Airbus Schedules More Demonstration Tours for A380

Airbus is preparing a schedule of new demonstration tours for the A380 before the world's largest passenger aircraft goes into commercial service later this year with Singapore Airlines.

The seventh A380 off the line--known as 'MSN 7,' 'MSN' being an abbreviation for 'manufacturer's serial number'--will embark on a visit to the Asia-Pacific region in the first week of June.

It will fly east to Tokyo's Narita Airport after conducting a series of airport compatibility trials at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport from June 1 until June 3.

MSN 7, which Airbus is using as a development aircraft, will visit Narita from June 4 to June 6. It will travel from there to Sydney, its visit to Australia lasting from June 6 until June 8. The A380 will round off its Asia-Pacific trip with a visit to Taipei, Taiwan from June 8 to June 10.

In Taipei, enthusiasts might get the chance to photograph the A380 and a Boeing 747LCF Dreamlifter together. The conversion of Boeing 747-400s to Dreamlifters, the very bulbous freighters that Boeing is using to transport major 787 parts made by its manufacturing partners round the world to the 787 final assembly line at Everett, Wash., is performed at Taipei by Evergreen Aerospace Technologies Corporation.

MSN 7 is scheduled to make its Asia-Pacific visit less than a month after completing a trip to India. The A380 visited New Delhi from May 6 to May 8 and flew on to Mumbai, where A380 customer Kingfisher Airlines is based, for a visit lasting until May 10.

Airbus is planning further demonstration trips for MSN7 after its visit to Asia and Oceania in June. The manufacturer said subsequent tours will take the aircraft to North America, the Middle East, China and back to the Asia-Pacific region, though Airbus hasn't yet revealed the timings of or the destinations to be visited during these trips.

The demonstration tours Airbus is conducting with MSN7 form part of the extensive preparation work the company is performing to try to ensure the A380 enters commercial service smoothly.

During each tour the A380 operates under typical airline conditions, undergoing airport compatibility checks and ground handling and maintenance procedures tests.

The A380 has already visited more than 45 airports. By 2011, more than 70 airports worldwide will be ready for A380 operations, said Airbus.

The manufacturer is scheduled to deliver its first A380 to a customer in October, the aircraft going to Singapore Airlines. Airbus finished painting the aircraft on May 2 in Hamburg after completing installation of its passenger cabin.

Subsequent early-production aircraft are allocated to SIA, Emirates Airlines and Qantas. These aircraft "are also well on track," Airbus said today.

Based on the latest market trends for larger premium-class seats and suites, the A380 typically can carry 525 passengers in three service classes, according to Airbus.

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