The beast goes Stateside

Airbus will fly its A380 superjumbo to the United States for the first time on Monday, hoping the world’s largest passenger jet will catch on with American travelers and US airlines.

The 555-seat, double-decker plane with a wingspan almost the length of an American football field has racked up 156 orders so far, but none from US airlines, which usually prefer Boeing planes.

Signing up a US airline would be a huge financial and morale boost for Airbus, which is suffering through financial losses and corporate turmoil due to delays on the plane, which is set to enter service with Singapore Airlines later this year.

Even though some industry executives expect the A380 to be successful, US carriers are not seen ordering any time soon.

“It doesn’t look like there’s anything’s stirring,” said Paul Nisbet at aerospace specialists JSA Research. “The timing is too early. Maybe 10 years from now it’ll be in its heyday.”

The massive plane, which needs special equipment to unload passengers, is significantly bigger than the biggest plane on Boeing’s drawing board — the stretched 747-8 “Intercontinental” jumbo, with 467 seats.

The two planes have a flight range of about 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 kilometres), but Airbus is touting better economics with the extra seats and improved fuel efficiency.

Still, US airlines — which have moved towards smaller planes for international routes in recent years such as Boeing’s 777 and its planned mid-sized 787 Dreamliner — have shown no interest so far.

Just recovered from a five-year slump after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the carriers are only now set to modernize their fleets but are unwilling to bet on the untested giant.

The plane is poorly suited for the routes of US carriers, is too big, and has too many seats, US Airways Group President Scott Kirby said at the airline’s media day on Wednesday.

The airline, one of Airbus’s best US customers, seems to represent the feelings of most of its rivals.

“American has never expressed any interest in the A380,” said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American Airlines, the world’s biggest airline.

The plane does not fit with American’s plan to focus on the business-class market on its Asian routes, said Wagner.

Delta Air Lines, the number 3 US carrier, is set to buy new planes when it emerges from bankruptcy later this year, but hasn’t shown any appetite for the A380.

United Airlines and bankrupt Northwest Airlines are perhaps Airbus’ most promising potential customers, with their long-distance Asian routes. But with United about a year out of bankruptcy, and Northwest still in it, neither is in a position to go shopping.

Northwest would not comment on its fleet plans. United did not return a call seeking comment.

Continental Airlines has an all-Boeing fleet and is not considering the A380.

US Airways has already ruled out the A380 despite its past purchases of smaller Airbus planes. The A380 “will never fly under the US Airways colors,” Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr said on Wednesday.

The one ray of light for Airbus in the US is International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), the world’s largest plane lessor and one of the most influential plane buyers, which has 10 A380s on order.

“We believe there’s still a market for that airplane,” said John Plueger, ILFC’s chief operating officer, in an interview last month.

“The industry will face mounting infrastructure limitations,” said Plueger. “It just means planes will get bigger. We’ve known that for many years.”

International air traffic will grow about 5.6 percent annually over the next few years, according to the International Air Transport Association. At that rate, global traffic will double by 2020.

Plueger said the world’s major air traffic will always flow between big cities, on routes like Hong Kong to Heathrow.

The sheer size of the plane may concern Americans now, but that won’t be a long-term factor, he said.

“‘I don’t want to fly in an airplane with 600 people.’ That’s a popular and understood response,” said Plueger. “In 10 years, you won’t even think about it.”