Airbus A380 may be about to get bigger

Instead of launching a whole new model, airbus has decided to make extensions to the existing ones

The airbus A380 plans to extend its wing span as the world’s largest passenger jet is set to become even bigger than before.

The wide-bodied, double decker engine aircraft with a width of 262 feet is expected  to grow by 32 feet as a possibility of upgrades is being considered by the French manufacturer.

Instead of launching a whole new model of the aircraft by buying new engines with enhanced features, the airbus has decided to make extensions to the existing ones.

“We will not launch a new A380, there’s no business case now to do that, this is absolutely clear,” said Airbus’s president Fabrice Bregier. “But it doesn’t prevent us from looking at what could be done to improve the performance of the aircraft.”



“So having a little bit more efficiency from the engines is clearly an option, and looking at whether we could bring new winglets is also probably a good possibility,” he added.

Emirates owns the most number of A380s but it was launched by the Singapore Airlines in 2007. However, the aircraft is used by the British Airways on a number of routes, including London to Hong Kong and Los Angeles. The A380 has a capacity to seat 525 people. The second largest commercial aircraft is the 747-8 which belongs to Boeing.

The manufacturer will save expenses by extending the wing tip devices on the A380 instead of introducing a whole new “neo” model.

“New winglets would not require strengthening of the fuselage-wing junction,” said Bregier. A new A380 is considered the Airbus’s most expensive aircraft which costs $436.9 million.

 

This article originally appeared on The Telegraph