Background Airbus A380

in mid-1988, airbus engineers led jean roeder began work in secret on development of ultra-high-capacity airliner (uhca), both complete own range of products , break dominance boeing had enjoyed in market segment since 1970s 747. mcdonnell douglas unsuccessfully offered smaller, double-deck md-12 concept sale. roeder given approval further evaluations of uhca after formal presentation president , ceo in june 1990. megaproject announced @ 1990 farnborough airshow, stated goal of 15% lower operating costs 747-400. airbus organised 4 teams of designers, 1 each of partners (aérospatiale, british aerospace, deutsche aerospace ag, casa) propose new technologies future aircraft designs. designs presented in 1992 , competitive designs used.

in january 1993, boeing , several companies in airbus consortium started joint feasibility study of large commercial transport (vlct), aiming form partnership share limited market. joint study abandoned 2 years later, boeing s interest having declined because analysts thought such product unlikely cover projected $15 billion development cost. despite fact 2 airlines had expressed public interest in purchasing such plane, airbus pursuing own large-plane project. analysts suggested boeing instead pursue stretching 747 design, , air travel moving away hub-and-spoke system consolidated traffic large planes, , toward more non-stop routes served smaller planes.

in june 1994, airbus announced plan develop own large airliner, designated a3xx. airbus considered several designs, including unusual side-by-side combination of 2 fuselages a340, largest airbus jet @ time. a3xx pitted against vlct study , boeing s own new large aircraft successor 747. 1997 2000, east asian financial crisis darkened market outlook, airbus refined design, targeting 15–20% reduction in operating costs on existing boeing 747–400. a3xx design converged on double-decker layout provided more passenger volume traditional single-deck design, in line traditional hub-and-spoke theory opposed point-to-point theory boeing 777, after conducting extensive market analysis on 200 focus groups. although marketing of huge cross-section touted possibility of duty-free shops, restaurant-like dining, gyms, casinos , beauty parlours on board, realities of airline economics have kept such dreams grounded.

on 19 december 2000, supervisory board of newly restructured airbus voted launch €8.8-billion programme build a3xx, re-christened a380, 50 firm orders 6 launch customers. a380 designation break previous airbus families, had progressed sequentially a300 a340. chosen because number 8 resembles double-deck cross section, , lucky number in asian countries aircraft being marketed. aircraft configuration finalised in 2001, , manufacturing of first a380 wing-box component started on 23 january 2002. development cost of a380 had grown €11–14 billion when first aircraft completed.