Photo:Â ID1974 | Shutterstock
Upgrading airports to accommodate the A380 requires substantial investment, which many South American and African countries and airport operators may not prioritize due to the relatively low demand for such large aircraft. As a result, only a limited number of African and South American full-service carriers could operate the A380 from their respective hubs.
For instance, London Heathrow Airport, one of the most popular hubs for the A380, invested £450 million ($572 million) to ensure it could handle the aircraft, according to data presented in a report by Peter Forsyth, “Airport Infrastructure for the Airbus A380: Cost Recovery and Pricing.”
It is worth noting that the A380 can run scheduled operations to 140 airports worldwide. Many of these are hub airports in major cities such as London Heathrow (LHR), New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK), Sydney’s Kingsford Smith (SYD), and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK).
Different fleet strategies
Varying fleet strategies and differing capacity requirements are additional reasons why the Airbus A380 has never penetrated the African and South American markets.
Photo:Â Matt Gibson | Shutterstock
It is worth noting that South America and Africa don’t rely heavily on widebody aircraft as they don’t need to sustain such a high-volume aircraft. Airlines in these regions typically prefer smaller, more adaptable planes that suit their market dynamics better. Widebodies like the Airbus A330, Boeing 787, and Airbus A350 are favored due to their improved fuel efficiency and versatility across various route lengths and passenger volumes.
For instance, Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, operates a fleet of 135 aircraft, with roughly half being widebodies, according to ch-aviation data. This includes 29 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 20 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 777s, and three Boeing 767s. In comparison, prominent African carriers like EgyptAir and Kenya Airways maintain smaller fleets of widebody aircraft. EgyptAir operates 11 Airbus A330s, seven Boeing 787s, and six Boeing 777s, while Kenya Airways has nine Boeing 787s.
Meanwhile, South America’s largest carrier, LATAM, operates a fleet of 314 aircraft, 56 of which are widebodies, according to ch-aviation. The widebody fleet includes 37 Boeing 787s, 10 Boeing 777s, and nine Boeing 767s. avianca airlines, another well-known carrier in South America, has a relatively small fleet of 17 widebodies, including 14 Boeing 787s and three Airbus A330 aircraft. Azul, the Brazil-based airline, has just 11 Airbus A330s in its fleet, while the third-largest airline in Brazil, GOL, relies solely on its narrowbody fleet, as per ch-aviation.
Operational costs
Indeed, the Airbus A380 poses high risks due to its costs and capacity requirements. Passenger volume in Africa was mainly viable from South Africa, notably before the COVID-19 pandemic when South African Airways (SAA) was larger. However, SAA’s decline into a smaller airline has shifted this landscape. Aviation analyst Desmond Latham stated to AeroTime that no other African region, including Ethiopia, could sustain the demand for such a high-volume aircraft due to significant financial risks.
Despite having Africa’s largest fleet and being a successful full-service carrier, Ethiopian Airlines didn’t find the A380 viable. Latham said that Ethiopian Airlines’ preference for Boeing aircraft indicated that adopting the A380 would require extensive retraining and operational changes.
Meanwhile, South American carriers face a similar situation where a high-capacity plane like the A380 doesn’t seem operationally viable, as such aircraft have never been popular in the region. However, it is worth noting that avianca once had the Boeing 747 in its fleet.
Currently, the twinjets and widebodies used by South American carriers have lower costs than the A380 and are likely to serve the region better due to their better route flexibility. Boeing predicts a demand for 2,105 new commercial airplanes in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next two decades. Among these, only 280 widebody aircraft are anticipated, according to Boeing’s latest commercial outlook for the region.
Related Big Planes On Small Routes: Why Airlines Sometimes Use The Airbus A380 On Short-Haul Flights These kinds of flights seem counterintuitive.
What are your thoughts on this? Have you ever flown on the Airbus A380? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Publish date : 2024-06-04 14:11:00
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