A 380 Day 15 comments

18 Jan 2005 @ 15:00, by Flemming Funch Today the Airbus A380 was officially revealed here at a big bash. Chirac and Tony Blair and everybody were there. No, I wasn't invited, but my daughter was one of the (250) hostesses telling people where to go. Airbus has passed Boing a while back in terms of being the biggest aircraft manufacturer. 57% of the market. And the new A380 is a huge thing that dwarfs a 747 and can carry up to 800 passengers, in two floors, and looking more like a hotel inside than a typical airplane. Airbus headquarters are here in Toulouse and this is where they assemble the planes, even if major parts are made in other places. The activity around Airbus is largely responsible for making Toulouse the most growing economy and population in France. And everybody here pays close attention. You could pretty much stop anybody on the street and they would proudly rattle off the specs of the A380. Lots has been done to pave the way for it. Custom-built barges and widened roads to transport the parts. Huge building for the assembly. And today the busses don't run in town, because the streets are blocked off so that Tony Blair and Gerhard Shroeder can drive to lunch undisturbed. The plane isn't going to fly for another couple of months. I suppose it will, even though I don't intuitively grasp how. It will have to fly over my house when it takes off, so I guess I'll believe it then. But you won't see it in your local airport before next year. Richard Branson says he'll equip his Virgin versions with gyms, beauty parlours, bars, casinos and double beds. I suppose not in the economy class, but it still sounds like fun.

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