Premium #336 – The A380Plus – Does it Make Economic Sense?

Airbus introduced the A380Plus at the 2017 Paris Air Show, with a number of improvements and a new seating configuration that enables 80 additional passengers.  The most visible difference is the larger split winglet, which provides better aerodynamic efficiency.

A variety of improvements add up to a 4% lower fuel burn and a 13% lower cost per seat mile, according to Airbus projections, summarized in the Airbus chart below.
Airbus also indicated that some of the A380Plus changes can be retrofit to existing aircraft.  Does an expensive retrofit make sense for existing A380 operators? Can the A380plus compete more effectively with smaller new technology wide-bodies, in particular the Airbus A350-1000, Boeing

787-10, and the re-engined Boeing 777-9.  Let’s take a look at the comparative economics for each type, with both the existing A380 and A380Plus, each in a typical four class configuration, with a three-class configuration for the smaller types.

Seating Capacity Comparison
Most of the smaller aircraft, even for airlines that utilize a first class, including Qatar and Lufthansa, have eliminated a first-class cabin on smaller aircraft in favor of business class.  The A380 has the floor plan flexibility to accommodate 4 classes of service, and we have maintained that higher level of service in our comparisons, despite the “apples to oranges” comparison.  While on an operating cost basis, the four service classes tend to penalize the A380, but the A380 can recover that with higher premium class revenues.