On April 27, 2005, the Airbus A380 lifted off the runway for the first time, soaring into the skies over Toulouse, France. The Superjumbo’s first first flight marked the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of development and the beginning of an 18 month flight test campaign.
What has the A380 done more recently?
The story of the A380 has become the story of Emirates, with the airline taking delivery of 123 of the 251 total A380s produced. The chart below shows the number of weekly A380 flights by airline for the week of April 14, 2025. 20 years after first flight, Emirates dominates the A380 program, operating nearly twice the number of weekly flights as all other operators combined.
Have you flown on the A380?
Have you had the pleasure of flying on the A380? Let us know your experience in the comments!
5 Responses
I did, and it was grand, Emirate EK008 and back EK005
Sydney
It’s amazing to think the A380 has been flying for 20 years already! I had a chance to fly on one with Emirates a few years back, and the spaciousness really made it a memorable experience. It’s wild how Emirates has carried the torch for the A380 while so many airlines have moved on.
I’ve been lucky enough to fly on them a couple of times and I am currently sat in Savannah GA having flown into Miami courtesy of a BA A380 and in a week’s time will be on another one out of IAD back to Heathrow.
Always a real pleasure to be aboard these awesome aircraft.
In the fall of 2017 I had a fantastic trip with Hurtigruten Expedition to Antarctica. The return trip was via Buenos Aires to Los Angeles with a rental car via Las Vegas to San Francisco. The return trip from there to Norway was via London with the “King of the Skies”. So on November 25, 2017 I had one of my greatest experiences in the air with British Airways A380 G-XLEA from SFO to LHR! On the second floor (for a better view!). I will never forget G-XLEA and the comfortable journey. It made such a lasting impression that I often check FR24 to see where my beloved “LEA” is now! As I write this, it is on its way from LHR to BOS. Kind regards from Kåre