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A380 to Visit 3 U.S. Airports in New Demo Tour

posted: 14 August 2007 08:58 am ET

: During the A380's first trip to the United States, in March 2007, the flight-test aircraft flew over the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. and visited Washington Dulles International Airport as well as three other U.S. airports. In October 2007 an A380 will conduct a second U.S. demonstration tour, landing at three additional U.S. airports for the first time. Credit: Eric Long, National Air and Space Museum

An Airbus A380 will visit three U.S. airports early in October during a series of demonstration tours that Airbus will make with the new superjumbo aircraft model shortly before it enters passenger service.

It will be the first time that the A380 has visited any of the three U.S. airports. The U.S. tour plans call for the A380 to visit Hartford, Conn.'s Bradley International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.

The A380 tours start on Aug. 30 and call for two A380s -- one powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines and the other with Engine Alliance GP7200 engines -- to visit key airports in Southeast Asia and the United States. The Trent 900-powered aircraft will conduct the Asia tour and the GP7200-powered A380 will tour the United States.

Airbus will begin the Asia A380 tour on Aug. 30 with flight-test aircraft MSN 007. (MSN stands for manufacturer's serial number, meaning the aircraft is the seventh A380 airframe built.) This aircraft is equipped with a full passenger cabin, configured to seat 520 passengers in a three-class cabin-environment.

It will visit Bangkok, Thailand's Chiang Mai airport from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2. From Bangkok the A380 will fly to Hanoi, Vietnam to stay for a day until Sept. 3. The aircraft will fly from Hanoi to Hong Kong, where it will take part in the Asian Aerospace trade air show from Sept. 3 to Sept. 5. On Sept. 5 the aircraft will fly on to Seoul, Korea, remaining there until Sept. 7.

The U.S. tour will involve A380 flight-test aircraft MSN 009. The visit will form part of the route proving process for the aircraft/engine combination. The aircraft has no finished cabin installed, so during the U.S. visit it will not operate passenger flights for guests and media.

Its schedule calls for MSN 009 to visit Bradley International Airport from Oct. 2 until Oct. 3. It will fly from there on Oct. 3 to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, where the A380 will stay until Oct. 4. That day it will fly to San Francisco International Airport, where the aircraft will remain until Oct. 5.

The A380's first visit to the U.S. came in March 2007. Two A380s visited, touching down at Los Angeles International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport.

Each demonstration tour will form part of an extensive campaign to prepare the A380 for a smooth entry into service. Operating under typical airline conditions, both aircraft will undergo airport compatibility checks. They also will be subjected to ground-handling and maintenance procedures to confirm the A380's readiness to enter service.

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

A380 orders and commitments total 173 aircraft and there are 14 customers for the aircraft so far. The first customer A380 will be delivered to Singapore Airlines in October. The next few aircraft off the production line are destined for delivery to Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Qantas.

Airbus says it spends some 46 percent of its aircraft-related procurement in the United States, more than in any other country in the world. More than 190,000 American jobs are supported by Airbus contracts with hundreds of U.S. companies, according to the manufacturer.

In 2006, Airbus spent $10.2 billion on parts, components, tooling and services with American companies. The company says it is the U.S. aerospace industry's largest export customer.