"Airbus' New Jumbo Airliner Unlikely to Land at Norfolk, Va., Airport"

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Airbus' New Jumbo Airliner Unlikely to Land at Norfolk, Va., Airport 
The Newport News (VA) Daily Press


Airbus' A380, the largest and most expensive airliner ever built, makes its
first test flight this spring and goes into regular service next year. But
chances are slim that the double-decked passenger plane will ever be
available for scheduled flights at local airports. 
 
"Zero," said Wayne Shank, deputy executive director of Norfolk International
Airport, when asked about the likelihood of Airbus' new airliner at local
airports. 

Airbus is betting that the global jump in air passenger traffic will fuel
the demand for bigger planes in the future. 

"That airplane is not designed for markets like Norfolk or Newport News,"
Shank said. 

Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport spokeswoman Sarah Sager
agreed. 

It's more likely that larger airports and hubs such as Hartsfield Jackson
Atlanta International Airport or John F. Kennedy Airport in New York would
prepare for the new airliner, said Shank. 

Nearly 5,000 people gathered at Airbus' headquarters in France this week to
get the first look at the double-decked plane, which will carry up to 800
passengers, more than double the capacity of rival Boeing's 747 plane. The
new airliner has a 262-foot wingspan nearly the length of a football field
and its tail is seven stories high. 

Airbus has 149 orders at $250 million each from a dozen airlines, including
Air France, Lufthansa and cargo carriers FedEx and UPS. No U.S passenger
carriers have signed up yet. 

Los Angeles International Airport is a potential destination for the
aircraft's first flight next year. 

As for local airports, Troy Bell, spokesman for Richmond International
Airport, called it "highly unlikely that we would see an aircraft with that
much seating capacity on a schedule basis out of RIC." 

Both Bell and Shank said that there's always the possibility that the
aircraft could be diverted locally in an emergency situation. 

But even that would be rare, Bell said.


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