Airbus A380 Wows the Crowd, Now It Has to Fly

Europe's new double-deck super-jumbo, the Airbus A380, made a splashy public debut in Toulouse as the leaders of four European nations looked on. A first test flight is penciled in for late March or early April, with commercial service to Singapore Airlines slated to begin in early 2006.

The program carries a development price tag of 10.7 billion euros, and Airbus projects it will break even in 2008 after selling 250 aircraft. The company currently holds firm orders for 139 planes from 13 carriers worldwide, at catalog prices ranging from 263 to 286 million dollars per jet.

Rival Boeing remains doubtful about the giant plane's market appeal, preferring to focus on long-range, fuel-efficient travel with its upcoming 7E7. The A380 will make its public airshow debut in Paris this June.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.