Asian mega-cities offering to/from RPKs in excess of 5 billion annually will drive demand for Airbus A380 aircraft, with Airbus predicting the number of such cities growing from 9 now to 17 by 2029.
According to Airbus, Chinese cities with RPKs of over 5 billion will double to six by 2029, while India will have two such cities - Delhi and Mumbai. Asia will also see a marked rise of cities offering to/from RPKs between 1-5 billion, as well as cities offering to/from RPKs between 250-1000 million.
Airbus senior vice president product strategy and market forecast Chris Emerson made the mega cities prediction at a media briefing at Asian Aerospace 2011. He noted that there are 43 A380s in service today, serving 28 routes and 20 destinations.
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Although carriers have generally ordered the A380 for long, intercontinental routes and not for domestic services, Emerson says that carriers are still operating the A380 as a "flagship" aircraft. Over time he expects the aircraft to be increasingly used for short-haul, high density routes such as those in China.
Though Airbus views China as a key market for the A380, only one Chinese carrier has ordered the aircraft, China Southern Airlines, which has five on order.
The carrier's first A380 had its maiden flight on 3 March to Hamburg from Toulouse, after completing final assembly and system tests. In Hamburg the aircraft will be painted and its cabin will be installed. Airbus declines to provide a firm delivery date, saying only that it will be delivered in the second half of 2011.
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Source: Flight Daily News
