What is the largest passenger aircraft in the world? Passenger aircraft, which are the largest: dimensions and capacity Maximum passenger capacity of the aircraft.

03.10.2023

These giants plow the skies with ease and grace, and, looking at them from the ground, no one would think that these steel birds represent such a huge structure that the height of the tail of one of these airliners - the A-380 - is five giraffes, set Each other. The Airbus A-380 is the largest passenger aircraft in the world, but this article will not only talk about it.

"Boeing 747"

Among passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 have the maximum size. These are airliners capable of simultaneously carrying more than five hundred passengers. In particular, the A380 is capable of lifting 853 passengers into the air. Before the advent of this giant, the Boeing 747 with a length of 70.6 meters and the Boeing 747-8 with a length of 76.25 meters (the longest passenger aircraft) were the most spacious airliners in the world (the maximum number of simultaneously transported passengers reached 600 people). The Boeing 747-8 is more fuel efficient than the Boeing 747, which first flew on February 9, 1969. The designers originally planned a double-deck aircraft design, but the upper deck was shortened due to technical problems. The Boeing 747 was the first airliner in the world to have two aisles between seats. This aircraft is certified to fly on three engines, and if one of the four fails, the aircraft can fully take off, fly and land on the remaining three engines. At the same time, the cruising speed of the Boeing 747 passenger aircraft is 913 km/h.

Giant A-380

The giant double-deck “French” airliner A380, the first copy of which rolled off the assembly line in 2005, is the largest passenger aircraft in the history of world aviation. Indeed, its creators have something to be proud of - the cabin of the Airbus A380 can accommodate 853 passengers. To date, more than 110 machines have already been built and put into operation. The monthly production volume of these aircraft is 2.5 aircraft. Today, these giants are used by 20 airlines, with Emirates airline having the largest fleet.

The cruising speed of the A380 passenger aircraft reaches 1020 km/h. Each aircraft consists of about four million individual parts and components, which are manufactured in thirty countries around the world by one and a half thousand manufacturing companies and delivered using a unique logistics system developed by Airbus, which includes routes by water, as well as by air and road transport. Each landing gear can withstand a load of about 260 tons (200 passenger cars). For comparison with its predecessor, the wing area of the A380 aircraft is equal to one and a half wing areas of the Boeing 747-400 and is 845 square meters.

The world's largest passenger aircraft can be powered by two types of low-noise engines: either the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or the Engine Alliance GP7000. At the same time, the A380 is the most economical airliner in its segment - fuel consumption for transporting a passenger per 100 km with a cabin layout of 525 seats does not exceed three liters.

The dimensions of passenger aircraft are impressive; the A380 cabin area is 554 square meters. The liner has two decks - the main one, the width of which is a record high - 6.5 meters, and the upper one with a width of 5.8 meters.

An air volume of 1,500 cubic meters is replaced every three minutes by the air conditioning system; during the flight, there is a pleasant silence in the aircraft cabin, the hum of the turbines is practically inaudible.

Russia is proud of them

What does the domestic aviation industry offer us? The largest turboprop aircraft in the world is the Antonov An-22. Its length is about 60 meters, flight speed is 580 km/h. The first airliner was released in 1965.

"That"

The legendary Tu-134 is a passenger airliner for medium-distance flights, up to 2800 meters. It is designed for a maximum of 96 seats, its cruising speed is 850 km/h at an altitude of 11,000 m. The Tu-154 is a larger capacity aircraft, 158 people can be accommodated in the cabin of three classes, 180 in economy class. The maximum flight speed of this airliner is 950 km/ h, and the Tu-154M modification is capable of covering distances of up to 5200 km.

The Tu-204 can accommodate 214 passengers, and the cruising speed is slightly lower than its previous “brother” - 850 km/h.

"Su"

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is not the largest passenger aircraft in the world, but it is famous for being the first Russian airliner designed using digital technologies. It is designed for flights up to 3,000 kilometers on lightly loaded airlines. The maximum number of passengers is 98 people.

"Il"

Speaking about domestic aircraft, one cannot fail to mention the Ilyushintsy. Russian passenger aircraft presented by this design bureau have several main types that are well known to us. Let's talk about each of them in more detail.

Let's start with the simplest one - the IL-62, an airliner that has been produced since 1971 and is designed for medium-distance flights - up to 10,000 kilometers. This aircraft accommodates 198 passengers and five crew members. Its maximum speed at cruising altitude is 850 km/h.

As for the Il-86 aircraft, it is also designed for medium-distance flights; the cabin, containing two classes, can accommodate 234 passengers; if the aircraft is three-class, then 314 people. At the same time, 11 flight attendants serve customers. The aircraft are equipped with twelve emergency slides and all the necessary modern rescue systems. The cruising speed of the Il-86 is 950 km/h, the distances over which it flies do not exceed 5,000 kilometers with a maximum flight duration of eight hours.

IL-96

Now about the largest representative of the Ilyushin family - the Il-96 airbus. It is designed for long distance flights. Three hundred people in economy class and 262 passengers in three classes - this figure is practically no different from the previous described model of this family. The airliner flies at a maximum cruising speed of 900 km/h and is capable of covering a distance of up to 12,100 km. Its improved “model” - Il-96M - can accommodate a larger number of passengers - up to 435 people in the charter version.

Near term, or domestic developments

Today, the largest Russian aircraft project is the Irkut MS-21. Within its framework, it is planned to produce short- and medium-haul passenger airliners. Now the Irkut company is carrying out development and construction, the first copies of the aircraft according to the plan will be certified in 2016, and flight tests will begin at the same time. The start of serial production of MS-21 is expected in 2017-2018. On the Russian passenger aircraft market, these airliners should replace the Tu-154 and Tu-204 and will be operated on domestic and international routes.

The project is not developing the largest passenger aircraft in the world, but the family of airliners being created will include various aircraft of three types in length and passenger capacity - with 150, 180 and 210 seats. The model range will contain aircraft with an increased flight range. The vessel's cruising altitude will be 11,600 kilometers, the speed that the liner will develop will be 870 km/h, and the maximum fuselage length will be 39.5 meters. The crew will consist of two people.

As for the progress of work, the base of the project is the Yak-242. The development of the new wing belongs to the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company, fuselage work is carried out directly by the Irkut corporation and the Yakovlev Design Bureau.

It is expected that the new airliners will be more economical due to the use of modern composite materials, as well as new generation engines. The aircraft will be equipped with Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines; in the future, it is possible to install domestic Perm PD-14 engines.

The Airbus A380 is a passenger double-decker (double-decker) jet aircraft. Today it is the largest and most spacious airliner in the world. Officially, its development began in 2000, the first flight was made in 2005, and in 2007 it was fully put into operation by the companies that pre-ordered it.

Review of the Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 has several modifications:

Basic models Airbus A380-800, 842, 861, 862. The length reaches about 73 meters. The difference lies in the installed engines: GP72XX and Trent 900. The ability to vary the on-board temperature from 18 to 30 degrees Celsius, thanks to internal 16 temperature zones, has become unique;
A380-800F. Cargo model of an airplane. For some time, Airbus S.A.S. accepted orders for the supply of such a modification, but its production was shelved until the design of the passenger version was fully adjusted. The specific timing is still unknown;
A380-900. Currently in the design stage. It is 7 meters longer than the original version, and if the aircraft goes into mass production, it will be the longest and most powerful. The possible flight distance will reach 14,200 km;
A380-1000. It is planned to be the most spacious airliner. In the future, it will be able to accommodate 1,073 passengers exclusively in economy class and 757 people in three classes. The start of use is expected to date from 2020-2025. The length of the aircraft is 87 meters;
A380plus. This modification is currently being tested. On board it will be able to accommodate 80 more people than in the basic version, and also reduce fuel consumption and operating costs.

Airbus A380 passenger cabin design

Airbus a380-800 Emirates interior diagram

The aircraft has an upper and lower deck, which are connected by two staircases, at the nose and tail of the aircraft. Various modifications of the A380 accommodate first class, business economy and premium economy classes.

First grade

On an Airbus A380 passenger aircraft, as a rule, first class seats are located at the very beginning. Everyone already knows that these places are the best, and the attitude towards the passenger is as if he were a guest of a five-star hotel. Each chair here can be converted into a small bed. The first class section may even have a shower, which is widely used by some airlines.

However, not everything is so smooth and the “suite” also has its drawbacks: these are seats located in the 1st and 4th rows, located in close proximity to the toilet. Also, opposite the 1st row there is a staircase connecting the two decks of the plane, and not every passenger will like such a neighborhood.

Business Class

Business class in the Airbus A380 is located immediately behind the first. There are also comfortable armchairs that can be turned into a bed if desired. The distance between the seats is sufficient, so you can easily stretch your legs to their full length. Passengers are provided with a minibar, which is usually included in the ticket price.

Economy class

On the bottom or main (if the plane consists entirely of one class) there is an economy class. It amounts to 399 seats in the classic layout offered by the manufacturer. The seats here do not lie flat, as in first and business class, but they are quite comfortable. According to the world standard, the distance for the legs between the rows reaches 80 cm. Each passenger has his own screen installed in the back of the previous seat, the ability to watch video, listen to audio, a USB connector and paid Internet. Availability of the latter will depend on the airline.

Best places

As mentioned earlier, the ideal seats on this airliner are in first and business class. In economy you can also get a good job on rows 45, 54 and 82. The seats are located far from the toilets and technical areas, there are no seats in front, which means there is plenty of legroom. Rows 68 and 81 would also be good. They are located near the windows and are considered one of the most comfortable in economy class.

Rows 43, 52, 67 and 80 are considered “average” in terms of convenience. There is enough space between the seats, but technical rooms and a toilet are located nearby, which can cause inconvenience. The worst seats are in row 88. This is where the wall is located, because of which the seat and the toilet room do not recline, where passengers scurry back and forth. It is better to buy tickets here when there are no other options.

Photo of the cabin in economy class:

Main characteristics

The Airbus 380 has a wide fuselage (aisle). It is unique in its kind, which is why it is in great demand among many airlines, both domestic and foreign. The cockpit is the same for all models. Airbus S.A.S. uses this tactic. used to save on crew training.

The Airbus 380 airliner has the following technical characteristics:

Number of seats as standard - 525;
Capacity - 853;
Cabin width - 6.5 m;
Length - 72.7 m;
Height - 24.1 m;
Wing span - 80 m;
Wing area - 845 sq. m;
Empty aircraft weight - 276.8 thousand kg;
Takeoff weight - 560 thousand kg;
Landing weight - 386 thousand kg;
Weight without fuel - 361 thousand kg;
Fuel tank capacity - 310 thousand liters;

Aircraft flight data:

Maximum flight altitude - 13.1 thousand m;
The maximum flight distance with a full load is 15 thousand km;
Run length - 2.9 thousand m;
Take-off run length - 2 thousand m;
Engines - 4 R-R Trent 970 or 4 Alliance GP7270.

History of creation

The development of the wide-body aircraft project was started by Airbus S.A.S. back in 1994. Then it was planned to compete with the then monopolist Boeing with its Boeing-747 airliner. Initially, the future brainchild of Airbus had the code name A3XX. The designers wanted to combine two fuselages of the company's largest aircraft at that time, the A340, but this would have led to a significant decrease in flight parameters, an increase in the acceleration length and total weight.

It was decided to use a two-deck model, which gave the car a number of advantages. The project started in 2000, and the amount of planned costs reached 8.8 million euros. The name of the aircraft also has an interesting history. Instead of A340, it received the number A380. In a number of Asian countries, eight is considered a lucky number and this probably served as a positive impetus for customers to purchase an airliner.

Construction was completed in 2005 and the aircraft was demonstrated at the airfield in Toulouse. During the tests, engineers identified errors in the design of the wing and it had to be changed in a timely manner. Tests on the ground and in the air were completed at the end of 2007 and the A380 received European certificates of conformity.

Where is it produced?

Fuselage cross-section

The aircraft is manufactured by the European company Airbus S.A.S., based in Toulouse (France). It also has several offices in Germany, Spain, France and the UK and two factories in Blagnac (a suburb of Toulouse) and Hannover (Germany). The company's activities began in 1969 after the merger of several small European aircraft manufacturing companies. Here, not only passenger aircraft are being developed, but also cargo aircraft, as well as vehicles adapted for military needs.

Cost of different models

The price of different modifications of the A380 can vary greatly. Its growth is also affected by the unstable economic situation in the world. Recently, there has been a steady trend towards higher prices for aircraft. And in general, the airliner itself of this model is considered the most expensive in the entire Airbus family.

The current price of the Airbus A380-800 is US$428 million. The company is still silent about the cost of the models, the production of which is planned to begin in the near future, and the final figure is known only to airlines that have placed pre-orders. Every year prices rise by about 2-3%. A total of 219 vehicles were sold and put into operation, and another 317 are under construction. This information is provided by the official Airbus representative office.

News, modernization, prospects

There are several cases where the order for the A380-800 was placed by important people and famous people. For example, the most common story was about the prince of Saudi Arabia, who bought his own A380 Super Jambo from the company, whose total cost was 488 million US dollars.

There was an opinion that this plane was capable of damaging airport runways, but this turned out to be untrue. The landing gear pressure turned out to be much less than that of its main competitors Boeing 747 and 777. In Russia, the first airport adapted to receive the wide-body A380 was Moscow Domodedovo. The order to rebuild the runway was issued by the air transport agency in Russia.

The A380 is a true world record holder. It has the quietest passenger cabin noise levels, is the most fuel-efficient and largest aircraft available today.

Due to the large size of the aircraft, 597 kg of paint have to be spent on painting it, and the total surface area reaches 10 thousand square meters. m. Also, thanks to the expanded wing area, the airliner's speed is 35 km/h lower than that of its main competitor. This allows you to reduce possible noise at the airport during landing or takeoff.

At the moment, the development of the A380-1000 and A380plus is actively underway. A huge number of airlines have already placed pre-orders for the latest aircraft and passengers can only wait for the modern aircraft to enter service and delight us with their reliable build quality and speed.

Watch a video about the Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft in the world.

The first passenger plane successfully took to the skies in 1913, with only 16 passengers on board. Modern airliners are much more spacious.

The largest passenger aircraft entered our current Top 8. Not all of them are widely used, but still each deserves attention.

8. IL-96-300

The liner can accommodate up to 300 passengers, who sit in rows of 9 seats. Only 9 such liners are used on passenger lines. Much more aircraft are involved in cargo transportation.

The maximum flight range of the passenger modification is 9,000 km.

7. Airbus A340-600

The four-engine airliner carries from 380 to 419 people over distances of up to 14,600 km. Commercial operation of the model began in 2002.

The cost of the liner is from $245 million to $255 million.

6. Boeing 777-300ER

The aircraft in this modification can accommodate from 305 to 550 passengers. The airliner can fly a record distance of 21,000 km without refueling.

The engines installed on the aircraft are the most powerful in civil aviation today.

5. Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Dreamliner can accommodate up to 330 people maximum, depending on the modification. The aircraft made its first commercial flight in 2011. The Wi-Fi option on board this aircraft has been widely advertised. The creation of Dreamliner multimedia presentations was supervised by the creative design studio of Elena Shutova.

To date, 183 aircraft have been produced, 22 of which are in Aeroflot’s fleet.

4. Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental

This double-deck passenger liner can accommodate up to 467 passengers. The maximum flight range of the aircraft is 15,000 km.

To date, 74 airliners of various modifications have been produced, including VIP. Among Russian airlines, the customer of the Boeing 747-8 is Transaero. The company intends to receive 5 such aircraft by 2016.

3. McDonnell Douglas DC-10

The plane can accommodate up to 380 passengers. In 2010, there were 168 McDonnell Douglas DC-10s in use worldwide. The liners were gradually taken out of service, and today they are used for cargo transportation and military purposes.

The reason for refusing to use the model for transporting passengers was the high accident rate. This is one of the world.

2. Hughes H-4 Hercules

This aircraft, designed in 1947, was intended to transport 750 soldiers. The airliner was developed under the leadership of tycoon Howard Hughes.

"Hercules" made one single flight, after which it was maintained in working order by Hughes until 1976.

Today, the largest aircraft in terms of wing span can be seen in the aviation museum in Oregon.

1. Airbus A380

The largest plane in the world made its first flight in 2005. A total of 139 Airbus A380 aircraft were produced, each of which costs $414 million. Only ten airlines, including Lufthansa, Emirates, and Air France, can afford such an airliner.

Initially, 2 modifications of the liners were developed - for 555 and 853 passenger seats. Airbus is currently actively developing a new model that will be able to carry up to 960 passengers.

The Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger twin-aisle four-engine aircraft, designed to transport more than 500 passengers over long and ultra-long distances.

History of the development of the Airbus A380 passenger aircraft

In the early 1990s, in order to knock Boeing off its pedestal, Airbus began developing the largest aircraft in its line. At first it was codenamed “megaliner”. This model was intended to combat the Jambojet (Boeing 747). During the design process, Airbus engineers moved away from the design with a hump in the forward part of the fuselage, similar to the 747 model, and relied on a completely double-deck design of the airliner.

At the end of December 2000, Airbus management agreed on the full launch of the program. The original code name A3XX was changed to the official name A380. In fairness, it must be said that at that time aircraft manufacturers already had 55 firm orders for this aircraft model. The A380 encoding was chosen because the fuselage, divided into two parts by the deck, resembles this figure. Well, the number 8 is considered lucky in some Asian countries, which is also important for the success of aircraft with Asian customers. To work on this aircraft, the concern's design bureau, located in Moscow, was involved. Some parts of the aircraft were also produced in Russia.

To reduce the weight of the aircraft, composite materials were actively used both in power elements and in secondary units, interior trim, etc.

Features of the largest airliner

According to the layout, the aircraft is a single-fuselage, double-deck low-wing aircraft with one fin (rudder). The engines are dual-circuit, turbofan.

The aircraft uses an improved “glass” cabin, i.e. the instruments were displayed on screens in front of the pilots, rather than being dials with arrows. Also, the plane, like all aircraft produced by Airbus, does not have a steering wheel. The side stick is used for control.

Aircraft production

Due to the gigantic size of the aircraft, production was dispersed across factories located in Spain, Great Britain, France and Germany. Parts were delivered mainly by land and surface transport for assembly in Toulouse. The aircraft is painted and retrofitted in Hamburg. Each side consumes 3,600 liters of paint.

The manufacturer encountered a problem with wiring. Each board requires 530 km of electrical wiring.

Due to numerous problems, the first delay of approximately 6 months was reported in June 2005. However, a year later, Airbus announced a new schedule delay. This resulted in the resignation of the company's top management. But on October 3, 2006, the new CEO of Airbus announced a third delay, scheduling the handover of the airline's first aircraft for October 2007.

Work on the Airbus A380-800 was carried out to the detriment of the development of the A380-800F (cargo aircraft, Freightener) - orders for the A380-800F were cancelled.

On February 14, 2019, the Airbus consortium released information about the end of production of A380 airliners from 2021 due to low demand and incorrect positioning of the aircraft. For example, the plane was planned as a large bus to transport as many passengers as possible, however, the airlines presented the plane as a Luxury class aircraft, that is, as a luxury aircraft.

Performance characteristics

Characteristics of the Airbus A380 aircraft:

Length, m – 72.7;
Wingspan, m – 79.8;
Height, m – 24.1;
Wing area, m2 – 845;
Weight:
- Max. take-off, kg – 560,000;
- Max. landing, kg – 386,000;
- Empty weight, kg – 276,800;
- Max. weight without fuel, kg – 361,000;
Fuel tank capacity, l – 310,000;
Passenger compartment:
- Number of seats (single-class option) – up to 853 people;
- Number of seats (three-class version) – from 400 to 600 people, depending on the layout of the cabins;
Cabin width, m – 5.9-6.6.

Flight data:

Flight range with max. load, km – 15,000;
Ceiling (max. flight altitude), m – 13,100;
Take-off run length, m – 2,050;
Run length, m – 2,900;
Engines:
- R-R Trent 970 – 4 x 31780 kgf;
- Alliance GP7270 – 4 x 31780 kgf;
Cruising speed – 0.85 M.

Interior layout and seating arrangement

First and business classes are often located at the front of the plane and on the upper deck. Economy class seats are located in the aft section and on the lower deck. All seats in the A380 cabins of any airline are equipped with multimedia screens and entertainment systems.

Business Class

Business class is characterized by comfortable seats. As Singapore Lines says on its website: sit down and imagine that this is your corner office. But this office is also very comfortable to sleep in. The seats in business class recline almost 180 degrees.

Economy class

Economy class is equipped with exactly the same multimedia system as business class. During the flight, airline customers are provided with headphones, blankets, earplugs and goggles to ensure maximum comfort whenever possible.

Advantages and disadvantages of the aircraft

The advantages of the aircraft are the high saturation of the board with composite materials, low fuel consumption per passenger during transportation.

Thanks to new materials and the use of laser welding of the body, it was possible to greatly lighten the aircraft. However, the board still remained heavy. During vehicle certification, there was a lot of friction between the regulator and the manufacturer. It was believed that due to the gravity of the aircraft, taxiways and aprons at airports could be damaged. With great difficulty, the consortium managed to convince the receiving committee that this was not so. As a result, the aircraft was allowed to operate at those airports that were already certified for the Boeing 747.

Aircraft safety

To date, not a single A380 aircraft has been lost permanently or caused loss of life. Despite several incidents with the aircraft's engines, which served as grounds for aborting the flight and making an emergency landing, the airliners landed without damage or loss of life. This confirms the quality and reliability of this modification of vehicles.

Main modifications of the Airbus A380

The main aircraft offered were the basic Airbus A380-800 models.

Airbus A380-800

Basic model. The length from the nose to the end of the tail is 73 meters.

Airbus A380-800F

Initially, orders for the cargo version were announced. The carrying capacity was planned at 150 tons. This would be second only to the An-225 Mriya aircraft, which exists in a single copy. However, production was delayed until issues regarding the main passenger version were resolved. As a result, the truck was never released.

Airbus A380-900

The A380-900 was not embodied in metal. It was planned at the development stage of the initial model under the symbol A3XX-200. If it were released, it would become the longest aircraft in the world - 80 m. With a flight radius of 14,200 km, it would accommodate up to 963 people in a monoclass.

Airbus A380-1000

This aircraft was planned to be even larger than the A380-900. They wanted to increase the capacity to a maximum of 1073 people. The project has not been implemented.

Airbus plus

A380 Plus is an improved model of the Airbus A380 with lower fuel consumption and cheaper materials. The project has not yet been implemented.

Airbus A380 operation

Airbus currently has 290 orders for the A380, of which 238 were delivered as of the end of June 2019. There are 14 operators in total: Air France, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, British Airways, Emirates and others.

Emirates operates the most aircraft of this type, with 111 delivered out of 123 ordered.

The first flight took place on October 25, 2007 from Singapore to Sydney. Passengers were served champagne throughout the flight. Everyone was given memorable souvenirs.

The A380 holds the third and fourth place among the longest passenger flights. These are flights Dubai-Auckland of Emirates Airlines and Sydney-Dallas of Qantas. The flight lengths are 14,202 and 13,804 km, respectively.

Some airlines include a bar in their first class cabin. You can treat yourself to a cocktail throughout the flight. The food on board for all classes is prepared by renowned chefs and is a work of art. In general, a flight on the A380 is not just an ordinary flight, but an exciting adventure that will be remembered for a long time.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them

"Boeing 747"

Giant A-380

Russia is proud of them

"That"

The Tu-204 can accommodate 214 passengers, and the cruising speed is slightly lower than its previous “brother” - 850 km/h.