Indian Airlines prefer A320 and other small air crafts like Q400 & ATR because passengers prefer cheap v& flexible time for travel, Or they need to service only in peak time like morning 7-9am and evening 8-10pm , These timing are best for business travels and airports in tourist destinations prefer afternoon time due to checkin time of hotels
While I also want A380 around for as long as possible, there are a few things in this video that need to be corrected. 1. Most punctual airline is not GoAir. In fact, we avoid flying GoAir when it is about time. Indigo is the most punctual, and % at times are as high as 99. 2. Apart from a few routes, read less than a dozen, no other route requires a longer narrow body, leave aside a wide body. 3. Air India flies widebody on some domestic sectors, but that is just to put the plane on the next international route. No widebody flight is doing regular rounds domestically. There's no need. 4. Planes like A321 are doing good for the extra demand that some routes got. 5. Yes, AirIndia is now more inclined towards Airbus because they are now merging AirIndia, AirAsia, and Vistara. 6. Runway conditions isn't really an issue in most of the metro and even tier 2 cities since Indian Airports aren't really that old. Runway length was actually an issue previously on many airports. 7. Also, cargo is one big side as well. Because of the developing culture of same day delivery, many airlines benefit from cargo space on board. They eventually find it better to have more number of planes leaving at regular intervals. (Not really sure about this due to economics, but I heard it from a senior airport cargo operation manager) 8. I wish India could save A380. I will be happy if anybody can save the beautiful and magnificent jumbo. I love being on it every time.
A lot of misinformation is there in this video, which needs to be corrected. Has the publisher mentioned on time performance of European or American airlines, while terming Indian carriers as worse? He needs to get his information correct. Now many of our Indian carriers can put any global carriers to shame, after the push back rule change few years ago, most of the carriers have been doing well. He paints our airports as crammed with planes and flyers, has he seen China? Or even Turkey? Please tell him to read well before saying this. While A380 has fallen out of favour for most of the carriers, why is he acting as a salesman for Airbus? We are one of the fastest growing aviation markets, airlines have been growing, though similar aviation economic trends have been emerging as US, but there will be sometime, before market matures and consolidation happens. We have been adding aviation infrastructure as breakneck pace, Delhi, for example, will have 4 active runways by end of 2023, and three of those can handle these super jumbos. One final word, what fits them, may not fit us.
I flew premium economy on British airways on an A380 from Heathrow to Logan. Premium economy is positioned on the upper deck, just in front of the wings. It was like sitting in a living room and flying. The only real noise you could hear on takeoff was one rattly overhead bin. I absolutely loved that flight! I've never been on anything else like it.
The airlines aren't retiring the A380 and 747 because passengers don't enjoy them - passengers absolutely love them! It's the corporate bean counters that have caused the demise of those two wonderful aircraft
@@kolerick it's not that they didn't WANT to accommodate it, but simply didn't/couldn't make the required investments in infrastructure upgrades to do so
The extra wheel A320's are no longer in service and have been replaced by newer A320/ A321neo's. The extra wheel versions were because a lot of the taxi ways at certain airports couldnt handle the weight. Most if not all have now been upgraded.
It's same with McDonnell Douglas MD-82/83/85/88 (and later Boeing 717). They had just a pair of landing wheels per side. Several airports banned this plane due to fewer wheels bearing the higher weight and causing stress cracks on the runways.
For the 4 airports mentioned in the video where the A380 can be used currently there are some updates- Delhi will open its 4th runway & finish upgradation of Terminal 2 very soon hence will free up slots Mumbai will be getting a brand new airport in a year's time hence massively reducing congestion Bangalore just opened its 2nd runway & new Terminal so no more congestion there Hyderabad still has spare capacity for some more years
I just flew the Emirates A380 into the Bangalore airport. Emirates always flew the A380 to Mumbai and now have started at Bangalore airport as well. I have been flying in the A380s for over 10 years now and was always bummed that the last mile (last leg from UAE to BAngalore) was always on a smaller plane. Not anymore. So If Air India does purchase some A380s then they could definitely use them for long haul US-Bangalore/Delhi/Mumbai/Hyderabad routes and make a lot of profits
@@SRBAnimate i have been lucky enough to go on the emirates one and it is amazing. It taxis so smoothly and the quietness is the best. There are so many other things but yea those are good definitely worth it.
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@@Salvador_but_he_plays_gd Maybe time for a completely rethought 747? For me it would borrow the best ideas from the 747 and the A380, while still working well as both a cargo and passenger vehicle.
I flew A380 once. It was in business class on Korean Airways from ICN to JFK. Even though the business class cabin was in a 2-2-2 layout instead of 1-2-1, it was still incredibly spacious and comfortable. I would pay a premium to fly A380 over other aircraft if it were available.
A380 is the most comfortable plane I've ever flown easily. The reduced noise level in particular is so incredibly apparent but the extra space - even if they then cram you in - can't be denied. If you are able to get (not sure if they still do this) a plane with economy on the upper deck then it's even more incredible. You feel like you're in your own semi-private palace; you and a handful of others. That's of course before you consider PE, business or greater if you are made of money.
Emirates has just started an A380 service from Dubai to Bangalore. Making 3 flights a day, 3 777s and 1 A380, and before they had 4 777s a day Would be interesting to see if the A380 would ever work domestically
I believe that China Southern did try it before Covid. Further, both SingaporeAir and Emirates regularly use the jet on flights of less than 1.5 hours (which would basically be similar to a Domestic flight in India)
Indigo has 7-8 daily flights from delhi to Banglore startig for 4 am to 11pm and all filled to the brim they use mostly A321 and a few A320 on this route
@@almondeye-a9950 yeah of course iam just giving example, i went to banglore for one day a few weeks back went there early morni and return back to delhi late night no hotel nothin
@@subhamsagar9022 and finding a a380 pilot, maintaince personal qualified for it is very difficult in india, my father works at indigo and all the person he know have certifications on 320s and 737s
I think for busy routes, passengers will prefer frequency. I read the reason why BA didn’t deploy A380s on the LHR-JFK route, even though the flew easily a dozen daily flights to and fro pre-pandemic, is for exactly this reason. Also, I’m glad you enjoyed the A380 Coby. I saw you flew with BA, if you travelled on the upper deck, you’ve won, cause A380 upper deck economy is really enjoyable. It’s like your own private cabin with abundant storage with those window-side lockers. However, I think the flying public is too attached to the A380. I used to say it was “overrated” and got into some trouble… 😂 I just got off an A350 flight and from my memory, it’s just as quiet and comfortable as the superjumbo, yet I don’t really see the same hype. I guess the fact that simply being the biggest has some wow factor to it, but if you’re a non-avgeek choosing between an A380 and A350 flight, I’d say go with what fits your schedule, you’re not gonna be uncomfortable either way. I’m actively seeking the A380 now, because with so few operators left, it’s a good avgeek goal to fly on all remaining A380 operators.
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I agree that frequency is important, but some airports have a capacity problem and they may face challenges expanding the take off capacity. For example if the area surrounding the airport limits the ability to create new runways. Certainly, if there runway length is too short for the A380, then extending it in the same context may create a challenge there too.
@ What about the forecast pilot shortages as well. If airport capacity, flight path capacity and pilot availability was infinite then smaller planes is the way to go.
BA didn’t fly the A380 on that route because their terminal at JFK could not fit the plane. They flew 747’s and 777-300’s so they could have easily flown the A380.
BTW, my one flight on an A380 came after my connection from Helsinki to Heathrow on a Finnair A350. I got to fly back to back in two of the most impressive aircraft in the world...
Have flown on the A380 many times over the years; until the pandemic it was the 1st choice for many airlines flying long-haul to & from my hometown (Sydney). Apart from all the extra room and comfort (even the basic economy seats are wider and have increased pitch than other widebodies), the thing that sets the A380 apart from most other passenger jets today is the silence (particularly on the upper deck). Due to the sheer size of the aircraft and all of the engines being placed further away from the cabin and down along those long wings, those planes are just very hushed inside and easy to get to sleep in without the use of noise-cancelling headphones. Now that airlines are bringing their A380's back into service post-covid, I go out of my way to book my long-haul international flights on them.
Air India just ordered the largest deal of aviation industry with Airbus and Boeing. They ordered 210 A321neos and 190 737 max for domestic market and 40 A350s, 20 787 & 10 777x wide bodys for international routes, making it a $70 billion worth of deal in total
Surprising to find GoAir is India's most consistent airline in terms of on time service. Every time i booked em, it always ended in cancellation or delays. India being a very price priority market probably has Indigo as one of the best ones for most routes and it has got some of the best schedules as well in my opinion
Best plane that suits Indian conditions is a-220 most people prefer point to point model not Hub and spoke Case for hub and spoke model very low , every airline in India prefers efficient planes like 737max and A320 neo , where as thin routes are being served using Atr 72-600, Q-400 Personally I like to see A-350 and A-220 in Indian skies running with local carriers
@Blue Penguin wide bodies are being used in domestic travels since early 2022 but chances of using a380 is pretty sleek no airlines in India are going take that risk
Air India used to fly its 747 between DEL-BOM & CCU-BOM routes as far as I remember. Also I have traveled many times between BOM-DEL on the 787. So they do have track record of using wide bodies in domestic routes but don't know if A380 would work in similar settings.
@@vishnuteja2610 I don’t believe you know what you are talking about. As another poster mentioned, 747-400 used to be flown on domestic routes. Now the A380 can be used on high density routes. You are making negative comments without supporting yoir arguments. Just vague ‘Indian carriers won’t take that ‘risk’’ without explaining what the risk is? Please, sit down and be quiet if you don’t have a rational argument to make. I hate this sort of blind negativity devoid of any rational backup arguments.
@@Danin4985 haha mr.intolerant you don’t get my point and no Indian airlines India is ready to operate a gas guzzling a380 maybe they are better than 747-400 but not efficient as 787 and A-350 And moreover I don’t care what you b@₹k
Gotta agree with you about how comfortable they are. I recently flew from Manchester to Sydney via Dubai and both legs were on Emirates A380s. 22hrs 30mins air-time (not including time in the airports) and I wasn't even tired at the end.
A few anecdotes: 1. There are new airports coming up in both Delhi and Mumbai. 2. A new terminal has also being opened in Bangalore. 3. Indigo has far better punctuality record. It is ranked 15th in the world ahead of Delta, Emirates and Etihad. 4. A380 requires a lot of point to point passengers. Only a few 3-4 routes could have that kind of passenger demand. 5. Maintaining a fleet of A380 is very expensive. Unless India has need of 100s there won't be any efficiency advantages. 6. Business and 1st class is not very prevelant. So it would moatly be economy.
Just to clarify the double bogied A320 were used on flights to the hilly north eastern part where earlier(int the 90s and 2000s) the runway quality was quite poor. These have improved since then and the double bogied A320s have since been retired. Otherwise quite a spot on video. Though one might make a case for the A380's filling up on domestic routes. They would make more sense to be operated on flights to LHR and JFK. The flights at peak morning times have a demand that it can fill an A380 completely tho and I hardly doubt that all cabins might be filled on a flight considering India is a very price sensitive market on domestic flights. Fitting the cabin to have maximum economy class seats might not make sense for the aircraft to be used when the aircraft is being used on international routes. Thus leading to dilemma. The 787/A350 is very suited to the need that India has right now.
The 4-wheel bogie undercarriage A320 have all been retired by Air India. Even many smaller airports in India can handle A320 type aircraft with full load and regular undercarriage nowadays. Besides the A380, even if any Indian airline decides to acquire it, will mainly be used on Delhi-Bangalore, Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Bangalore and other high density routes between metros. The defunct Air Deccan also planned to acquire A380s and operate them domestically in all-economy configuration.
I had the chance to fly twice in a A380. A pure marvel and so confortable. I love sitting at the window. On a 747 I always am getting cold wether in the airbus no. And it flies so smooth. A pure experience. I would love to fly again
Boston-Logan installed an A380 gate. Used it like 10 times and now they don’t expect to ever again. 787-10 would be the ideal domestic high density wide body.
Great information there. I'm presently in New Zealand. My daughter lives here. I've now flown from the UK to NZ return with Emirates on the A380 a dozen times. Brilliant plane. A few of these flights have been aboard brand new A380s
You forgot about wake turbulence. That size of plane, during takeoff the plane behind it has to wait 2 minutes to take off, this takes out any benefits of more passengers flying per hour.
I have flown on a Lufthansa A380 once DEL to FRA. It was an incredible experience. I was in row 75 and it was over the wing. Only bad part was my IFE screen wasn't working until after takeoff so I missed the tail cam takeoff .
Absolutely bang on, truly believe that Air India should pick up all those Parked and on sale A380s of Thai and Malaysia Airlines as it would add big capacity cheap and it should fly majorly international markets.
I flew A380 from New York to Dubai a few months ago. I loved the flight. I was in the business class and everything about the flight was amazing. The flight was on time and it was not at all noisy and crowded. I am planning to fly again in a couple of months.
Indian airlines solved the issue of more passengers less airport slots in a different way. Indigo got its first 777-3Q8 wet leased from Turkish and they changed the seat config to 530+ seats all economy instead of buying a ~500 seat A380. It solves the problem, just passengers travel like cattle. And Air India went ahead with A350 (2 delivered till now).
We flew from London to Melbourne on a A380 in 2018 with Emirates and found it very comfortable in economy and very fortunate to travel back in business class and found that to be absolutely brilliant. Personally I love the A3800 and can’t wait to fly in one again 😊
The a380 on emirates was very spacious, even though I was in economy from SYD-DXB ( it was a 14 hour hop). We were able to walk, access the lavatories and even move while beverage carts were blocking aisles. I want to get back on it.
The A380 is by far the quietest long-haul jetliner I've been on. My only issue with it as an avid window seat flyer, is that gap between the seat and window due to the fuselage curvature on the lower deck.
My only A380 experience was with Singapore Airlines back in 2018 (SIN~PVG). It had so many surprises. - The tunnel vision of the windows was insane... Taking photos and filming out of them felt awkward. - So many vanity mirrors on the plane. I don't know if this is specific to Singapore Airlines, or it's universal across all A380s. - Interior space felt much more cramped than I had expected. Perceived space felt less compared to their 777s (probably due to the A380 having a 3-4-3 abreast configuration as opposed to 777's 3-3-3). - It was VERY quiet. Quieter than every plane I have flown on including the A350. It was already quiet during take off, and got noticeably quieter again after the landing gears retracted -- just like turning on the active noise cancellation on a pair of headphones. - Oh the person sat next to me had bad armpit odor... Luckily he was a pretty nice and kind guy. And that was my A380 experience.
I flew A380's Economy Class in Singapore Airlines and honestly, the comfort in the seats and the amount of space compared to a regular A350 actually shocks me. How is a plane this huge not considered by airlines? A380 just strikes the need of economy passengers and I honestly think spacious seats is all passengers need with added comfort and the A380 just does that job! It's a shame the aircraft is being retired but I would still love to see the A380 come back again in the markets but with more fuel efficient engines like the upcoming RR Ultrafan.
Both Mumbai and Chennai are slated to get new airports in a matter of years. With Chennai it's more obscure, but Navi Mumbai is under construction already. BOM and MAA are both in the top 5 busiest Indian airports, and those 2 new airports should relieve capacity there.
I've been on several and really enjoyed their cathedral-like indoor space and quiet operation. So quiet you can talk to you neighbor without straining.
when you mentioned total residents/ airport. Remember that India also has a vast network of railways compared to the US where rail travel is almost impossible.
TATA's taking over Air India will be a real game changer for Indian aviation. Also many airports in India are planning to expand or build new terminals and there are lot of new airports being build across the nation. Upcoming Bullet train and RRTs projects in India will be a major competition to Aviation industry in the next decade.
Over the years, I have flown on just about every passenger jet. My favorite (by far) is the A380. My 747 experience wasn't that bad either, but the configuration could have been much more roomier. When I started flying, I would have really enjoyed my flight on the DC10. That is if airlines didn't allow smoking back then. It was a stormy night with nearly an empty plane. Wouldn't you know it, the airline put another passenger in the seat next to me. I counted maybe ten people on the entire plane and this guy sat right next to me and smoked one cigarette after the other. Blessings for me, the flight attendant asked the captain if I could move. She moved me up to the empty first class section of the plane. It was a smooth and very roomy flight.
I have flown the A380 in Business and in Economy class. Just a great, great, great airplane. I never flew the A350, but I can say that after a long haul flight to Singapore in A380 the next leg to Australia was with a 777 and it seemed to all of us to go 30 years back in time. In the A380 one does not even need the noise cancelling headphones.
The A380s can be used for North American routes and LHR. Indigo has captured the domestic market and people are looking for flexible timing instead of travelling on widebody which would be only plane serving the route.
@@karrikarthik6936 who wouldn't? But given around 800 economy seats on a 380, you'll not find enough people like us to fill up all of them. The bias towards IndiGo will take a long time to go, 380s will become old by then. AI should seriously consider leasing some old SQ 380s though.
India is expanding high speed rail network and Super Highways in a big way.That leaves very few profitable routes for A380.Thats the reason Air India has chosen smaller planes such as A350, 777, 787
Coby also did mention that the main reason why both Japan Airlines and ANA discontinued using their short range 747SRs domestic service and not follow on with newbuild 747s like the 747-8 is that Japan's ever expanding and increased capacity of the Shinkansen high speed rail network, which was present at the very beginning of the 747SR's service and how France's also ever expanding TGV network killed off Air France's domestic airline subsidiary Air Inter.
@@PInk77W1 All actually. Emirates announced they would be replacing the 777 route with an A380. On Dallas Morning News, Qantas parked it's A380 at the gate. BA also said they would bring the A380's back. I think Emirates already started their routes.
The headwinds to doing this are - AirIndia has no experience of flying them, maintaining them, operating them. Buying used ones does mean getting a great deal on idled ones that some airlines will only ever near half of them at most (like Lufthansa). Emirates will want to sell some some, as newer planes replace them on X routes or make their return to service uneconomic. Then there is fuel costs. Aircraft quality Kersone is unlikely to crash in cost anytime this decade. If it did, we might see the EU (and perhaps the US for external flights first) impose the fuel tax that airlines have been able to avoid since WW2. If the price ever spiked, its unlikely that AirIndia would be able to fill-charge much more for premium/business class seats (otherwise the "poor" passenger would just go via e.g, UAE or cram themselves into a A321Neo and sit in connecting airport). However filling seats for India-US or India-Europe is currently being well served (and hence Emirates offers an A380 now from UAE-London to meet demand) and AirIndia is losing out. Having a bigger plane on a longer route for direct flights is more acceptable to passengers than a smaller cramped plane (no matter how nice the seats are) for the same direct route than say the A321XLR might provide. For "shorter" middle-high volume routes, their current Boeing refurbs are fine. In fact its current Boeing fleet is well capable of doing an e.g. London to Mumbai trip and for the 777-300ER - mumbai to NYC. So not sure what the A380 brings to the table especially as long haul is down in volume and AirIndia still 9 or so 777s still on backorder.
I am from India and I flew A380 to Dubai from New Delhi and it was a great experience as compared to other domestic carriers such as A320 (which again I flew domestically).
I have flown the A380 of Emirates From Mumbai To Dubai and was a very comfortable aircraft 2 and a halfe hours just gave me confort even in Economy class.
Congrats ! Very useful video ! You confirmed what I tought and in a way studied. A380 will be very useful on Delhi (DEL) - Mumbai (BOM) + DEL - Bangaluru (BLR) + BOM - BLR sectors to srart with reducing congestion and pollution at peak hours at least. DEL - BOM sector is one of the most traveled in the world. Concerning the number of airport by inhabitant India is 1/3 in area than USA and almost 5 x more populated.
A single a380 flight maybe able to replace 4 indigo a321 flights but a single flight mayn’t be able to replace the 4-5 conveniently staggered schedules throughout the day.
I think the major challenge to any airliner in India operating the A380 would be fuel costs. Fuel is always expensive here, even more so with international inflation
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I thought the A380 was more fuel efficient per passenger? At the same time I’m curious whether any new engine developments would work ass efficiency improvements for the A380
a350 -1x 777-x are most suitable for air india than a380, cz singapore airlines,emirates,etihad,lufthansa (used to) already operate there a380 to india , m indian i monitor air traffic , people have option to fly a380 from east or west , they dont want air india specifically to purchase it
The problem overlooked here is boarding time which can take forever on an A380. You can draw an example from Cebu Pacific's 436 seat A330 used domestically vs sending two 210 seat A321s. It's not just the number of "gates" but the number of "bridges" that are important.
I've flown four sectors on board an A380. The flights were operated by four different airlines (SQ, LH, EY and QR, in that order). One of the sectors (SYD to AUH) was the longest I've ever flown. All four of the flights, and especially the one with LH, were exceptionally pleasant experiences. I am not in the least bit surprised that three of the operators have recently reversed their previously announced decisions to stop flying the type. I look forward to savouring further A380 flights in the future.
For some additional context, Air India operates 4 A320/A321 between BOM-DEL in the morning slot (7 AM to 10 AM). With 138 seats in A320 & 170 seats in A321 and 85% load factor (Nov '22), this translates to roughly 520 pax / day, which is a perfect model for a A380.
I have flown the A-380 on several routes, BA and AF. I love the plane, but different airlines offer different levels of service. My most recent trip was in BA First Class from LHR to ORD. The flight was great, but the upgrade from Business or First was not really worth the cost. The offerings in business were very similar to first, even the seat wasn't that much more remarkable.
I've flown on a Emirates A380 from JFK to Dubai... what an amazing aircraft.. We purchased the premium economy seats and we absolutely loved it. Best flying experience I've ever had..
Absolutely right sir. India is now working on a high speed rail project from mumbai to ahmedabad. But largely India is a very price sensitive market. High speed rail can be successful only when it is present on a large scale and there is competitive pricing. Now the upcoming high speed rail project has a higher price tag than airlines. And then there is corruption. So will take at least 30 years for Indians to see high speed rail as an attractive option.
@@sudhirlakshmanan As an engineering and business type, I am continuously dismayed by the impediments to progress and the improvement of everyone's standard of living imposed by corruption and other self-serving short-sighted behaviors. Unfortunately, not everyone is a "maker". I haven't done the arithmetic, but considering a large airport can take as much land as the entire rail right of way between two cities, the amount of construction is similar, and the cost of equipment is probably cheaper, I expect that a network of high speed rail routes connecting 100 cities might be cheaper than the airports and planes suggested here. Also building the rail routes would employ people throughout the country and open intermediate cities to improved travel. I will note that a major reason the US has almost no high speed rail is that both airlines and car makers have lobbied vociferously against this competition. I would not be surprised to find that they also funded citizen groups that oppose it as well.
@@GaryBickford Adding to your point, trains have lower carbon footprint than aircrafts. With India's focus on leveraging the vast waste lands to convert to solar parks, the energy cost also will come down significantly. Hope our leaders take the right decisions.
@@GaryBickfordHSR would never be quicker than air travel between the 4 major Indian metropolitan cities with conventional rail technology(4+ hours for the shortest routes) and that’s before we consider land acquisition costs because it’s a bad idea to put the Chinese model into use. Also an airline that has prices basically along the lines of Ryanair means that HSR will also cost more for the average Indian person who cannot afford even the plane ticket. So the only way HSR can become viable between them is by having airspace restrictions along the lines of China which would make rail travel more reliable. However there are plenty of routes where conventional rail competes with air travel already(also hard to do in 2 of the major metro cities too as the airports are far too close to the city/center) and HSR will be far more convenient because it can be done with 250km/h alignments and still be way faster.
I think one thing you're underestimating is the importance of turnaround times on short-haul routes. The A380 has two usable doors for 4 times as many passengers as narrowbodies, which use one door. So you're looking at double the passenger dwell times, as well as higher cleaning costs due to the need to use cleaners in bursts as opposed to spreading them out across a bunch of narrowbodies. You're also looking at higher amounts of time to load cargo, and other dwell time consequences. This culminates in turnaround times closer to an hour, compared to the closer to half-hour times seen on narrowbodies. That's a big problem, both for gate numbers and for the profitability of the plane. If it's flying six flights a day, this is three extra hours relative to a narrowbody spent stopping, compared to the one extra hour a day it would spend on the typical two flights a day for intercontinental flights.
As much as I wish the a380 might resurface and head into production again, from what I've heard the production equipment has been dispersed to other lines and some tooling has been scrapped and would probably cost more to replace and reproduce that now than it did 5 years ago. But lets hope for a brighter future for the a380!
Great video. Your comprehensive analysis of the many factors that go into an airplane selection was well explained. First video seen on your channel and hugely impressed by the content and quality of production.
My experience as an Indian : My hometown airport is too small to handle even an A319 So it only serves politicians in their private jets.. The word "Expansion will occur " has been around since my Father's childhood
When me and my family emigrated to the UK from South Africa 5 years ago, we flew with Emirates from Durban, South Africa via their Dubai hub to London Heathrow. For the Durban-Dubai leg, we flew on a Boeing 777 which had woefully inadequate legroom especially for a tall person like myself of over 1,8m (6ft) in height (economy class really felt like "cattle class"). For the Dubai-London Heathrow leg, we flew on an Airbus A380 which was an absolute pleasure compared to the Boeing 777 (aside from the thought of having the pleasure of travelling on the world's largest commercial aircraft ever produced).
Seat pitch is totally controlled by the airlines, not the aircraft itself. Somehow Emirates makes its 777 inferior to the A380, except for First Class.
Really good video, thanks for this information. I think everyone will miss the A380. It is very comfortable and all the people I know appreciate flying it. The A380 could already use routes from Delhi and Mumbai since other A380 carriers landed there before the pandemic.
Wow, I was thinking which airport had the capacity to land this big plane, I didn't expect we had 4 airports, which is also busiest airports. You mentioned 75% to be filled right for profit? It's so easy, here is why: 1. I saw seating capacity of Air India Boeing 777-200LR, For economy - 195, For Business - 35 & For First Class - 8 Seats, So in percentage it's 82%(E), 14.5%(B) & 3.5%(F). (Checked other airlines which had more FC, Business & Less economy) Apply the same in A380 - 545 seats x 82% - 447 Seats (E), x 14.5% - 79 seats (B) & x 3.5% - 19 seats. Air India would easily fill the seats. Even for this i'm expecting more economy than other classes. 2. A380 - 15,000Km, It can do 3~3.75 trips with single fuelling, Also round trip possible - Delhi > Mumbai > Bangalore > Hyderabad > Delhi. 3. Air India can literally use it's existing planes for other routes. This plane will save people more time than before(seriously). India may need 3 ~ 6 Airbus A380.
a350 -1x 777-x are most suitable for air india than a380, cz singapore airlines,emirates,etihad,lufthansa (used to)already operate there a380 to india , m indian
The A380 doesn't have brake fans! Stopping the A380 on fairly short runways would definitely cause hot brakes, particularly if flying multiple short sectors in a day. Waiting for the brakes to cool would be a real issue and massively increase turnaround time compared to other aircraft.
I can see your point here. Imo, I think the 777 seems like the most fit aircraft to help with conjestion (as of right now) depending on how well it can do with domestic flights, It seems like the best option since it's one of the few planes that has a passenger capacity relatively close to the a380's 525 (being around 310 to close to 400 possibly higher), being more fuel efficient considering its a twin-engine instead of a quad, and that it is also overall cheaper to operate. So yes, The 777/a350 and 787/a330NEO aircrafts seem to be the best option for the indian aviation market for now.
@@kabirsharma2858 even if AI had really bad 777 and 787 cabins, that's still on AI. Other airlines like United have proven that retrofitting 777s and 787 is a thing. Now granted, AI has announced plans to retrofit 777s and 787s, so once that's completed, I bet the price of a 777 that the 777s and 787s won't be what's holding AI down.
In my opinion, I think it might make more sense for Indian carriers to operate the A380 on high demand long haul routes such as London. I think that for domestic routes, it might make more sense for them to operate widebody twins such as A330s, A350s, 777s, and 787s. They can simply do what other Asian carriers do and have a sub fleet dedicated to short-haul routes with a denser configuration. Older A330s (CEOs) and 777s (non ER variants) should be relatively easy to obtain, and then they can replace them with short-haul A330 NEOs, A350s, and 787s when the time comes.
Coby posed the question about flying on the A380. We went to India on Emirates, A380 to Dubai, B777-300 to Delhi and reverse on the way back to London Gatwick. It really put the comfort on both planes in a stark contrast. We have flown on the 777 before and were happy enough. In all honesty I would pay a premium to fly on the A380 over the 777, not a huge one but for airlines who still have them I would be using the A380 to market flights.
Having recently reviewed comments of Emirates' Tim Clark: "One of the A380’s biggest drawbacks are its four engines, which are inefficient to today’s standards and fuel prices. A new version would require an entirely new engine technology." (open fan suggested) What of retrofitting used fuselage with new shorter composite wings and new jumbo, fuel efficient engine PAIRs? (total 2 engines)
Yes coby i have flown in a a380 before, it was a remarkable experience. I am actually from india and the landing was excelent, the flight felt like a rols royce
You can't be more correct. I travel between SEA and NRT or ICN. There are so many transit passengers to India on my flight...it is no joke. My friend who is a flight attendant at the Emirates says her route between ICN and Dubai are filled with Indian passengers.
As a maintenance crew with A380 license, the effort to maintain the aircraft is massive. Parts are not readily available so it posed more problems than help
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Bruh, Jet Airways is as good as dead or at least in a vegetative state
@@borntowild480 Who talked about Jet Airways in this video ?
@Coby Explanes could you please provide the source for the date at 3:21?
Absolute misinformation
Indian Airlines prefer A320 and other small air crafts like Q400 & ATR because passengers prefer cheap v& flexible time for travel, Or they need to service only in peak time like morning 7-9am and evening 8-10pm , These timing are best for business travels and airports in tourist destinations prefer afternoon time due to checkin time of hotels
While I also want A380 around for as long as possible, there are a few things in this video that need to be corrected.
1. Most punctual airline is not GoAir. In fact, we avoid flying GoAir when it is about time. Indigo is the most punctual, and % at times are as high as 99.
2. Apart from a few routes, read less than a dozen, no other route requires a longer narrow body, leave aside a wide body.
3. Air India flies widebody on some domestic sectors, but that is just to put the plane on the next international route. No widebody flight is doing regular rounds domestically. There's no need.
4. Planes like A321 are doing good for the extra demand that some routes got.
5. Yes, AirIndia is now more inclined towards Airbus because they are now merging AirIndia, AirAsia, and Vistara.
6. Runway conditions isn't really an issue in most of the metro and even tier 2 cities since Indian Airports aren't really that old. Runway length was actually an issue previously on many airports.
7. Also, cargo is one big side as well. Because of the developing culture of same day delivery, many airlines benefit from cargo space on board. They eventually find it better to have more number of planes leaving at regular intervals. (Not really sure about this due to economics, but I heard it from a senior airport cargo operation manager)
8. I wish India could save A380. I will be happy if anybody can save the beautiful and magnificent jumbo. I love being on it every time.
Sir you also love aviation sector
Gagan bhai ab ap airplane ka review kabse karoge 😜😂
A lot of misinformation is there in this video, which needs to be corrected. Has the publisher mentioned on time performance of European or American airlines, while terming Indian carriers as worse? He needs to get his information correct. Now many of our Indian carriers can put any global carriers to shame, after the push back rule change few years ago, most of the carriers have been doing well. He paints our airports as crammed with planes and flyers, has he seen China? Or even Turkey? Please tell him to read well before saying this. While A380 has fallen out of favour for most of the carriers, why is he acting as a salesman for Airbus? We are one of the fastest growing aviation markets, airlines have been growing, though similar aviation economic trends have been emerging as US, but there will be sometime, before market matures and consolidation happens. We have been adding aviation infrastructure as breakneck pace, Delhi, for example, will have 4 active runways by end of 2023, and three of those can handle these super jumbos. One final word, what fits them, may not fit us.
the go air comment aged well now 😂😂
I think A380 can only be use full for long hull flights, like the Metros- NY / London / SF/ Vancover? Toronto etc.
I flew premium economy on British airways on an A380 from Heathrow to Logan. Premium economy is positioned on the upper deck, just in front of the wings. It was like sitting in a living room and flying. The only real noise you could hear on takeoff was one rattly overhead bin. I absolutely loved that flight! I've never been on anything else like it.
Never fly a350 in J? Or try a220 to Canada.
The airlines aren't retiring the A380 and 747 because passengers don't enjoy them - passengers absolutely love them! It's the corporate bean counters that have caused the demise of those two wonderful aircraft
@@jim2lane and the fact that many airports didn't want to accommodate the A380
@@kolerick it's not that they didn't WANT to accommodate it, but simply didn't/couldn't make the required investments in infrastructure upgrades to do so
The extra wheel A320's are no longer in service and have been replaced by newer A320/ A321neo's. The extra wheel versions were because a lot of the taxi ways at certain airports couldnt handle the weight. Most if not all have now been upgraded.
It's same with McDonnell Douglas MD-82/83/85/88 (and later Boeing 717). They had just a pair of landing wheels per side. Several airports banned this plane due to fewer wheels bearing the higher weight and causing stress cracks on the runways.
A320s, A321neos. No need for the 's. The 's is for possession, and your sentences are not referring to possession.
@@Locutus ones?
For the 4 airports mentioned in the video where the A380 can be used currently there are some updates-
Delhi will open its 4th runway & finish upgradation of Terminal 2 very soon hence will free up slots
Mumbai will be getting a brand new airport in a year's time hence massively reducing congestion
Bangalore just opened its 2nd runway & new Terminal so no more congestion there
Hyderabad still has spare capacity for some more years
yeah u are right
New Airport in Navi Mumbai and Puen, New one in Noida and a lot of expansion plans in other cities too.
Hyderabad recently opened its expanded terminal
Poor Chennai is never part of this conversation.
@@cuckoonut1208 Chennai does not have f type gates so yeah
I just flew the Emirates A380 into the Bangalore airport. Emirates always flew the A380 to Mumbai and now have started at Bangalore airport as well. I have been flying in the A380s for over 10 years now and was always bummed that the last mile (last leg from UAE to BAngalore) was always on a smaller plane. Not anymore. So If Air India does purchase some A380s then they could definitely use them for long haul US-Bangalore/Delhi/Mumbai/Hyderabad routes and make a lot of profits
A few years ago, Emirates ran the A380 on DXB-BKK-SYD route. I frequently take the BKK-SYD & SYD-BKK route. The flight comfort is really 2nd to none.
I also came from dubai in an a380
I really hope these A380’s are able to be more relevant again.
Yeah. As a child, I’ve always wanted to fly on one. Hopefully I get the chance.
Same but for the 747
@@Salvador_but_he_plays_gd Eh, i think the 747's time has passed, wosh boeing had built the NLA
@@SRBAnimate i have been lucky enough to go on the emirates one and it is amazing. It taxis so smoothly and the quietness is the best. There are so many other things but yea those are good definitely worth it.
@@Salvador_but_he_plays_gd Maybe time for a completely rethought 747? For me it would borrow the best ideas from the 747 and the A380, while still working well as both a cargo and passenger vehicle.
I flew A380 once. It was in business class on Korean Airways from ICN to JFK. Even though the business class cabin was in a 2-2-2 layout instead of 1-2-1, it was still incredibly spacious and comfortable. I would pay a premium to fly A380 over other aircraft if it were available.
You can say that, but passenger numbers don't lie.
No shot most people would pay more for a connecting flight over a direct flight.
A380 is the most comfortable plane I've ever flown easily. The reduced noise level in particular is so incredibly apparent but the extra space - even if they then cram you in - can't be denied.
If you are able to get (not sure if they still do this) a plane with economy on the upper deck then it's even more incredible. You feel like you're in your own semi-private palace; you and a handful of others.
That's of course before you consider PE, business or greater if you are made of money.
Emirates has just started an A380 service from Dubai to Bangalore. Making 3 flights a day, 3 777s and 1 A380, and before they had 4 777s a day
Would be interesting to see if the A380 would ever work domestically
I believe that China Southern did try it before Covid. Further, both SingaporeAir and Emirates regularly use the jet on flights of less than 1.5 hours (which would basically be similar to a Domestic flight in India)
Indigo has 7-8 daily flights from delhi to Banglore startig for 4 am to 11pm and all filled to the brim
they use mostly A321 and a few A320 on this route
yaa but itll be converted to one which may be bad becos of difff in timing demand and ofc lcc want similar planes all around
@@almondeye-a9950 yeah of course iam just giving example, i went to banglore for one day a few weeks back went there early morni and return back to delhi late night no hotel nothin
Indigo won't hire a new maintenance team for A 380s that too for operating in just 4 airports. Don't make sense
@@subhamsagar9022 yes i didn't say indigo needs a380
They actually shud not otherwise it will break thier budget airlines principles
@@subhamsagar9022 and finding a a380 pilot, maintaince personal qualified for it is very difficult in india, my father works at indigo and all the person he know have certifications on 320s and 737s
I think for busy routes, passengers will prefer frequency. I read the reason why BA didn’t deploy A380s on the LHR-JFK route, even though the flew easily a dozen daily flights to and fro pre-pandemic, is for exactly this reason.
Also, I’m glad you enjoyed the A380 Coby. I saw you flew with BA, if you travelled on the upper deck, you’ve won, cause A380 upper deck economy is really enjoyable. It’s like your own private cabin with abundant storage with those window-side lockers.
However, I think the flying public is too attached to the A380. I used to say it was “overrated” and got into some trouble… 😂 I just got off an A350 flight and from my memory, it’s just as quiet and comfortable as the superjumbo, yet I don’t really see the same hype. I guess the fact that simply being the biggest has some wow factor to it, but if you’re a non-avgeek choosing between an A380 and A350 flight, I’d say go with what fits your schedule, you’re not gonna be uncomfortable either way. I’m actively seeking the A380 now, because with so few operators left, it’s a good avgeek goal to fly on all remaining A380 operators.
I agree that frequency is important, but some airports have a capacity problem and they may face challenges expanding the take off capacity. For example if the area surrounding the airport limits the ability to create new runways.
Certainly, if there runway length is too short for the A380, then extending it in the same context may create a challenge there too.
@ What about the forecast pilot shortages as well. If airport capacity, flight path capacity and pilot availability was infinite then smaller planes is the way to go.
BA didn’t fly the A380 on that route because their terminal at JFK could not fit the plane. They flew 747’s and 777-300’s so they could have easily flown the A380.
Two words: UPPER DECK.
That alone is what makes the A380 incredibly special
BTW, my one flight on an A380 came after my connection from Helsinki to Heathrow on a Finnair A350. I got to fly back to back in two of the most impressive aircraft in the world...
I have flown a380 with China Southern, Singapore, and emirates. All of them are phenomenal
I flew on the A380 multiple times and definitely is my favourite aircraft. Almost noise free and smooth as you like.
I like hearing the engine noise though.
@@shrimpflea Then not for you.
Have flown on the A380 many times over the years; until the pandemic it was the 1st choice for many airlines flying long-haul to & from my hometown (Sydney). Apart from all the extra room and comfort (even the basic economy seats are wider and have increased pitch than other widebodies), the thing that sets the A380 apart from most other passenger jets today is the silence (particularly on the upper deck).
Due to the sheer size of the aircraft and all of the engines being placed further away from the cabin and down along those long wings, those planes are just very hushed inside and easy to get to sleep in without the use of noise-cancelling headphones. Now that airlines are bringing their A380's back into service post-covid, I go out of my way to book my long-haul international flights on them.
Air India just ordered the largest deal of aviation industry with Airbus and Boeing. They ordered 210 A321neos and 190 737 max for domestic market and 40 A350s, 20 787 & 10 777x wide bodys for international routes, making it a $70 billion worth of deal in total
Surprising to find GoAir is India's most consistent airline in terms of on time service. Every time i booked em, it always ended in cancellation or delays. India being a very price priority market probably has Indigo as one of the best ones for most routes and it has got some of the best schedules as well in my opinion
same here, goAIr is like general class of railways,cheapest ticket you can find
Worst service,delays & air crew reminds me of my school teachers
Indigo I thought was the airline with the most on time service.
More goair propaganda lol
@@CountingStars333 what ever he said it’s true. I’m frequent traveller whenever I book go air it’s minimum half hour late
I love the A380, so huge, spacious and quiet!
I bet you love huge women too 🤣
Best plane that suits Indian conditions is a-220 most people prefer point to point model not Hub and spoke
Case for hub and spoke model very low , every airline in India prefers efficient planes like 737max and A320 neo , where as thin routes are being served using Atr 72-600, Q-400
Personally I like to see A-350 and A-220 in Indian skies running with local carriers
@Blue Penguin wide bodies are being used in domestic travels since early 2022 but chances of using a380 is pretty sleek no airlines in India are going take that risk
@@vishnuteja2610 I dont think so Indian airports can even handle it
Air India used to fly its 747 between DEL-BOM & CCU-BOM routes as far as I remember.
Also I have traveled many times between BOM-DEL on the 787.
So they do have track record of using wide bodies in domestic routes but don't know if A380 would work in similar settings.
@@vishnuteja2610 I don’t believe you know what you are talking about. As another poster mentioned, 747-400 used to be flown on domestic routes. Now the A380 can be used on high density routes. You are making negative comments without supporting yoir arguments. Just vague ‘Indian carriers won’t take that ‘risk’’ without explaining what the risk is? Please, sit down and be quiet if you don’t have a rational argument to make. I hate this sort of blind negativity devoid of any rational backup arguments.
@@Danin4985 haha mr.intolerant you don’t get my point and no Indian airlines India is ready to operate a gas guzzling a380 maybe they are better than 747-400 but not efficient as 787 and A-350
And moreover I don’t care what you b@₹k
Gotta agree with you about how comfortable they are. I recently flew from Manchester to Sydney via Dubai and both legs were on Emirates A380s. 22hrs 30mins air-time (not including time in the airports) and I wasn't even tired at the end.
A few anecdotes:
1. There are new airports coming up in both Delhi and Mumbai.
2. A new terminal has also being opened in Bangalore.
3. Indigo has far better punctuality record. It is ranked 15th in the world ahead of Delta, Emirates and Etihad.
4. A380 requires a lot of point to point passengers. Only a few 3-4 routes could have that kind of passenger demand.
5. Maintaining a fleet of A380 is very expensive. Unless India has need of 100s there won't be any efficiency advantages.
6. Business and 1st class is not very prevelant. So it would moatly be economy.
Just to clarify the double bogied A320 were used on flights to the hilly north eastern part where earlier(int the 90s and 2000s) the runway quality was quite poor. These have improved since then and the double bogied A320s have since been retired.
Otherwise quite a spot on video. Though one might make a case for the A380's filling up on domestic routes. They would make more sense to be operated on flights to LHR and JFK. The flights at peak morning times have a demand that it can fill an A380 completely tho and I hardly doubt that all cabins might be filled on a flight considering India is a very price sensitive market on domestic flights. Fitting the cabin to have maximum economy class seats might not make sense for the aircraft to be used when the aircraft is being used on international routes. Thus leading to dilemma. The 787/A350 is very suited to the need that India has right now.
The 4-wheel bogie undercarriage A320 have all been retired by Air India. Even many smaller airports in India can handle A320 type aircraft with full load and regular undercarriage nowadays. Besides the A380, even if any Indian airline decides to acquire it, will mainly be used on Delhi-Bangalore, Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Bangalore and other high density routes between metros. The defunct Air Deccan also planned to acquire A380s and operate them domestically in all-economy configuration.
I had the chance to fly twice in a A380. A pure marvel and so confortable. I love sitting at the window. On a 747 I always am getting cold wether in the airbus no. And it flies so smooth. A pure experience. I would love to fly again
I flew on the A380 for over 10 times, and the aircraft is certainly one of my favorite, alongside with the 747-8i.
Boston-Logan installed an A380 gate. Used it like 10 times and now they don’t expect to ever again. 787-10 would be the ideal domestic high density wide body.
How so?
They still get the BA A380 during summer
totally agree
I believe that several airlines currently prefer the A350 for Domestic high-density widebody operations, and also for other routes of less than 2 hrs.
Great information there. I'm presently in New Zealand. My daughter lives here. I've now flown from the UK to NZ return with Emirates on the A380 a dozen times. Brilliant plane. A few of these flights have been aboard brand new A380s
I flew an A380 from LAX to Hong Kong, I was in Business class in the upper level. I really enjoyed the the space & comfort.
You forgot about wake turbulence. That size of plane, during takeoff the plane behind it has to wait 2 minutes to take off, this takes out any benefits of more passengers flying per hour.
I have flown on a Lufthansa A380 once DEL to FRA. It was an incredible experience. I was in row 75 and it was over the wing. Only bad part was my IFE screen wasn't working until after takeoff so I missed the tail cam takeoff .
Absolutely bang on, truly believe that Air India should pick up all those Parked and on sale A380s of Thai and Malaysia Airlines as it would add big capacity cheap and it should fly majorly international markets.
For Malaysia airlines it probably won't happen because all 6 are slated for scrap soon.
I flew A380 from New York to Dubai a few months ago. I loved the flight. I was in the business class and everything about the flight was amazing. The flight was on time and it was not at all noisy and crowded. I am planning to fly again in a couple of months.
Indian airlines solved the issue of more passengers less airport slots in a different way. Indigo got its first 777-3Q8 wet leased from Turkish and they changed the seat config to 530+ seats all economy instead of buying a ~500 seat A380. It solves the problem, just passengers travel like cattle. And Air India went ahead with A350 (2 delivered till now).
We flew from London to Melbourne on a A380 in 2018 with Emirates and found it very comfortable in economy and very fortunate to travel back in business class and found that to be absolutely brilliant. Personally I love the A3800 and can’t wait to fly in one again 😊
The a380 on emirates was very spacious, even though I was in economy from SYD-DXB ( it was a 14 hour hop). We were able to walk, access the lavatories and even move while beverage carts were blocking aisles. I want to get back on it.
I flew on Emirates A380 twice (Dubai to Seoul Incheon route). It was totally different experience, especially the take-off.
The A380 is by far the quietest long-haul jetliner I've been on. My only issue with it as an avid window seat flyer, is that gap between the seat and window due to the fuselage curvature on the lower deck.
My only A380 experience was with Singapore Airlines back in 2018 (SIN~PVG). It had so many surprises.
- The tunnel vision of the windows was insane... Taking photos and filming out of them felt awkward.
- So many vanity mirrors on the plane. I don't know if this is specific to Singapore Airlines, or it's universal across all A380s.
- Interior space felt much more cramped than I had expected. Perceived space felt less compared to their 777s (probably due to the A380 having a 3-4-3 abreast configuration as opposed to 777's 3-3-3).
- It was VERY quiet. Quieter than every plane I have flown on including the A350. It was already quiet during take off, and got noticeably quieter again after the landing gears retracted -- just like turning on the active noise cancellation on a pair of headphones.
- Oh the person sat next to me had bad armpit odor... Luckily he was a pretty nice and kind guy.
And that was my A380 experience.
I flew A380's Economy Class in Singapore Airlines and honestly, the comfort in the seats and the amount of space compared to a regular A350 actually shocks me. How is a plane this huge not considered by airlines? A380 just strikes the need of economy passengers and I honestly think spacious seats is all passengers need with added comfort and the A380 just does that job! It's a shame the aircraft is being retired but I would still love to see the A380 come back again in the markets but with more fuel efficient engines like the upcoming RR Ultrafan.
Both Mumbai and Chennai are slated to get new airports in a matter of years. With Chennai it's more obscure, but Navi Mumbai is under construction already. BOM and MAA are both in the top 5 busiest Indian airports, and those 2 new airports should relieve capacity there.
I've been on several and really enjoyed their cathedral-like indoor space and quiet operation. So quiet you can talk to you neighbor without straining.
Another good example is the 747 route in Korea going from Seoul to Jeju. Jumbo Jet for a 1 hour route but the demand is there.
when you mentioned total residents/ airport. Remember that India also has a vast network of railways compared to the US where rail travel is almost impossible.
I had the pleasure of being on the upperdeck of the 747, but I have yet to experience the a380.
TATA's taking over Air India will be a real game changer for Indian aviation. Also many airports in India are planning to expand or build new terminals and there are lot of new airports being build across the nation. Upcoming Bullet train and RRTs projects in India will be a major competition to Aviation industry in the next decade.
Best passenger jet I’ve ever flown in and I used to fly four times a month.
Over the years, I have flown on just about every passenger jet. My favorite (by far) is the A380. My 747 experience wasn't that bad either, but the configuration could have been much more roomier. When I started flying, I would have really enjoyed my flight on the DC10. That is if airlines didn't allow smoking back then. It was a stormy night with nearly an empty plane. Wouldn't you know it, the airline put another passenger in the seat next to me. I counted maybe ten people on the entire plane and this guy sat right next to me and smoked one cigarette after the other. Blessings for me, the flight attendant asked the captain if I could move. She moved me up to the empty first class section of the plane. It was a smooth and very roomy flight.
3:17 I wonder how did GoAir become most punctual. Here in India we call it the worst airline in terms of service and OTP(on-time performance)
I have flown the A380 in Business and in Economy class. Just a great, great, great airplane. I never flew the A350, but I can say that after a long haul flight to Singapore in A380 the next leg to Australia was with a 777 and it seemed to all of us to go 30 years back in time. In the A380 one does not even need the noise cancelling headphones.
The A380s can be used for North American routes and LHR. Indigo has captured the domestic market and people are looking for flexible timing instead of travelling on widebody which would be only plane serving the route.
Yeah, I bet you will be pleasantly surprised with the demand 380 economy would generate. I myself would always fly 380, given a chance.
@@karrikarthik6936 who wouldn't? But given around 800 economy seats on a 380, you'll not find enough people like us to fill up all of them. The bias towards IndiGo will take a long time to go, 380s will become old by then. AI should seriously consider leasing some old SQ 380s though.
Bengaluru via Mumbai to Delhi
Can be only profitable route for a380
Connecting IT capital to financial capital to national capital
5:25 I would not say that the price tag of $445M is a lot considering that a 777-9 costs $442M
777 is outdated
The 777X is a updated 777 with new wings, longer plane, new engine, new cockpit, and new interior.
India is expanding high speed rail network and Super Highways in a big way.That leaves very few profitable routes for A380.Thats the reason Air India has chosen smaller planes such as A350, 777, 787
Coby also did mention that the main reason why both Japan Airlines and ANA discontinued using their short range 747SRs domestic service and not follow on with newbuild 747s like the 747-8 is that Japan's ever expanding and increased capacity of the Shinkansen high speed rail network, which was present at the very beginning of the 747SR's service and how France's also ever expanding TGV network killed off Air France's domestic airline subsidiary Air Inter.
After Covid, A380s are coming back to Dallas/Fort Worth. I'm so excited to find an A380 flight!
Who ? QANTAS ? Or BA ? Emirates ?
I live 180 miles from DFW
@@PInk77W1 All actually. Emirates announced they would be replacing the 777 route with an A380. On Dallas Morning News, Qantas parked it's A380 at the gate. BA also said they would bring the A380's back. I think Emirates already started their routes.
The headwinds to doing this are - AirIndia has no experience of flying them, maintaining them, operating them. Buying used ones does mean getting a great deal on idled ones that some airlines will only ever near half of them at most (like Lufthansa). Emirates will want to sell some some, as newer planes replace them on X routes or make their return to service uneconomic. Then there is fuel costs. Aircraft quality Kersone is unlikely to crash in cost anytime this decade. If it did, we might see the EU (and perhaps the US for external flights first) impose the fuel tax that airlines have been able to avoid since WW2. If the price ever spiked, its unlikely that AirIndia would be able to fill-charge much more for premium/business class seats (otherwise the "poor" passenger would just go via e.g, UAE or cram themselves into a A321Neo and sit in connecting airport). However filling seats for India-US or India-Europe is currently being well served (and hence Emirates offers an A380 now from UAE-London to meet demand) and AirIndia is losing out. Having a bigger plane on a longer route for direct flights is more acceptable to passengers than a smaller cramped plane (no matter how nice the seats are) for the same direct route than say the A321XLR might provide. For "shorter" middle-high volume routes, their current Boeing refurbs are fine. In fact its current Boeing fleet is well capable of doing an e.g. London to Mumbai trip and for the 777-300ER - mumbai to NYC. So not sure what the A380 brings to the table especially as long haul is down in volume and AirIndia still 9 or so 777s still on backorder.
I am from India and I flew A380 to Dubai from New Delhi and it was a great experience as compared to other domestic carriers such as A320 (which again I flew domestically).
I have flown the A380 of Emirates From Mumbai To Dubai and was a very comfortable aircraft 2 and a halfe hours just gave me confort even in Economy class.
Congrats ! Very useful video ! You confirmed what I tought and in a way studied. A380 will be very useful on Delhi (DEL) - Mumbai (BOM) + DEL - Bangaluru (BLR) + BOM - BLR sectors to srart with reducing congestion and pollution at peak hours at least. DEL - BOM sector is one of the most traveled in the world.
Concerning the number of airport by inhabitant India is 1/3 in area than USA and almost 5 x more populated.
A single a380 flight maybe able to replace 4 indigo a321 flights but a single flight mayn’t be able to replace the 4-5 conveniently staggered schedules throughout the day.
Well said. Most idiots cannot understand that concept. Multiple timings are more important then a single inconvienent A380 flight.
air india also flys 787 on domestic routes
Would love to know from where to where.. ?, thanks !
@@KUNALBISWAS-NEWS-TECH-SHORT
DEL-BOM/BLR/CCU/HYD
BOM-HYD
I think the major challenge to any airliner in India operating the A380 would be fuel costs. Fuel is always expensive here, even more so with international inflation
I thought the A380 was more fuel efficient per passenger? At the same time I’m curious whether any new engine developments would work ass efficiency improvements for the A380
a350 -1x 777-x are most suitable for air india than a380, cz singapore airlines,emirates,etihad,lufthansa (used to) already operate there a380 to india , m indian i monitor air traffic , people have option to fly a380 from east or west , they dont want air india specifically to purchase it
The problem overlooked here is boarding time which can take forever on an A380. You can draw an example from Cebu Pacific's 436 seat A330 used domestically vs sending two 210 seat A321s. It's not just the number of "gates" but the number of "bridges" that are important.
I've flown four sectors on board an A380. The flights were operated by four different airlines (SQ, LH, EY and QR, in that order). One of the sectors (SYD to AUH) was the longest I've ever flown. All four of the flights, and especially the one with LH, were exceptionally pleasant experiences. I am not in the least bit surprised that three of the operators have recently reversed their previously announced decisions to stop flying the type. I look forward to savouring further A380 flights in the future.
Amazing Analysis Coby! Use case is spot on and would love to see this happen!
For some additional context, Air India operates 4 A320/A321 between BOM-DEL in the morning slot (7 AM to 10 AM). With 138 seats in A320 & 170 seats in A321 and 85% load factor (Nov '22), this translates to roughly 520 pax / day, which is a perfect model for a A380.
You make good videos keep up the good work
I have flown the A-380 on several routes, BA and AF. I love the plane, but different airlines offer different levels of service. My most recent trip was in BA First Class from LHR to ORD. The flight was great, but the upgrade from Business or First was not really worth the cost. The offerings in business were very similar to first, even the seat wasn't that much more remarkable.
I have flew on BA and Singapore airlines' A380s and it was amazing
I've flown on a Emirates A380 from JFK to Dubai... what an amazing aircraft.. We purchased the premium economy seats and we absolutely loved it. Best flying experience I've ever had..
Worth considering - high speed rail can handle several times as many passengers at lower cost.
Absolutely right sir. India is now working on a high speed rail project from mumbai to ahmedabad. But largely India is a very price sensitive market. High speed rail can be successful only when it is present on a large scale and there is competitive pricing. Now the upcoming high speed rail project has a higher price tag than airlines. And then there is corruption. So will take at least 30 years for Indians to see high speed rail as an attractive option.
@@sudhirlakshmanan As an engineering and business type, I am continuously dismayed by the impediments to progress and the improvement of everyone's standard of living imposed by corruption and other self-serving short-sighted behaviors. Unfortunately, not everyone is a "maker".
I haven't done the arithmetic, but considering a large airport can take as much land as the entire rail right of way between two cities, the amount of construction is similar, and the cost of equipment is probably cheaper, I expect that a network of high speed rail routes connecting 100 cities might be cheaper than the airports and planes suggested here. Also building the rail routes would employ people throughout the country and open intermediate cities to improved travel.
I will note that a major reason the US has almost no high speed rail is that both airlines and car makers have lobbied vociferously against this competition. I would not be surprised to find that they also funded citizen groups that oppose it as well.
@@GaryBickford Adding to your point, trains have lower carbon footprint than aircrafts. With India's focus on leveraging the vast waste lands to convert to solar parks, the energy cost also will come down significantly. Hope our leaders take the right decisions.
@@GaryBickfordHSR would never be quicker than air travel between the 4 major Indian metropolitan cities with conventional rail technology(4+ hours for the shortest routes) and that’s before we consider land acquisition costs because it’s a bad idea to put the Chinese model into use. Also an airline that has prices basically along the lines of Ryanair means that HSR will also cost more for the average Indian person who cannot afford even the plane ticket. So the only way HSR can become viable between them is by having airspace restrictions along the lines of China which would make rail travel more reliable. However there are plenty of routes where conventional rail competes with air travel already(also hard to do in 2 of the major metro cities too as the airports are far too close to the city/center) and HSR will be far more convenient because it can be done with 250km/h alignments and still be way faster.
I think one thing you're underestimating is the importance of turnaround times on short-haul routes. The A380 has two usable doors for 4 times as many passengers as narrowbodies, which use one door. So you're looking at double the passenger dwell times, as well as higher cleaning costs due to the need to use cleaners in bursts as opposed to spreading them out across a bunch of narrowbodies. You're also looking at higher amounts of time to load cargo, and other dwell time consequences. This culminates in turnaround times closer to an hour, compared to the closer to half-hour times seen on narrowbodies. That's a big problem, both for gate numbers and for the profitability of the plane. If it's flying six flights a day, this is three extra hours relative to a narrowbody spent stopping, compared to the one extra hour a day it would spend on the typical two flights a day for intercontinental flights.
As much as I wish the a380 might resurface and head into production again, from what I've heard the production equipment has been dispersed to other lines and some tooling has been scrapped and would probably cost more to replace and reproduce that now than it did 5 years ago. But lets hope for a brighter future for the a380!
Great video. Your comprehensive analysis of the many factors that go into an airplane selection was well explained. First video seen on your channel and hugely impressed by the content and quality of production.
My experience as an Indian : My hometown airport is too small to handle even an A319
So it only serves politicians in their private jets..
The word "Expansion will occur " has been around since my Father's childhood
That's the problem. Announcements may be made but nothing happens.
When me and my family emigrated to the UK from South Africa 5 years ago, we flew with Emirates from Durban, South Africa via their Dubai hub to London Heathrow. For the Durban-Dubai leg, we flew on a Boeing 777 which had woefully inadequate legroom especially for a tall person like myself of over 1,8m (6ft) in height (economy class really felt like "cattle class"). For the Dubai-London Heathrow leg, we flew on an Airbus A380 which was an absolute pleasure compared to the Boeing 777 (aside from the thought of having the pleasure of travelling on the world's largest commercial aircraft ever produced).
Seat pitch is totally controlled by the airlines, not the aircraft itself. Somehow Emirates makes its 777 inferior to the A380, except for First Class.
Fast Forward to FEB 2023 - this video became obsolete :)
Really good video, thanks for this information.
I think everyone will miss the A380. It is very comfortable and all the people I know appreciate flying it.
The A380 could already use routes from Delhi and Mumbai since other A380 carriers landed there before the pandemic.
Wow, I was thinking which airport had the capacity to land this big plane, I didn't expect we had 4 airports, which is also busiest airports. You mentioned 75% to be filled right for profit? It's so easy, here is why:
1. I saw seating capacity of Air India Boeing 777-200LR, For economy - 195, For Business - 35 & For First Class - 8 Seats, So in percentage it's 82%(E), 14.5%(B) & 3.5%(F). (Checked other airlines which had more FC, Business & Less economy)
Apply the same in A380 - 545 seats x 82% - 447 Seats (E), x 14.5% - 79 seats (B) & x 3.5% - 19 seats. Air India would easily fill the seats. Even for this i'm expecting more economy than other classes.
2. A380 - 15,000Km, It can do 3~3.75 trips with single fuelling, Also round trip possible - Delhi > Mumbai > Bangalore > Hyderabad > Delhi.
3. Air India can literally use it's existing planes for other routes. This plane will save people more time than before(seriously). India may need 3 ~ 6 Airbus A380.
a350 -1x 777-x are most suitable for air india than a380, cz singapore airlines,emirates,etihad,lufthansa (used to)already operate there a380 to india , m indian
its always a treat to rush to your connecting flight in india stressed out if your going to make it then find out its delayed by an hour
1. Mumbai -Delhi
2. Bengaluru - Delhi
These two sectors will be very benefited by the A380
fuel cost is through the roof so I don’t except it to come anytime in the future
Air India is not a countries plane is acquired by TaTa sons and tata sons already won by 3 airlines vistara and the Air Asia and Air India
The A380 doesn't have brake fans! Stopping the A380 on fairly short runways would definitely cause hot brakes, particularly if flying multiple short sectors in a day. Waiting for the brakes to cool would be a real issue and massively increase turnaround time compared to other aircraft.
should have been "How the A380 can save Indian aviation"
I would think a downside to using A380s is the turnaround time for boarding and de boarding all those pax
Nope... Boeing 777 and 787 are perfect for air india
They're really not. They've had those for years and look what has happened
@@kabirsharma2858 their problems are not the fault of 777 and 787.
@@kabirsharma2858 you're blaming the aircraft? Seriously!? 😂. Air india was under poor management and that's what the problem was.
I can see your point here. Imo, I think the 777 seems like the most fit aircraft to help with conjestion (as of right now) depending on how well it can do with domestic flights, It seems like the best option since it's one of the few planes that has a passenger capacity relatively close to the a380's 525 (being around 310 to close to 400 possibly higher), being more fuel efficient considering its a twin-engine instead of a quad, and that it is also overall cheaper to operate. So yes, The 777/a350 and 787/a330NEO aircrafts seem to be the best option for the indian aviation market for now.
@@kabirsharma2858 even if AI had really bad 777 and 787 cabins, that's still on AI. Other airlines like United have proven that retrofitting 777s and 787 is a thing. Now granted, AI has announced plans to retrofit 777s and 787s, so once that's completed, I bet the price of a 777 that the 777s and 787s won't be what's holding AI down.
Flew Air France A-380 and it was the quietest and most comfortable wide body I've been on.
Flew from Guangzhou (formerly Canton) to LA and back, 3 years ago. Loved it.
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In my opinion, I think it might make more sense for Indian carriers to operate the A380 on high demand long haul routes such as London. I think that for domestic routes, it might make more sense for them to operate widebody twins such as A330s, A350s, 777s, and 787s. They can simply do what other Asian carriers do and have a sub fleet dedicated to short-haul routes with a denser configuration. Older A330s (CEOs) and 777s (non ER variants) should be relatively easy to obtain, and then they can replace them with short-haul A330 NEOs, A350s, and 787s when the time comes.
I hope to see some of the A380's flying Air India's international routes... this will be huge!
I bet Coby is eating his words today, a year after he made this video. There are airlines still flying the super A380 jumbo today. 😂😅😂
Coby posed the question about flying on the A380. We went to India on Emirates, A380 to Dubai, B777-300 to Delhi and reverse on the way back to London Gatwick. It really put the comfort on both planes in a stark contrast. We have flown on the 777 before and were happy enough. In all honesty I would pay a premium to fly on the A380 over the 777, not a huge one but for airlines who still have them I would be using the A380 to market flights.
Having recently reviewed comments of Emirates' Tim Clark: "One of the A380’s biggest drawbacks are its four engines, which are inefficient to today’s standards and fuel prices. A new version would require an entirely new engine technology." (open fan suggested)
What of retrofitting used fuselage with new shorter composite wings and new jumbo, fuel efficient engine PAIRs? (total 2 engines)
I spent a lot of time on A380, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines. Sg-Sfo and jfk-fra. Economy and business, in business absolutely great.
Yes coby i have flown in a a380 before, it was a remarkable experience. I am actually from india and the landing was excelent, the flight felt like a rols royce
i flew on a british airways A380 from LHR to MIA and it was an incredible experience, i will never forget it
You can't be more correct. I travel between SEA and NRT or ICN. There are so many transit passengers to India on my flight...it is no joke. My friend who is a flight attendant at the Emirates says her route between ICN and Dubai are filled with Indian passengers.
I flew on my first A380 flight in 2018 from LAX to Seoul Incheon with Asiana!!
So it happened. Air India is placing an order of 140 A320s, 70 A321s, and 40 A350s. This was more likely than some order of A380s.
As a maintenance crew with A380 license, the effort to maintain the aircraft is massive. Parts are not readily available so it posed more problems than help