EoW July 2007

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EuroWire – July 2007 40
Transat lant ic Cable
A bi-coastal welcome for the Airbus A380
Los Angeles International is a ‘tired airport’
and ‘an embarrassment’
In an article in the Los Angeles Times for 20th March (‘Airbus c’est
arrive!’), writer Paul Thornton offered a few facts that went
unmentioned by any of the luminaries who gathered the day
before to greet the mega-jumbo Airbus A380 on its first arrival
on the West Coast. Los Angeles Airport had lobbied hard for the
honour. And, more than a year before, LAX officials had been
told that they would host the A380’s first US stop if they fast-
tracked gate upgrades to accommodate the big plane. But, even
though LAX fulfilled its part of the bargain, Airbus decided to
send the A380 to New York’s John F Kennedy Airport instead.
LAX officials complained, and Airbus crafted a compromise:
two A380s would land, minutes apart, at JFK and LAX.
Mr Thornton wrote: “Alas, [Los Angeles] got the consolation
prize. New York hosted a fully decked-out plane carrying nearly
500 passengers – mostly Lufthansa and Airbus employees – who
enjoyed full meal service on their transatlantic hop.
The plane that landed in LA carried mostly test computers and
other equipment. ”The Angeleno, a self-proclaimed aviation
nerd, wrote more in sorrow than in anger. At the welcoming
ceremony, even as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asserted that
super-size planes such as the A380 are ‘better for our airports,’ in
the distance behind the mayor Mr Thornton saw ageing terminals
already crowded wingtip-to-wingtip with jets much smaller
than the A380.
Noting that, by the end of this year, just two gates at LAX will
be able to accommodate the A380, Mr Thornton declared that
LAX is one of the worst-equipped airports that will handle the
plane. It is, in his view, ‘a tired airport that is an embarrassment
in international aviation circles.’ Despite the ‘surreal disconnect’
between that dilapidation and the hype of the moment,
Mr Thornton acknowledged that the festive welcoming
ceremony was all about the plane of tomorrow coming to
a storied international gateway. An executive of Australia’s
Qantas Airways, which will be the first airline to fly the A380 to
Los Angeles and the airport’s biggest international carrier, took
the opportunity to confirm his company’s commitment to LAX.
Mr Thornton concluded: “None of [my commentary] is to say that
the A380 isn’t an engineering marvel. But the party LAX threw
for the plane’s visit shouldn’t delude anyone. Our airport has a
lot of catching up to do if it plans to be the A380 gateway that
airlines want.”
The big new Airbus has American
admirers galore, but no buyers as yet
New York’s welcoming ceremony for the double-decker
superjumbo Airbus A380 was no less enthusiastic than
California’s, and did not induce distress over the physical
condition of John F Kennedy International Airport.
But the big plane’s star turn on 19th March did set off some
sobering speculation about its prospects for success in the US,
even given the best conditions on the ground.
After touchdown at JFK, the pilot opened a cockpit window
to wave an American flag to an excited throng that included
reporters and photographers aboard three helicopters hovering
nearby. The next day, the largest passenger plane in the world
took a celebratory ‘flight to nowhere’ and circled over Manhattan
Island before commencing a tour that would include stops at
Dulles International, outside Washington, and O’Hare in Chicago.
“When you see it fly, even hardened airplane hands stop and
look,” Edmund S Greenslet, publisher of the trade publication
Airline Monitor, told the New York Times. “It will be noticed. It is
dramatic. To see it is to be impressed at its sheer magnitude.”
Thus did the A380 demonstrate its ability to generate buzz.
But the Times’s Leslie Wayne pointed out that turning buzz into
actual sales in the United States is another matter. He noted that
no American carrier had placed an order for the plane, and many
experts feel that none will anytime soon. (‘Airbus Superjumbo
Takes a Lap around America,’ 20th March)
Mr Wayne wrote: “The financial problems of some carriers
prohibit them from affording the $300 million craft. But, even
more, American carriers say they have no need for a plane so
big – preferring instead smaller planes that can carry 200 to
300 passengers for more frequent non-stop service among
more cities.”
An example cited is American Airlines, which has not purchased
any A380s. Tim Wagner, a spokesman, told the Times that
American was instead using the Boeing 777, which carries 250 to
350 passengers, on such long-haul flights as Chicago-New Delhi
and Dallas-Tokyo. If demand on these routes increases, American
would rather offer more flights than use bigger planes, he said.
“We’d rather meet customer demand with multiple flights a day
between cities than by having one flight on one gigantic aircraft,”
said Mr Wagner.
But airport managers have a different perspective, which could
improve the long-term US prospects of the A380. Airports
have to be concerned about congestion both in the air and on
the ground. William DeCota, director of aviation for the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates airports
in the New York region, including Kennedy, told the Times:
“It’s not desirable to have more flights, but it is desirable to
have more people.”
Accordingly, Mr Wayne observed, anything that increases the
number of passengers without increasing the number of flights
will likely be welcome – once the modifications are in place to
receive a craft eight stories tall and with a wingspan almost as
long as a football field.
Even though American carriers are not rushing to buy the
Airbus A380, the plane will be flying in American skies.
International carriers are planning to use it for flights in
and out of Kennedy, O’Hare, Dulles, San Francisco, and
Los Angeles. Eventually, Miami, Orlando, Dallas and Denver
may also see the A380. This much is certain: it will not be
mistaken for any other craft.
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