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The Airbus A380 double-decker plane, with a 262-foot wingspan, a tail as tall as a seven-storey building, cost $13 billion US to develop. It can fly more than 15,000 kilometres without refueling.

The jet seats at least 555 passengers, 33 per cent more than Boeing's 747 and offers 49 percent more floor space. But can carry as many as 840 people, depending on the seat configuration.

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The best line in the cbc article I think is

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So far, Air Canada has not ordered any of the planes

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The good news is that this new plane might help out Pearson Airport in Toronto. According to the article the Emirates Airline has ordered 45 planes. And this reasoning about the planes coming to Toronto could be a good thing.

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"There's a reason why Emirates might target Toronto – because of all the security problems in the U.S.," he said. "So Toronto could well become for Emirates a hub for people who want to travel from other parts of the world to Latin America."

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One of the reasons that not every airline (like Air Canada, which has a large fleet of Airbuses) is buying 380's (other than the various preferential arrangements they have with each manufacturer) is that they require upgrade and construction at terminals -- that is, existing terminals can't handle the 380's double-decker configuration. So, along with buying the planes, the airline has to also reconfigure its terminal structure (where there are covered, elevated walk-ways, anyway).

[ 18 January 2005: Message edited by: verbatim ]

Although, if this in someway will allow the return of airline food, I say do it! Believe it or not, the two meals that I had on an airplane were most delectable, and given that me and my fellow travellers were excited pre-teens flying above the prarie provinces (as we were a little odd for children) we starred endless at the ground looking for crop circles. But boy, to this day I remember how I was the only one that loved that chicken plate. I swear, if I hadn't have been staring out that window looking for something I really knew I wouldn't see, not a plate on that airplane would've had wasted food.

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...and having the stewardess in quite the bad mood.

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We say flight attendant, don't we?

Boeing apparently tried to build something similar but never got past wooden models.

For the same amount of money that Boeing and the U.S. government spent on wooden models, the British and French actually built a working aircraft.

Of course the Concorde was a commercial flop, but alot of what the Europeans learned building the Concorde went into building the Airbus and has made the Europeans direct competitors with the U.S. aerospace giants.

As for the seats, I expect they'll vary from airline to airline. In any case, I imagine they'll be more comfortable than the ones in regional jets- the CRJ is a beautiful airplane, but from what I hear the seats are narrow and cramped.

[ 22 January 2005: Message edited by: Mike Keenan ]