Airbus A380 is known as the biggest passenger jet in the world. The aircraft manufacturer has plans to make it even bigger by extending its wing span.
The tendency of lengthening the A380's wing tip devices will save the manufacturer the huge cost of producing a 'neo' model while providing an alternative which is more enticing to airlines. Prospective buyers have the option to purchase the aircraft built with new engines and superior design features just like the A320.
"We will not launch an A380neo, there's no business case now to do that, this is absolutely clear," said Airbus's president Fabrice Bregier. He added, "But it doesn't prevent us from looking at what could be done to improve the performance of the aircraft".
Extending the winglets into curves will lessen the drag while enhancing the efficiency. Each winglet will measure up to five meters will decrease fuel burn of up to 4 percent by distributing the vortexes of swiftly spinning air produced by the plane's wings.
The Airbus A380 was launched in 2007 and costs $436.9 million for this year. The giant aircraft is 239 feet in length, 79 feet in height and has a wing span of 262 feet. Its engines are built with Rolls-Royce Trent 900s or Engine Alliance GP7000s at its Toulouse, France manufacturing plant. It flies at 8,350 nautical miles and airlines that use the Airbus A380 include British Airways, Emirates, and Singapore Airlines, The Telegraph reports.
According to Airbus's commercial programs chief, Didier Evrard even a percent of fuel saved will be important for the gigantic aircraft which is loaded with 200 metric tons of kerosene. This fuel is intended for a general long-heave flight. He mentioned too that Airbus plans of decreasing the output rate to less than one aircraft a month with no new business this year, cites the Traveller.
As part of the Airbus scheme to make its largest commercial aircraft even larger, the company had made some changes on its 6 cabins to have room for 80 or more seats. Included in the modification are getting rid of the stowage area in the upper deck, relocation of the main staircase, and shifting to the main deck with 11 side by side layout.
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