Airlines have fallen back in love with the Airbus A380. Here's every route flown by the world's largest passenger jet.
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- Several airlines ditched the Airbus A380 during the pandemic.
- But it's still soaring high, led by Emirates' fleet of 118 superjumbos.
- Business Insider compiled a list of every airline operating the A380 and all the routes flown.
Airbus took decades to develop the A380 — a project announced in 1990 to compete with the Boeing 747. When it first entered service with Singapore Airlines in 2007, it became the world's largest passenger jet.
However, the high operational costs of the four-engine jet saw the A380 experience tough times during the pandemic.
Air France, Thai Airways, and Malaysia Airlines are among the carriers that ditched the A380 as COVID-19 ravaged the industry.
However, airlines have been falling back in love with the superjumbo. Lufthansa retired all 14 of its A380s in the pandemic, but then brought back eight of them.
Plus, the startup Global Airlines has already acquired one formerly owned by China Southern Airlines as part of its plan to fly A380s between London and New York.
Based on data from ch-aviation of every A380, cross-referenced with Flightradar24, Business Insider has assembled a list of every airline operating the A380 and the routes they've been flying this summer.
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Dubai's airline is by far and away the world's largest operator of the A380. According to ch-aviation, Emirates has 118, of which 27 are in storage or maintenance.
This means that it owns 61% of the world's active A380s.
It's a tough competition with the other Middle Eastern airlines, but Emirates' Airbus A380 is perhaps the most opulent. In business class, you can visit the onboard bar or even book a slot to take a shower at 35,000 feet.
Emirates' plethora of planes comes with a similarly broad route map. Brace yourself for an extensive list.
Emirates flies the A380 between Dubai and: Amman, Amsterdam, Auckland, Bangkok, Barcelona, Bengaluru, Birmingham (BHX), Brisbane, Cairo, Casablanca, Denpasar, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Madrid, Manchester (MAN), Melbourne, Milan, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Nice, Osaka, Paris (CDG), Perth, Port Louis, Riyadh, Rome, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, Toronto, Vienna, Washington, DC, and Zurich.
Emirates also serves Christchurch but only via Sydney as a fifth-freedom flight. All in all, that's a total of 48 destinations.
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The launch customer of the superjumbo jet has the second-most A380s, but it actually operates less than the third-placed carrier.
Singapore Airlines has a fleet of 13, per data from ch-aviation. However, two of these are on maintenance and another is in storage.
Singapore is one of just 10 airlines in the world to be rated five stars by Skytrax.
This year, Skytrax named its business class the world's second-best behind Qatar Airways. On an A380, it offers enormous suites which have both a chair and a bed. Two of these can also be uniquely combined for a double bed.
It flies the A380 between Singapore Changi Airport and: Delhi, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London Heathrow, and Sydney.
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British Airways has 12 Airbus A380s, all but one of which are active.
This year, its business class was ranked 15th by Skytrax. In March, BA launched a $9 billion "transformation program" which includes retrofitting its A380s with an upgraded first class, expected to debut next year.
"The A380 is an important part of our fleet and rightfully, incredibly popular with our customers," Neil Chernoff, chief planning and strategy officer, told Business Insider at the time.
Behind Emirates, the UK flag carrier offers the second-most destinations. But for Americans, it's your best chance of flying on a superjumbo jet.
BA flies the A380 between London Heathrow and: Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Singapore, and Washington, DC.
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Qatar Airways cleaned up at this year's Skytrax awards, winning both best airline and best business class.
Like Emirates, its A380 includes a bar for business-class passengers. It also has huge bathrooms, but no showers.
The A380s also aren't equipped with its flagship business-class product, QSuite, which you'll find on the A350, 777, and 787.
Following delays to the Boeing 777X, Qatar reversed plans to retire the A380. However, it won't last forever. In March, CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer told CNBC that the A380 would fly for another two to three years.
Qatar has 10 A380s, but one is on maintenance, and two are in storage.
It operates the A380 between Doha and: Bangkok, London Heathrow, Paris, Perth, and Sydney.
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Qantas, the Australian flag-carrier, has 10 A380s. Six of these are active since one is in storage and three are on maintenance, according to ch-aviation.
Its A380s fly from Sydney to Los Angeles and Singapore. From the latter, there's also an onward route to London Heathrow.
Sometimes, the A380 is operated instead of the Boeing 787 on flights QF93 and QF94 from Melbourne to Los Angeles.
In February, a severe storm warning coupled with "incredibly high" demand during Taylor Swift's Australian tour saw Qantas use a standby A380 to fly Swifties from Melbourne to Sydney.
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Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is the third operator in the Middle East, and is often overshadowed by Emirates and Qatar. That's the case with its A380 fleet too.
It has 10 but one is on maintenance, and five are in storage. It's the only airline with at least half its superjumbo jets in storage.
However, Etihad's A380s are unique as they offer the most extravagant ticket in commercial aviation: The Residence.
For $24,000, you can have the world's only three-room suite on an airliner, complete with a bedroom and shower.
Etihad flies its A380s from Abu Dhabi to London and New York.
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Korean Air is one of four airlines on this list, and 10 around the world, to be rated five stars by Skytrax.
According to data from ch-aviation, it has nine A380s, but four are in storage, and one is on maintenance.
From Seoul's Incheon International Airport, Korean Air's superjumbo jets go to Los Angeles and New York.
However, four-engined jets are falling out of favor. In 2021, CEO Walter Cho told FlightGlobal that its A380s would be retired by 2026, and its Boeing 747s by 2031.
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The German flag carrier is the second European operator of the A380. Lufthansa has eight A380s, six of which are active.
It actually appears to prefer the only other double-decker passenger jet. According to ch-aviation data, Lufthansa has 26 Boeing 747 jets — the most of any passenger airline.
Lufthansa initially retired all 14 of its A380s during the pandemic before changing its mind as travel bounced back. The other six were sold back to Airbus, Airways Magazine reported.
Even with the third-least A380s in the skies, Lufthansa operates quite a few routes. Like BA, they mostly go to the US.
Its A380s go between Munich and: Boston, Delhi, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC.
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Asiana Airlines has six A380s, all of which are active according to ch-aviation.
During the pandemic, Asiana flew empty superjumbos in order to keep its pilots certified, Bloomberg reported.
The second Seoul-based carrier on this list, there are plans for it to merge with Korean Air. It's still awaiting regulatory approval, but Korean Air CEO Walter Cho told Bloomberg he expects full approval by October.
The combined entity could have 15 A380s, the second-most behind Emirates, but Cho has also spoken of plans to retire the A380 by 2026.
Until then, Asiana flies the A380 from Seoul to Los Angeles and Tokyo.
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ANA is the newest customer of the Airbus A380, as its first one was delivered in 2019.
The Japanese airline has three in total, but they only fly on one route: Tokyo to Honolulu.
ANA is another of the world's elite five-star airlines, with an impressive business-class product. However, you'll need to fly on a Boeing 777 to experience "The Room" or in first class, "The Suite," which includes a 43-inch TV.
Global Airlines
Ch-aviation's data also lists an A380 operated by Hi Fly Malta. This is the firm that has been working with the startup Global Airlines.
Global Airlines hopes to fly the superjumbo jet between London and New York, but its plans have attracted many critics due to the high operational costs.
In May, it completed its first transatlantic flight — ferrying its first jet from California to Glasgow via a stop in Montreal.
The 11-year-old jet formerly owned by China Southern Airlines had been sitting in a Mojave boneyard, and is undergoing work to enter commercial service.
Global Airlines plans to acquire another three A380s, with ambitions for commercial operations to begin next year.
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