Two of the first A380s delivered eleven years ago are about to be broken up for scrap; the leasing company that owns them has given up trying to find an airline that wants to fly them.
The pair were retired last August by Singapore Airlines, which had leased them through Dr Peters Group, a German company. Despite several nibbles and an attempt to re-lease them to British Airways, the company has called it quits. The planes’ engines have been returned to maker Rolls Royce, and all remaining usable parts will be removed for sale.
The A380, with the largest passenger capacity ever, was Airbus’s hope of competing with the Boeing 747, then in its prime, but both planes have been overtaken by planes with more efficient engines, and two rather than four of them. Better economy, and more opportunities for direct flights with the smaller planes, have heavily eroded the market for superjumbos.
