Airbus A380 makes 1st flight to America

Airbus A380 makes 1st flight to America
By MATT MOORE, AP Business WriterMon Mar 19, 4:45 AM ET

It may trail the historic impact of Charles Lindbergh's 1927 solo flight
across the Atlantic, but the Spirit of St. Louis did not have a wingspan
wider than a football field or space for more than 500 passengers.

For plane builder Airbus and German airline Lufthansa AG, the A380's first
flight to North America, which took off on time at 9 a.m. (0800GMT) Monday,
is a chance to show off the superjumbo to potential U.S. buyers and to the
airports they hope will be flight bases for the double-decker jet.

"We're talking about an airplane that is representing aviation in the 21st
century in terms of efficiency," said Jens Bischoff, Lufthansa's vice
president for the Americas.

For Airbus, which has been beset by management and financial crises -
including a two-year delay to the A380 that wiped more than euro5 billion
(US$6.61 billion) off profit forecasts - the flight is a chance to prove
that the plane will be ready when the first deliveries are made in October
to Singapore airlines.

Lufthansa Chief Pilot Juergen Raps, who has flown the A380 before, said that
despite the superjumbo's size, it was nimble and responsive.

"If I were to compare it to driving, you would think this would be like
driving a truck or a bus," he said inside the plane's cockpit. "It's like
driving a Ferrari."

The air show began early Monday at Frankfurt International Airport when the
more than 239 foot-long plane took off as Lufthansa Flight 8940 for the
eight-hour flight to New York's JFK Airport, scheduled to land at 12:30 p.m.
(1630GMT). Some 550 people, including four pilots, four Airbus crew members,
23 Lufthansa cabin crew and 519 passengers, mostly Airbus and Lufthansa
employees along with some reporters, were to be onboard.

The flight will operate just as if it were a commercial one with full dining
and entertainment services.

As a test on Sunday, organizers boarded more than 500 people onto the
aircraft using two jetways with an impressive time of less than 20 minutes.
A second test was held shortly after to see if the Lufthansa workers could
board it faster.

Airbus pilot Wolfgang Absmeier said the boarding process on Monday would
take longer.

"People are going to be curious and looking around as they get on," he said,
standing at the base of a staircase leading to the plane's second level.

After the inaugural run, Lufthansa and Airbus will operate a demonstration
flight to Chicago O'Hare Airport on Tuesday, before returning to New York
and then Frankfurt. The plane then heads to Hong Kong and back, before
continuing its journey to Washington Dulles International Airport on March
25, with a final stop at Lufthansa's Munich hub on March 28 to complete the
series of optimization flights.

Using the performance results from this circuit - flying the plane as it
would be done so if it were in service - Lufthansa's goal is to match the
A380's turnaround time from landing to takeoff with that of much smaller
long-haul jets already in operation.

The A380, which burns about four liters (one gallon) of gas per passenger
every 80 miles and can fly some 8,000 nautical miles, can seat as many as
550 passengers. Airbus has 166 orders from 15 airlines for the new plane,
which has already made tests flights in Europe and to Asia.

"We are proud that ... we are now able to present the A380 to the American
people," said Mario Heinen, the head of Airbus' A380 program. "Both JFK and
LAX, as well as Chicago O'Hare International and Washington Dulles
International Airport are key future destinations for the A380."

The Frankfurt-New York flight is one of two A380 flights to the United
States. The other is an A380 operated by Australian airline Qantas that is
flying to Los Angeles International Monday but devoid of passengers and
crew, save for those in the cockpit.

Toulouse, France-based Airbus said that plane will perform tests at the
California airport, including airfield maneuvers, docking at the terminal
gate and ground and gate handling exercises. The Los Angeles airport, the
fifth-busiest worldwide, is expected to be the first U.S. destination for
the A380 when it enters commercial service.

"The airports seeing the A380 this week and next are among the key future
destinations for the A380 and following these flights, these hubs will prove
themselves ready, willing and able to welcome the A380 for service," said
top Airbus salesman John Leahy.

Lufthansa, which has orders for 15 A380s and an option for five more,
expects to use the planes on its international routes, mainly to Asia and
North America. It expects the first one to be delivered in mid-2009, pushed
back from 2008 by the manufacturing delays.

The problems at Airbus led Louis Gallois, co-chief executive of parent
company European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., to call 2006 "the worst
year for Airbus in its life." Airbus is seeking to recoup its losses by
cutting 10,000 jobs and spinning off or closing six of its European
manufacturing plants.

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On the Net:

Airbus: http://www.airbus.com

Lufthansa: http://www.lufthansa.com

Charles Lindbergh: http://www.charleslindbergh.com