A new Airbus A380, the biggest aircraft in the world, touched down at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday, impressing passengers and airport workers who craned their necks to see the gigantic airliner.
The aircraft has also visited Tokyo and Sydney in the A380 World Tour this year and will fly back to Toulouse, France, on Sunday after carrying local airline and government officials on a compatibility trial today.
The A380 stopped in Taiwan to introduce the aircraft to local carriers including China Airlines Ltd (
PHOTO: YAO CHIEH-HSIU, TAIPEI TIMES
"It's up to the passengers to decide what aircraft to buy," Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy said at a press conference after the A380's arrival.
Passengers who have boarded the new jet during the demonstration tour have given it high marks, Leahy said.
"They said this is the future of flight and they don't want to go back to the past," Leahy said.
The airliner can accommodate 525 passengers in a typical three-class configuration, or 40 percent more passengers than Boeing Co's B747-400 passenger jet -- the largest aircraft in service -- can carry.
For Taiwanese carriers, the A380 could serve on the Taipei-Los Angeles route, the second-busiest route in the Asia-Pacific region, Leahy said.
The only complaint that customers have had about the A380 is its delayed delivery schedule, Leahy said.
Manufacturing problems have delayed the introduction of the aircraft for two years, he said.
Airbus has received 160 orders for the A380 from 14 airlines. The first will be delivered to Singapore Airlines in October.
If buyers place orders for A380 now, they will have to wait until 2012 for delivery, Leahy said.
The A380's passenger comfort improvements include wider seats and more floor space in the cabin for all passengers, Leahy said.
The airliner is also the quietest commercial aircraft in the world, he said.
"The loudest noise during my flight was a man who snored in front of me," Leahy said.
Despite its size, the A380 is the world's most environmentally friendly airplane, consuming 17 percent less fuel per seat than the largest aircraft today, he said, adding that the jet had earned the nickname "green giant."
The A380's fuel efficiency will reduce airlines' operating costs by 15 percent to 20 percent over other aircraft, he said.
The airliner also has 15 percent greater range, which can help to bring down ticket prices, he said.
The double decker A380 is the first long-haul aircraft to consume less than three liters of fuel per passenger over 100km, a rate comparable to an average economical car, an Airbus statement said.
Airbus said in a statement that it estimates that air passenger traffic is expected to increase by 5 percent per year over the next 20 years.
The company is looking for more business from emerging markets such as China and India, where an increasing number of people can afford international air travel, the statement said.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS