The Airbus A380 is a
double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner. It is the world's largest
passenger airliner; many airports have upgraded their facilities to accommodate
it because of its size. Initially named Airbus A3XX, Airbus designed the
aircraft to challenge Boeing's monopoly in the large-aircraft market; the A380
made its first flight on 27 April 2005 and began commercial service in October
2007 with Singapore Airlines.
The A380's upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage, with a
width equivalent to a wide-body aircraft. This allows for an A380-800's cabin
with 478 square metres (5,145.1 sq ft) of floor space; 49% more floor space than
the next-largest airliner, the Boeing 747-8, and provides seating for 525 people
in a typical three-class configuration or up to 853 people in all-economy class
configurations. The A380-800 has a design range of 15,700 kilometres (8,500 nmi;
9,800 mi), sufficient to fly from New York to Hong Kong, and a cruising speed of
Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h or 560 mph at cruising altitude).
As of March 2013, Airbus has received 262 firm orders for the A380 and delivered
101 aircraft.[2] Emirates made the largest order, for 90 aircraft. Airbus
delivered the 100th A380 to Malaysia Airlines.