A380 being dismantled

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Leek_Soup04@reddit

This makes me so sad and I don't know why

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abrandis@reddit

Yeah , kinda of crazy to think the level of design, testing, certifications, not to mention the billions spent on a 18yr production run of 251 aircraft ...

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jpba1352@reddit

what has been and what could still be…

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Pale_Marionberry_570@reddit

The Idiots didn’t plan anything after for her passenger days.

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F26N55@reddit

That’s not exactly true. They did intend for an A380F but engineering behind it along with it not being practical from an efficiency standpoint compared to the 747-8F killed it off.

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You’re right: from what I recall of the A380F, all the added weight for cargo handling plus everything else required to get it airborne would have resulted in only about seven tons of additional revenue cargo compared to the 747-8F. However, imo the biggest drawback to the design was the cockpit position: if they’d raised it they could have considered incorporating a nose door similar to the 747, which would have allowed for oversize cargo.

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anotherblog@reddit

It would have looked so cool if it had a raised cockpit in the first place. Sort of like a C-5 galaxy. Oh well....

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Capn_T_Driver@reddit

I have to agree. Airbus really dropped the ball with their cockpit position choice. Had they done the nose door, secondhand A380s might actually have undergone P2F conversions.

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ChiefTestPilot87@reddit

I mean the company name is AirBUS not AirTRUCK

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Capn_T_Driver@reddit

True, but have you ever seen the school buses converted to watermelon/produce haulers in places like Florida and Georgia? Nifty use for old busses, tbh

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ChiefTestPilot87@reddit

Yep. And SC.

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marc020202@reddit

As far as I know, P2F 747s do not have the nose door. Only designated freighters have them.

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spddmn77@reddit

Correct

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doubletaxed88@reddit

correct

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iTAMEi@reddit

Because you too will die one day

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Initial_Savings3034@reddit

Memento Aviori

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won-an-art-contest@reddit

Something is not beautiful because it lasts.

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MANUAL1111@reddit

Cycle of life

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Eddie_Honda420@reddit

Once they reach a point, they need a full strip out and inspection they are worth more in parts .

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EGLLRJTT24@reddit

Was D-AIMJ, Lufthansa

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lelekeaap@reddit

That was exactly my question. Do you have any idea how many operational years the plane had?

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EGLLRJTT24@reddit

Just shy of 8 years according to Planespotters. Delivered June 2012, withdrawn from use April 2020

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Hour_Analyst_7765@reddit

Casuality from Covid, sadly.

Also reminder for everyone: the picture we're looking at doesn't have much of value in it. Its a metal can with some pipes and wires still left behind, that resembles the A380. But all of the value is in the equipment, and that looks pretty much stripped out everywhere.

Of course there is some value in the 'can' with how many flight cycles a plane can take, but perhaps there are other limiting factors (expensive spare parts anyone?) that made the lifespan of older planes not be a concern.

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TampaPowers@reddit

That's what Lufthansa claims, crying about the economy while stagnating in service quality and somehow being unable to fill an A380 on a route that sees dozens of flights per day. To me this is pure mismanagement and I am livid my tax dollars partially paid for that farce.

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spyder_victor@reddit

What are you actually on about?

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AdamN@reddit

They probably still melt the metal for less critical purposes. I would say for beer bottle caps and cans but those are in fact critical infrastructure :-)

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insomnimax_99@reddit

Jesus, that’s nothing. Basically fresh out of the factory.

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TampaPowers@reddit

And paid for when the tax payers bailed Lufthansa out after Airbus got massive subsidies for building the thing in the first place. They can re-engineer the tiny tin can A320 with new engines, but not this one for some reason.

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Xenc@reddit

Happy deconstructed cake day! 🍓🥞🥚

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DoctorDummyface@reddit

So a deconstructed cake is just strawberry, pancakes, and egg?

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Xenc@reddit

The egg is for moral support

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Spinnaker747@reddit

Like in Cool Runnings?

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Any-Investigator8324@reddit

Sanka! Ya dead man??

Legend 🤣🤣

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witchfinder_@reddit

aw, i think i have a photo or two of this one from 2018 or early 2019 somewhere in my hard drives. how sad :(

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caller-number-four@reddit

If it makes you feel better, you can own a small piece of a A380 -

https://planetags.com/products/qantas-a380-vh-oqe

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Vanoss31@reddit (OP)

I wish I could have kept the MSN plate MSN Plate

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Norc_E90@reddit

Is there a reason why they won’t let you keep it?

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Mauzersmash0815@reddit

Are you on site? Id love to buy a piece

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Vanoss31@reddit (OP)

I’m not right now, unfortunately it’s impossible to get one…

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Mauzersmash0815@reddit

Ah shame. Aviationtag will probably get some material and make Keychains out of it tho, just gotta wait

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Vanoss31@reddit (OP)

The company is actually launching a new branch and will start selling furniture made from recycled plane pieces, it has been announced recently I wish I could have gotten the MSN plate from the door or an engine plate

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Mauzersmash0815@reddit

Oh thats pretty cool. Wouldve been a nice memorabilia. I collect this stuff, pieces of scrapped planes. If you come across more, doesn't have to be a380, im definitely interested

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Vanoss31@reddit (OP)

Noted! I will keep you posted, I go there on a regular basis

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Status_Fox_1474@reddit

I understand why many airlines would want smaller aircraft, but the hub-to-hub reasoning of the A380 should make more sense.

For example, I believe LH flies one NYC-FRA. But would it also have made sense for a 380 to go NY to Berlin?

I’m surprised BA doesn’t have at least one JFK-LHR, honestly. Last flight of the night in case there are issues anywhere else.

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IngrownBallHair@reddit

I’m surprised BA doesn’t have at least one JFK-LHR, honestly

Huh, I assumed they would since I've seen they run one bos-lhr.

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RealPutin@reddit

BA runs a lot of planes on JFK-LHR.

I'm a bit surprised that they stick to just 777s

In the evenings, they have separate planes at 6:30, 6:45, 7:30, 8:05, 8:55, 9:30, and 11:10

Running two separate 77Ws 15 minutes apart from each other feels like its ripe for an A380

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biggsteve81@reddit

I suspect it is to provide more flexibility for transferring passengers; you also need to look at the inbound routes to JFK for those 777s.

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RealPutin@reddit

They do arrive at different times from Heathrow (they basically have a departure every 1.5-2 hours from 8:30-4, then hourly for post-work/afternoon departures), I'm still just surprised there wasn't room for one A380 in the schedule.

It is a good example of frequency and flexibility being more valuable to the airlines than capacity even on a high-density route for sure

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WildGooseCarolinian@reddit

We just had friends who flew over here from Dulles to London that flew on a 380, and I was slightly surprised they ran a 380 on that route, even part of the year, but was jealous that they got to fly on it!

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Status_Fox_1474@reddit

I think … think… that it’s one A380 Bos(summer) and 787(winter) with Miami swapping.

But yeah, it’s all 777 JFK-LHR for BA and AA.

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Binford6200@reddit

A380 to Berlin maybe not

But 787 oder a320xlr is more likely to be filled for making a profit

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AdamN@reddit

For Lufthansa they don't want to drive traffic to BER, it's not a hub. Doing so would just reduce their economies of scale at MUC and FRA.

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mister_magic@reddit

LH flies a 747 and a 340 FRA-JFK. The A380 flies MUC-JFK. MUC is a far busier hub than BER; 60% more passengers.

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Status_Fox_1474@reddit

Thanks! I forgot about MUC. But I'm just trying to work out the idea that there are plenty of routes that can handle A380 hub-hub operations.

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wurstbowle@reddit

BER is not a hub.

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Less-Statistician577@reddit

how can I hear emirates crying

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No_Relative_6734@reddit

So who took the huge financial loss on these?

As I understand it, the plane is ordered, then "sold" for X (hundreds of millions of dollars) and then leased and supposed to be paid off thru passenger revenue

So someone, a holding company, paid the princely sum of X but after only 7 years, some of which were not generating any revenue, didnt one of these entities take a huge financial hit?

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TampaPowers@reddit

The tax payers ultimately did when we bailed Airbus out and then Lufthansa as well. Only because the two of them couldn't come up with a proper use for an aircraft that has the capacity and range to serve long distant routes with thousands of passengers per day... because apparently that's impossible smh

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hamburgerjesus@reddit

This sucks

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Bourbonaddicted@reddit

Why dismantle? Could have been used as a restaurant/hotel given it's size.

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Bramrod@reddit

Someone should buy one to convert to a house. They are massive inside without seats. Or even convert to a hotel

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Onair380@reddit

omg, isnt it like 20 years since the first flight ? What the hell.

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Mr_Chode_Shaver@reddit

This one only flew for 7 years. Been in storage since 2020, Lufthansa just started flying some a380s again, but I guess at some point scrapping it is cheaper than storing it and there weren’t any buyers.

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MassiveBoner911_3@reddit

The planes are just too massive right?

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AceNova2217@reddit

It's part of the reason. There is a very limited number of airports they can fly to because of how heavy they are.

The planes also struggle to make a profit. You need to transport loads of people to break even (something like 80% capacity) so the plane's economics don't make too much sense.

Another reason is fuel economy. The A380 both has 4 engines, and the engines are not very efficient in relation to more modern engines like on the A350.

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Mr_Chode_Shaver@reddit

It made a lot more sense in 1990 when the project started and 747 deliveries were going up.

By 2005 it was already kind of a silly idea.

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ForeverYonge@reddit

It’s an extremely comfortable ride. Spacious, good leg room, quiet. I happily pay the A380 premium when the itinerary allows it.

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Irtep@reddit

Their use case is being overtaken by insane fuel efficiency rather than cramming as many passengers on board as possible

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LeatherClassroom524@reddit

Did they try Craigslist ??

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NapsInNaples@reddit

there aren't many customers as dumb as James Asquith.

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poulan9@reddit

Vinted maybe

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Ramenastern@reddit

Lufthansa put all of their A380s into storage in 2020, thanks to Covid. They sold four or six of them back to Airbus (the one in the picture is one of them). They initially didn't plan on getting the others back into service, but the rebound in air traffic, plus delays in getting the 777X specifically led to them having at this point reactivated all of the A380s they still own.

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Onair380@reddit

Wowe, considering the airplane cost, and the effort to build such complex machine. Hard to grasp

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Binford6200@reddit

Most likely the parts are worth more than the whole assembly.

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michuneo@reddit

There might be a reason for that wink, wink

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candylandmine@reddit

Staggering waste of resources.

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pinkfloyd4ever@reddit

Maybe, but if they’re doing this, it was more of a waste of resources to keep storing it without any real use or prospective buyers

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Cpt-JT-Kirk@reddit

Since Covid they were stored in Spain - Teruel. And if I’m right, it’s one of the A380 that got damaged by a hail storm in Teruel.

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ParadoxumFilum@reddit

Not even, first test flight was 2011

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Specialist-6343@reddit

First flight was 2005 and commercial service started in 2007

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ParadoxumFilum@reddit

Thats for the A380 in general, for D-AIMJ (the airframe in the photo) first flight was 2011

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Kernoriordan@reddit

Yeah but you said first test flight which usually indicates the first flyable airframe.

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FlyingOctopus53@reddit

No, it doesn’t.

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flightwatcher@reddit

The fuck

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ParadoxumFilum@reddit

You make a good point, fair enough

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NaiveBreadfruit2058@reddit

I remember going to the airbus factory in Toulouse, watching 3 of these giants being assembled, with a finished gold one outside. Amazing to see something so big being put together. Great plane.

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elvenmaster_@reddit

F

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smsmkiwi@reddit

I didn't think they were that old.

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Bucky_Ohare@reddit

With what, a hammer and pliers? Rofl

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xubax@reddit

Is it me or is there s lot more from for cargo than for people?

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PROPGUNONE@reddit

Later, you pain in the ass piece of flying shit. Dumbass design that did nothing but make my life more difficult.

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iou88336@reddit

Dismantled or shredded. What the hell??

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lepobz@reddit

This is sad to see. A380s are like nothing else.

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the_silent_redditor@reddit

Emirates will be flying them for many years to come, but, yes, eventually they will fade off into the history books.

I fly on them pretty regularly, and they are the best pax experience by a reasonable amount.

Also the best business experience; however, post-COVID business tickets are prohibitively expensive, unfortunately. Sitting at an actual bar at 40,000ft and sipping an expensive malt out of a crystal glass feels utterly surreal. If you fly first, you can have a shower. On a plane!?

That said, their economy seats are also absolutely fine, and it’s super quiet and smooth in the cabin.

Will be sad when the day inevitably comes.

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lepobz@reddit

Yeah, went on 4 different Emirates A380s back in 2016 in the space of a month. All fantastic experiences. They are so quiet and smooth.

If they all get to retirement without a single hull loss incident it’ll be an incredible record. So far all they’ve had is 2 engine failures.

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the_silent_redditor@reddit

Yesss I upgraded to business and was absolutely gutted when one leg was changed last minute to a 777.

Absolutely pales in comparison.

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Then_Hearing_7652@reddit

I don’t even know how Emirates justifies them. There’s no way some of their routes are a380 viable. Like there’s that many people flying to Mauritius daily? I think for Emirates they’re marketing and a status symbol versus moneymakers? Talking out my ass so I don’t really know.

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the_silent_redditor@reddit

They do all of their own maintenance/upkeep, which I think makes it more economically viable in comparison to competitors.

I agree, though. Last flight I was on was an ULH and there were 60 odd people on board. It was insane. Felt completely empty.

I’m sure they are making money, but also, it’s Emirates so they have infinite money and I have no doubt they would keep flying a heavily losing airline just cause they can.

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newtomovingaway@reddit

I think I flew one from Ist to mle via cmb in June 2015. Is there a way I can confirm this? I recall going over the Indian Ocean and viewing the screen on cam mode showing the bottom and seeing the reflection of the 4 engines on the water as we were about to land in mle. It was beautiful. This was in economy too.

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the_silent_redditor@reddit

If it was a four engine aircraft and Emirates, it will have been a 380.

If it weren’t Emirates, I guess commercial 747s were still flying in 2015, or the other likely alternative would be a 340 (did it take half the journey time to get off the ground..?).

The only definitive way to say would be to check your email/ticket, and I’d imagine there would be a record of the flight and aircraft type. Though 2015 is quite a while back. Fuck, I’m getting old.

Short version: if Emirates then yes, it was an A380; if not Emirates, maybe.

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poulan9@reddit

but also although passengers love them, airlines don't - too few airports can support them, they have double the number of engines to maintain vs the competition (Dreamliner) and are not made of composites like the dreamliner (again).

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ketchup1345@reddit

The Boeing 787 is not even anywhere near the competition of the A380, the 747-8 is, which failed to beat its passenger sales. The A380 is in its own league of super jumbo. If it wasn't for Covid-19 it would be flourishing

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Titans86@reddit

I'm not sure the Dreamliner is the correct comparative airframe to the a380; typically the Dreamliner is compared to the a350.

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LevelThreeSixZero@reddit

The Dreamliner is compared to the A350 in terms of modernity but not necessarily in terms of utilisation. I’m by no means an expert on this but I had the impression that they typically serve different route structures.

The A380 was one of a kind in the types of routes it served which is a big part of why it failed, as it was just a bit too niche.

I think the A350s main competitor will be the new 777 when it eventually enters service.

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Francoberry@reddit

Yes, the Dreamliner and A380 should be compared because they represent the differing philosophies of Boeing and Airbus at the respective time.

Essentially the question was 'should planes be as huge as possible and work based on sheer volume in a single journey, or should smaller planes be used that focus on efficiency in a smaller form?'

Airbus seemed to focus on creating a replacement to beat the 747, but Boeing seemed to better anticipate the market in which huge planes are no longer as desirable

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LevelThreeSixZero@reddit

That’s a very good point and there is absolutely value in drawing that comparison and I suppose is the lens the original commenter was looking through. I guess, the subsequent reply and myself were talking about how the A380 and 787 were never intended to compete for the same market segment but were, as you pointed out, different gambles on which market would be bigger.

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ajm15@reddit

People compare it with the dreamliner because it was Boeing's reply to the A380.

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UnObtainium17@reddit

I remember my first flight in an A380. I was seated economy in the upper deck and after just a couple hours into the flight, I knew then it was the most comfortable plane i have ever been in. Sad that this plane is slowly going out of service.

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Not____007@reddit

Cant even feel the landing. One of the softest landing ive ever been on.

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Any-Investigator8324@reddit

😥😥😥

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BStothepowerof2@reddit

As an AvGeek, any legendary plane being scrapped makes me sad. But TBH, as a Boeing fan, I'm kinda doing a victory lap in my head remembering when Airbus said this was a 747/777 killer. (And we need all the positivity we can get these days, lol)

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Clover_Zero@reddit

Oh...that's gore of my comfort character. 💔💔💔

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KerbalEnginner@reddit

That is painful to see. And it aint even Friday the 13th

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colin8651@reddit

Are they really recycling them? Thought they just stopped making them.

So sad to see something so amazing be broken apart like that.

Being said, can I buy a main fan blade to make a dinner table from? Expensive?

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Vanoss31@reddit (OP)

They are! First all the avionics/cockpit instruments are taken out, certified and sold, then all of the airplane gets sorted and recycled

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Vanoss31@reddit (OP)

The same plane a few weeks beforepicture

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ifcknkl@reddit

Couldn someone turn an old a380 in a fancy avgeek restaurant?

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Dear_Durian4088@reddit

I'm sure Global will be able to get it flying again.

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Screaming_Emu@reddit

Korean Air is dismantling a few A380s in ICN and has started turning the tops into little storage garages. If I ever see them when I’m not working I’ll try to snap a picture.

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Vanoss31@reddit (OP)

They do the same with 747 roof ! Picture

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Electrical_Cow6601@reddit

And seeing 747s destroyed, what does that do to you?

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Vanoss31@reddit (OP)

It hurts exactly the same, same as seeing a 340-600, or any plane really

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Fast-Bar-7757@reddit

Makes me hurt

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Moist-Dragonfly2@reddit

Already

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FX-Art@reddit

imo A380s have been the best planes ever made so far

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samgarita@reddit

This is so crazy. To me the A380 is still the latest and greatest airplane, which is far from true obviously. I’m also a frequent flyer (~4 intl. flights a month) and to this day I still haven’t flown on the A380! So seeing them getting chopped into confetti is so unreal

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Majortom_67@reddit

I suffer just for 747s...

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Boundish91@reddit

Scrapped is more accurate i feel. When dismantling i would think that the goal was to extract as many salvageable parts as possible.

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Slash787@reddit

It is sad, Iran Air or Cubana could have used this.

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CDMT22@reddit

Need a banana for scale.

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ScarHand69@reddit

I dunno why but I assumed the connection between the 2nd deck and wall would be more substantial or just maybe a more complex or a design?

Looking at this it looks like it basically just a flat floor bolted to the sidewall. Worth mentioning that the 2nd deck floor is actually a structural member and holds the walls in place. They simply cannot remove the 2nd deck floor and convert it into a cargo carrier.

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PraetorAudax@reddit

Well, Some of them getting dismantled after 13 yeas of use. Kinda too big not even sure if could even modified to fly cargo?

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HTX-ByWayOfTheWorld@reddit

Absolutely, utterly tragic. It’ll never happen, but imagine a twin jet or a trijet (😝) 380 for economics

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Pale_Marionberry_570@reddit

Boeing baited the shit out of airbus to make this

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Dry_Inflation_861@reddit

🫡

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dis340@reddit

What a waste. Put it in a museum...

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xXCrazyDaneXx@reddit

It's... to a large degree made of aluminium. Extracting aluminium from Bauxite is extremely energy intensive.

Putting it in a museum would be a waste.

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Extension_Guess_1308@reddit

The 380 uses what Airbus call GLARE.. A sandwich of aluminium and fibreglass. Not sure how easy or difficult it is to recycle back to pure aluminium.

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wurstbowle@reddit

It does use GLARE, but not as a replacement for Aluminium everywhere.

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SilentSpr@reddit

Way too big to put in a museum lol. Unless you’d want it to sit outside on a field rotting. Recycling it is the non wasteful way

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dis340@reddit

Completely false.

Ever been to the Museum of Flight in Seattle? They have 747, 787, and more large aircraft.

Even better, have you been to Sinsheim/Speyer in Germany? 747, Condorde, Tu144 all displayed, and very well taken care of.

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SilentSpr@reddit

Listing the Museum of Flight is a bit unfair lol. That’s like saying every museum around the world is like the British Imperial Museum. You’d be hard pressed to find a lot of other Museums with as much space and money. More importantly open space that’s not already taken up by another aircraft

Also the A380 isn’t as museum worthy as 747, Concorde, or Tu-144 in my eyes. There are plenty still in active passenger service. It didn’t introduce an era of flying like the 747. Nor does it have the novelty factor of the Concorde/Tu-144

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Cpt-JT-Kirk@reddit

But it would still be nice to have them in the German museum Sinsheim or Speyer.

Imagine having an Lufthansa A380 next to the 747 in Speyer flying above the ground. Forever.

https://www.swissnomads.ch/destinationen/europa/deutschland/technik-museum-speyer/

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SilentSpr@reddit

Sure, if a museum wants to acquire one they could do so. Money required sometimes just isn’t there unless an airline donates a retired one

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Cpt-JT-Kirk@reddit

The 747 cost them 1€.

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SilentSpr@reddit

Yeah those are the donation I’m taking about……

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Lord-Heller@reddit

Thank you.

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Papewaio7B8@reddit

Or even better...

Put a museum in it!

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zincboymc@reddit

You can already find a380s in museums, it’s not a one off prototype. Putting all of them in museums would be expensive and waste a lot of aluminum.

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Frequent_Help2133@reddit

Such a short career

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Vanoss31@reddit (OP)

Thank you for all the comments, being from Toulouse, seeing this also makes me sad especially after seeing the first ever A380 flight. I saw this one during a work trip, and I must say, as sad as this might be, they also work on the maintenance of a LOT of planes (such as the beautiful A340-600 and even A380) which is cool to see. Also, most of the parts and material is going to be recycled.

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fearlessbot__@reddit

; - ;

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TrueSRR7@reddit

Oh……. that’s gore……. of my comfort plane……….

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really_random_user@reddit

This belongs in a museum

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ApprehensiveCat544@reddit

Look how they massacred my boy

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FlatTyres@reddit

It feels so strange to see A380s being dismantled and recycled already. I still remember watching the first ones on YouTube then going to Heathrow in 2008 to watch the first Singapore Airlines A380 take off from LHR in the night (I was in school for the first SIA A380 landing but was asking the teacher if I could sit near the window out of excitement though I didn't see it).

A crowd of us watched from the observer stand in the Heathrow Academy car park and I turned on my Mini DV camcorder only for it to take off from 27L while we were all watching by 27R.

I managed to see it take off shortly after on 29th March in the daylight on the weekend.

For many years, the A380 has been a common sight in the skies around London, but it feels sad to see that we are at the beginning of the end for the Superjumbo. I'm sure we'll still see plenty of them for another decade or two, but just as we rarely see a 747 now (usually a cargo plane), the clock ticks towards the day when we'll see our last A380s too.

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