Airbus superjumbo unveiled

The world’s biggest passenger plane will be unveiled for the first time today - with more riding on it than just the 550 passengers the aircraft can accommodate.

The success of the massive four-engined Airbus A380 superjumbo, whose wings are built in the UK, is vital for the British and European aerospace industries.

As around 5,000 guests, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, were gathering to watch today’s unveiling of the double-decker plane in Toulouse, Airbus was hoping that the massive £5.6bn (€7.98bn) investment in the aircraft would pay off.

The company has already warned that research and development costs could rise by as much as £760m (€1.08bn) for the plane which will have its first commercial passenger flight next year.

And although there are already 149 firm orders for the plane, Airbus, in which UK firm BAE Systems has a 20% stake, needs even more interest from airlines.

One definite customer is Sir Richard Branson’s airline, Virgin Atlantic. But Virgin has put back its order for six planes to 2008 because of various concerns, not least the slowness of some airports to start work to accommodate the giant aircraft.

One airport getting on with its A380 facilities is Heathrow in west London which promises to be the main airport for the huge new aircraft. Heathrow will welcome its first A380 in summer 2006 and by 2016 as many as one in eight planes at the airport could be A380s.

Among those represented at Toulouse today will be staff of Airbus UK’s facility at Broughton in North Wales, where the wings are made, and officials from aero engine giant Rolls-Royce, whose Trent 900 engines will power the plane being displayed today.

Capable of a range of more than 9,000 miles, the A380 represents the biggest advance in passenger aircraft since the launch of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet in the 1970s.

And with Concorde now retired from passenger service, airlines are likely to make the A380 their flagship plane.

While noise and environmental groups have complained about the new plane, Airbus boasts that the A380 is, in fact, far less noisy than the Boeing 747 and requires less distance in which to take off and land.

In producing the A380, Airbus has put its money where its mouth is, having repeatedly declared that ultra-large passenger aircraft will be increasingly necessary in future years.

This view is not shared by big American planemaking rival Boeing which has long abandoned its own superjumbo plans and which believes smaller planes such as its 7E7 Dreamliner are the answer.

With longer versions of the A380 planned, the plane’s capacity could soar to more than 800.

Singapore Airlines, which will be the first carrier to operate the superjumbo, is to begin with a configuration that will seat around 500 people.

With 50% more floor space than a Boeing 747, the A380 could, if airlines wish, contain such amenities as bars, gymnasiums, shops and even casinos.

With Mr Blair at today’s launch will be French President Jacques Chirac, Germany’s Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The British Prime Minister will say: “Airbus demonstrates we can achieve more together in Europe than we ever can alone. Working together in Europe means we can compete with anybody in the world.”

Mr Blair will also touch on the fact that Airbus is a success story for British industry because, when you include the Rolls Royce engines, it is 50% British.

He will also refer to the fact that the UK designed, developed and produced all the wings for the Airbus, the most complex and technologically advanced part of the plane.

He will also say the development and production of the wings will amount to £15bn (€21bn) worth of work for the UK.

A total of 12,000 people are employed by Airbus in the UK – 6,000 in Broughton, north Wales, and 6,000 in Bristol.

In addition 400 firms are in the supply chain across the UK bringing the total number of jobs sustained by the project to 22,000.

The Prime Minister will also point out that Airbus is both a commercial success and an environmental success.

Mr Blair will give a live broadcast from Toulouse to 150 Airbus workers in Broughton.

The plane on display will sport new Airbus colours in a lavish ceremony attended by representatives of the airlines which have ordered the plane as well as hundreds of those connected with its production.

The first test flight of the A380 will take place some time before the end of March, with the first commercial passenger flight planned for spring 2006.