Airbus A380

what is it?

The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus from 2003 to 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was announced in 1990 to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747 in the long-haul market.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 79.8 m wingspan

base stats

• range 15,200 kmwithout refuelling
• built 251made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 21 years ago, in 2005.
• 🚗Wingspan of 79.8 m: about 18 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 15,200 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

2005-04-27

introduced

2007

status

still flying

number built

251

role

double-deck aircraft

origin

🇫🇷 France

makers

Airbus Commercial Aircraft

engines

4× Rolls-Royce Trent 700 / Engine Alliance GP7000

length

72.7 m

wingspan

79.8 m

height

24.1 m

top speed

—

range

15,200 km

ceiling

13,106 m

wings

monoplane

ICAO code

A388

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.