate/major heavy maintenance (D check) intervals at 72 and 144 months respectively. "Right now we're targeting an interval of six and 12 years compared with five and 10 years up to now," says Herault. The MRB process will last from 2003 to 2005, with most activity taking place in 2005 towards the run-up to entry-into-service in 2006. Estimated direct maintenance costs will be just under $1,400/h, or around $50/h more than the 747-400. "But the overhaul costs will still be 24%/seat lower than the 747," adds Herault. • A380/747 TAXIWAY WIDTH COMPARISONS Q 747-400 % A380 Shoulder Taxiway FLIGHT Code E taxiway Code F taxiway | 10.5m 34ft 23m 75ft 10.5m 34ft) 44m (144ft) wide taxiway and shoulders Overall width Code E compliant AACG agreement on minimum A380 taxiway width 60m (197ft) wide taxiway and shoulders 17.5m (57ft) Overall width Code F compliant A380 CUSTOMERS Customers Air France Emirates FedEx ILFC Lufthansa Malaysia Airlines Qantas Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines Virgin Atlantic Total Orders 10 *22 **10 *"10 15 6 12 2 10 6 103 Options 10 10 10 10 15 - 12 2 15 6 90 Total 20 32 20 20 30 6 24 4 25 12 193 Notes: "including two freighters "all freighters ""including five freighters Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways orders not subject to firm contract Engine EA EA EA N/A RR N/A RR N/A RR RR First delivery Nov 2006 Oct 2006 Aug 2008 June 2007 Sept 2007 2007 Nov 2006 2008 March 2006 July 2006 H m XXVIII 20-26 MAY 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
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