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Airbus Industrie is laboring away on its new double-decker Airbus 380, the 555-passenger “Superjumbo” that some experts fear will finally bankrupt Boeing Aerospace. We have to give Airbus credit for risking everything to develop and manufacture the world’s first truly double-decker passenger jet, complete with on board showers, an office, a children's play area, a gym, a bar, shops, a smoking area, and a mini casino. Whoa, Nellie! Well, there’s no doubt that passengers (and pilots!) are ready for the A-380, but the question is: Are the world’s busiest airports ready?
 | | Humongous, Just Humongous |
Nope, at least not yet. The A-380 is so large that new terminals must be built to accommodate boarding bridges for both decks of the aircraft. Most airports will also need to strengthen pavement of selected runways and widen runway shoulders. About sixty (60) international airports, including fourteen U.S. airports, are making these preparations, and let’s hope that they’re ready in time! LAX, JFK, and O’Hare all need to get their act together, but so do the carriers that ordered these monsters in the first place, such as Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, and Virgin Atlantic. These guys need to finish designing their custom interiors before the A-380s roll off the assembly line, unless they want 800 passengers to a plane, all sitting in wooden crew seats in a single-class configuration.
And the A-380 won’t bankrupt Boeing. Luckily, all of big B's commercial aircraft already fit nicely into thousands of airport terminals.
 | | Virgin Gets a Big One |
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