5 Facts About The Emirates Airbus A380

Emirates has now been operating the iconic Airbus A380 for more than 15 years (it celebrated its 15th year anniversary in August 2023). While the A380 has been out of production for a couple of years now, Emirates continues to operate the world’s largest fleet of A380s by a massive margin. Emirates flies its fleet of 116 Airbus A380s to some 50 destinations worldwide. In an email with Simple Flying, Emirates shared some of the facts about its impressive A380 fleet.

A380s are massive

There are many things to know about Emirates’ A380 fleet. One fact is that the A380 boasts the largest capacity ever. It can accommodate as many as 615 passengers in a two-class configuration (Emirates has up to 24 crew on each flight). This should come as no surprise, as the A380 is the largest passenger aircraft ever built and the world’s only full-length double-deck airliner.

Photo: Emirates

A380s weigh as much as 575 tonnes, meaning many airports had to overhaul their runways and air bridges to accommodate them. They have over 550 square meters of usable floor space across the two decks. The wings alone span some 79.8 meters – around that of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The massive aircraft is powered by four Engine Alliance GP72000 engines with over 290,000 lbs of take-off thrust. Emirates was the last passenger quad-engined commercial jet to be produced. Production of the A340 ceased in 2012, while the passenger variant of the Boeing 747-8 ended in 2017. That said, the Boeing 747-8F (freighter) variant outlasted the A380, with the last being delivered in 2023 (the last A380 was built in 2021).

Emirates’ A380s carry more than passengers; they can also carry up to 44,000 lbs of cargo and baggage. The A380’s vast cargo capacity means that it can carry many export items, such as flowers, fresh meat and fish, and luxury goods.

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A luxury experience

Emirates is one of the world’s top-ranked airlines and it has made the A380 a luxury experience. Emirate’s First Class offers some of the world’s best in-flight experiences – complete with its Shower Spa, Emirates Private Collection Bvlgari amenity kits, Onboard Lounge, and high-end gastronomy.

Photo: Emirates

Emirates’ A380s come with 14 fully-enclosed First Class Private Suites. Here passengers can enjoy much of the experience of having their own private jet. First Class, guests can select their own mealtimes and bedtimes, while fine dining is available at any time. Emirates’ First Class experience stands out as one of the most luxurious commercial experiences in the air.

Emirates’ ice inflight entertainment system is award-winning. It allows passengers to choose from 6,500 channels of movies, TV shows, live sports, breaking news, and more (as well as in-flight WiFi). It’s for good reason that Skytrax has ranked Emirates as the third-best airline in the world for 2024 (behind Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines).

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$2 Billion overhaul

While Emirates (along with other operators of the A380) is slowly retiring its fleet of A380s, it will remain in service for many years to come. Emirates is in the midst of a massive $2 billion retrofit program for its entire A380 fleet (and many of its Boeing 777s). Passengers are greeted with the latest products, interiors, and all class cabins.

The retrofit program has already paid dividends for Emirates. In response to the program’s success, Emirates extended the program to 43 more A380s (to include all its A380s) and another 28 Boeing 777s (the original plan was for only 67 A380s and 53 Boeing 777s to be retrofitted).

These upgrades will offer new Premium Economy seats in the all-new cabin interiors (along with First and Business Class seats). The retrofit also includes a new livery (first unveiled in March 2023). The aircraft’s paint takes over 4,000 liters to cover the full 38,000 square feet of the aircraft’s surface.

A mouth-watering experience

Emirates has some 1,800 chefs creating over 12,000 recipes annually for its fleet of A380s. These cater to over 43 million dine-in guests traveling on flights every year. Emirates also claims it is the only commercial airline in the world officially serving Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Pérignon onboard.

Photo: Emirates

Emirates states, “Moët Hennessy Champagnes have been available for Emirates passengers onboard for over 30 years, with First Class guests enjoying unlimited champagne and caviar during their flight.” Emirates even serves excellent meal operations for their economy class passengers.

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Shortest and longest Emirates A380 flights

While the A380 does not have the longest range in the world (the longest-range commercial airliner is the Airbus A350 XWB Ultra Long Range with a range of up to 9,700 nautical miles), it does boast one of the longest ranges. The A380 has a range of around 8,000 nautical miles (or 9,200 miles) and is used on some of the world’s longest-haul routes.

Photo: Emirates

The longest Emirates A380 route is from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand. The mammoth flight takes over 17 hours and is one of the top ten longest nonstop commercial flights in the world. The longest nonstop flight is by Singapore Airlines from Singapore to New York. Qatar Airways’ flight from Auckland to Doha and three Qantas flights (Perth to London, Perth to Paris, and Melbourne to Dallas) also edge it out.

While the A380 may be Emirates’ flagship aircraft today, the airline is seeking to diversify its fleet (it currently only operates A380s and Boeing 777s). Emirates has Airbus A350-900, Boeing 777X, and Boeing 787s on order (meaning that Emirates will continue only to operate long-haul widebody aircraft).