In FEB19, after a number of order cancellations, Airbus announced that it would stop producing A380s in Toulouse in 2021, with the last order delivery. A little over a year later, the corona crisis led to the A380s being the first aircraft type to be sent to the parking lot of possibly no return. Yet, Lufthansa Technik’s press release on 05MAY20, revealing an anonymous customer’s interest in “the support of the operational change of a first Airbus A380” for use as a temporary freighter, has got the aviation media in a flurry as to who this could possibly be – with long discussions on whether it even makes sense.
The A380 was already an unfortunate contender for the “Aircraft with the shortest commercial history” before COVID-19 forced it to be grounded. The Airbus project initially foresaw more
than 1,000 planes being produced, but to date only 245 exist, (with a remaining – probably now obsolete – Emirates’ pending order of 8), and all but one of those A380s is currently grounded. The
single exception: Malaysia Airlines started KUL-LHR operations last week, using an A380 as a cargo-only flight carrying 26 tons of mainly e-commerce goods from Guangzhou, China, and taking back
pharmaceutical products and mail.
The A380 fan club
A total of 15 airlines own A380s, and by far the biggest fan is Emirates which has 115 (47% of global stock) and championed the plane as a solution to slot restraints and crowded skies. At the
World Travel Market in 2016, Emirates’ President, Tim Clark, told competitors: “if you want to challenge us, go buy the 380, […] when you look at the constraints that we’re all facing in this
business, […] It’s hard to get slots. The 380 for me is the answer.”
Yet, the A380 is difficult to fly profitably as its passenger load factor rarely gets to an efficient level. By 2018, most airlines had come to the same conclusion that it is much easier and
cheaper to run smaller planes and more frequencies, and so the wave of order cancellations began.
Tim Clark’s message in a recent The National (UAE) interview, is a damning one: “We know the A380 is over, the 747 is over but the A350 and the 787 will always have a place. They […] will be
a better fit probably for global demand in the years post the pandemic,” though not as blunt as Teal Group’s VP of Analysis, Richard Aboulafia, speaking to The Points Guy in FEB19, slating
the A380 program as being “dead. It was born to die. Simply the dumbest program of modern times.”
A brief history of the A380F
Airbus worked on both an A380F and an A380 combi version, but these never took to the skies, despite an initial order of 27 A380F by FedEx, UPS, ILFC and Emirates. By 2005, it had begun cutting
metal for wings and producing components. Yet, in 2006 Emirates and ILFC cancelled their A380F orders, followed by FedEx who instead opted for the B777F, and in 2007, UPS also cancelled, later
switching to B747-8. Whether a passenger-to-freighter conversion program was going to come is a question Airbus still has to answer, and though it has offered temporary conversion kits for its
A330s and A350s, it has so far left out the A380.
Had the A380F ever been produced, it would have been the world’s second largest freighter behind the AN225 and could have transported as much as 2 MD11 loads.
The A380 has more fat than muscle…
The general consensus of aviation experts has always been that the A380F, like its passenger version although perhaps even more so, would be very difficult to fly profitably. As Dan Wang wrote in
his blog back in 2016, “An A380-F would be too fat to fly at a profit: The plane would hit the maximum payload (a constraint of weight) before its maximum cubic space (a constraint of
volume). Its design can’t support the maximum payload required to generate a profit. Consider a comparison with the Boeing 747-400F, a popular air freighter. The 747 has a maximum take-off weight
of 448,000 kilograms to the A380’s 575,000. In addition, the 747 has a cargo capacity of 710 m3 to the hypothetical A380-F’s 1134 m3. The A380-F would be able to carry 60% more volume than the
747, but only 28% more weight. It wouldn’t be fully loaded at typical levels of air cargo density, or at least nothing close to what can be supported by the thrust capacity of the 747.”
Is it really worth it?
Taking an existing A380 passenger version and temporarily converting that to a freighter is even more limiting. Not only are you now hampered by the fact that loading has to take place through
passenger doors (time-consuming and size and weight-restricting), you also have the problem of accessing the second floor via narrow staircases, and you have passenger-deck flooring that is
definitely not cut out to carry anything but the lightest cargo. Something that is no problem when it comes to PPE goods as these are generally voluminous yet light, but which is not a viable
long-term solution. That said, Henning Jochmann, Senior Director Aircraft Modification Base Maintenance at Lufthansa Technik, stated in the press release: "As the workscope comprises much
more than just taking out seats, you need engineering experts who know exactly what the challenges are and how to document the technical solutions so correctly that the aviation authorities
agree. The current exemption and our solution for it can be transferred to our Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) at a later point of time without major adjustments. This means that anyone who
opts for Lufthansa Technik's exceptional solution now can easily switch to the permanent STC solution later.” Does that mean that cargo doors might be cut, and internal modifications made
for easier cargo loading on the upper decks? Either way, it will all cost money and the question is – is it really viable for the limited tonnage that the modified A380 will then be able to
carry?
Who is the Mystery Shopper for the world’s first A380 “Prachter*”?
Who is the unnamed customer? According to aeroTELEGRAPH, a Lufthansa spokesperson denied that it was Lufthansa, for which Lufthansa Technik has already converted 4 A330s to temporary freighters.
Over at Simple Flying, Tom Boon’s theory is that Emirates has its own maintenance, so is ruled out, and that it would logically probably be one of the airlines already having maintenance carried
out by Lufthansa Technik. He names these as Asiana Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, and Qantas, and narrows it down to those airlines currently operating daily freighter flights between Asia
and Europe: Lufthansa and BA. His speculation is BA, arguing that while most of its A380s are parked in Chateauroux, one (G-XLEH) is still at LHR, whilst a second (G-XLEG) is already with
Lufthansa Technik in Manila. Fair point.
He forgets, however, that another airline – and a Lufthansa Cargo Joint Venture partner - recently signed a MoU with Lufthansa Technik in NOV19, for its B777-9: All Nippon Airways (ANA). And ANA
happens to be in possession of the 2 newest A380s, having taken delivery of them just a year ago. An expensive aircraft to simply put aside now, and – since ANA has already been carrying cargo on
the passenger seats of its B787s since last month, the move to an A380 Passenger-Freighter might, for the interim, be better than writing it off altogether.
Or is it Malaysia Airlines wanting to ramp up one of its fleet of 6 A380s, given that it has started operating KUL-LHR cargo-only flights already, only using the limited cargo holds? After all,
Malaysia Airlines, too, has a Lufthansa Technik cooperation history.
What is your bet?
Brigitte Gledhill
*Recently the new slang word “Prachter” has started popping up in German media. It stands for “Passagier Frachter” (Passenger Aircraft turned Freighter. The English equivalent “Pfreighter”
doesn’t quite trip off the tongue…)
We always welcome your comments to our articles. However, we can only publish them when the sender name is authentic
Write a comment
Rayhan ahmed (Wednesday, 13 May 2020 20:52)
While working on the ramp at
Plane handling / dnata I and a few lads
Were the first ramp staff to handle the
First emerates A380 in to LHR after
They stopped the B777. I have also
Ramp handled the singerpore airlines
A380 and the Qantas A380 both again at Heathrow . The A380 is easy to
Load and offload cargo I could say it’s
The most easiest aircraft to work
On ... it has two large cargo doors rear
And front and a very confined hold
5 with a step (lip) Meaning you have to
Lift goods up with your hands and
Baggage to get them in the hold .. the step is a foolish design which needs to
Taken out if the aircraft has a P2F
Conversion. The cargo control stick is
Easy to handle but very jumpy we’re ULD
And pallets tend to not position themsevels on the cargo hold easily so
Power needs to be taken off and they
Need to be manually corrected by
Hand as with the pallets by the help of another person from the ramp or
Cargo . The lower deck cargo hold is
Box like rear and front were the rear
Cargo hold goes into a smaller passage
For ULD and pallets like a ink well. This
Ink well as far as I remember is not in the front cargo hold . The aircraft airframe seems to be of fibre glass
Element and aircraft is very stready with
Heavy landing gear systems wing gear
Body gear and nose gear ... it seems like a fibre glass bubble sitting on
Heavy landing gears .
Now doing a P2F conversion would
Be a very good idea creating a upper
Main deck and maintaining the lower
Deck cargo holds .. the rear of the aircraft the airframe could be cut open
And a large cargo door could be fitted
And also at the front ... the nose of the
A380 is not wide enough to fit a cargo
Door so this would remain the same as to the B747 400 BDSF. As I have
Explained the A380 is so easy to load
You don’t needs loads of people messing around with it 2 fmcs drivers
1 hold 5 man and off course you need a higher number of tug men to deal with
The passenger ULD loading and offloading depending on the trim. The
Emerates A380 has a very high volume
Of passenger ULD as the I remember
At plane /dnata ie 4 x4x3x t/fxwax this
Was dependent on the trim sheet .
I feel Airbus might have plans for
PTF conversion.. but time can only
Tell if these pulls through as Lufthansa
Tecnik has mentioned that British
Airways could be a likely contender to
Do a A380 P2F conversion but the prove
Of this source of information we don’t
Know yet . MAS has done a temporary
Passenger (cargo only ) there A380 by
Removing the seats and putting
Pallets down were Airbus is already
Offering to airlines .. the cost will only
Be for labour not for any parts because the procedure is very simple and
Straight forward .., they are also offering to convert the aircraft back into passenger configuration free of
Charge ... look what more do you
Want .
Now will the A380F PTF sell will it
Be successful does the airlines and Airbus need to sit down on the drawing
Boards and if this can be reality or is it
Just a lame dockey .The passenger version A380 is truly a wonderful aircraft no hard work ., no pulling
And pushing apart from a over sensitive
Cargo drive system and a very confined
Hold 5 were a installation of a step
Was to me a BIG MISTAKE by
Airbus in regards to health and
Safety of ramp crew .
Lufthansa have threre own A380s do they intend to do a complete A380
PT2 conversion by trying it on another
Airlines A380 ie like British airways .
To me British airways have the capability to do a A380 PT2 conversion
At there own heavy maintenance base
At Cardiff wales and will not require
A third party MRO to do so .., this also
Goes with singerpore airlines .
The only options would be left is
Emerates , Qantas , and MAS who might
Go for a A380F P2F with a third
Party MRO like Lufthansa and the
Dealership as I call it Airbus .
The 747F either it be a BCF or BDSF
Are not easy aircraft to work
By working on passenger versions of
The 747 400 On virgin , Thai , air china ,
Cathay were the drive systems are
Completely and absolutely in operative
But on the BDSF and BCF I am sure the
Old drive systems are taken out and
And a new computerised drive system
Is installed specifically for cargo
Handling .
It could be stupid of me by saying that
Airbus should look into a A380F P2F
But it could be a ideal challenge.
Rayhan ahmed (Thursday, 14 May 2020 01:33)
Health and safety issues with
A380. For ramp
1) cargo hold step
2) rear cargo hold when connected with
FMC the aircraft has a curved hole
Appearing in the cargo which means you can fall Under the aircraft and fall on the ground ... which happened to me
On the EK but only one of my legs
Was hanging out under the aircraft
Needed hospital treatment for a alleged
Cracked tail bone .
3) cargo door opening swing can
Be dangerous resulting in severe head
Injury
4) GPU connection of the aircraft is
Extremely differcult connecting the gpu
Leads .., bottom rear of nose gear instead side .
5) loading and off loading ULD via
Tug is very critical space min because
Of large engines ... chance of striking
Engines if care not taken