Cargo Professionals: Please Compare & Contrast B747 vs. A380

[FNG_that's me]

Has the A380 ever just blown up in flight?

 

[Whale Rider]

Although HNL will be equipped, it'll probably just be a divert alternate now.

I'd stay away from the reef runway.

I'm sure in the end the A380 and 747 will complement each other with their own niches. When you get a chance to fly the Big Bird let us know what its like? Just curios to find out if its like a 747 or C-5A. Good talking to you.

 

[TonyC]

Has the A380 ever just blown up in flight?

Nope. Never. Not a single time. (Of course, it has never flown yet, either.)

I'm sure in the end the A380 and 747 will complement each other with their own niches. When you get a chance to fly the Big Bird let us know what its like? Just curios to find out if its like a 747 or C-5A. Good talking to you.

I'm sure you're right. Both will do things the other cannot.

It'll be several years, if at all. Too many younger guys senior to me...

I've been told the avionics will be closer to the MD-11 than the 747-400. As far as handling goes, I couldn't even venture a guess. It should be interesting to see all three at Memphis during peak. The TANG has C-5s now, and we'll likely still be wet-leasing whales for seasonal freight, and there will be the Airbus dwarfing them both.

Likewise.

 

[hawkerjet]

When the 747 was in production in the mid sixties, how many airports could it land at without making modifications? Does anybody know? I would be curious to find out. Also the 747, L1011 and DC-10 were all unveiled within a couple of years of one another, what type of impact did these wide bodies have on gates and baggage. I realize that hub and spoke wasn't the norm then nor was deregulation, but there had to be some teathing pains. Anybody know more about this?? I see the A380 as a huge bonus for the pacific rim airlines that may not need to more than a dozen cities anyway. has anyone ever seen 4 and sometimes 5 quantas B 747 at LAX at the same time. i have. but on the same note, i can't see this behemoth aircraft have the same success as the 747. all boeing has to do is modify the 747 with better avionics and engines and capacity and we'll see a knock down fight between the two aircraft giants. my opinion...

 

[FreightNazi]

Since we are getting the 380 and supposedly have a deal sewn up for 25 747-400 SF's it will be interesting in seeing how they both work out. The 747-400s can obviously use existing K loaders and other GSE. The 380 on the other hand is going to require a totally new K loader to service the top deck cargo door. With the number of routes to China limited by governmental awards, and the volume out of China growing like crazy, the need exists to put the largest capacity aircraft you can on those routes, UPS is routinely leaving volume behind with the 747's.

According to what UPS is telling us, the A380F will have a max payload of around 330,000 lbs and a range of 5,600 nm. It has the payload equivalent of two MD-11s or a 767 plus a 747-100. It can carry twice the number of containers of an A300.