Taliesin
Final Assembly Line stage 1
In Thrust we trust
Posts: 228
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Post by Taliesin on May 31, 2014 12:23:27 GMT 1
I think there could be a market for A380 freighter conversions, though mainly from carriers like UPS and FedEx that need volume more than weight. The A380 has great economics when it comes to fuel burn per passenger or fuel burn per cabin area, but the economics of fuel burn per ton payload are not so great. This makes it not very suitable for a freighter, which is why the program ultimately failed in the end. The A380's only advantage was freight volume, which didnt generate enough traction in the market.
Second hand A380s converted to freighters would first and foremost need to be one thing: Cheap. But even that may not be enough, because it also needs additional equipment for top floor loading and such. The market outlook certainly isnt great.
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Post by Jkkw on May 31, 2014 14:14:34 GMT 1
Second hand A380s converted to freighters would first and foremost need to be one thing: Cheap. But even that may not be enough, because it also needs additional equipment for top floor loading and such. The market outlook certainly isnt great. Wasn't there a plan to convert A340s into cargo configurations (this wasn't a plan by Airbus but rather some other company) by using a lift to move cargo between the cargo deck and the main deck. This could work on the A380 (main deck to upper) although it would increase loading/unloading times.
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Taliesin
Final Assembly Line stage 1
In Thrust we trust
Posts: 228
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Post by Taliesin on May 31, 2014 21:10:32 GMT 1
It would also increase weight, decrease efficiency and may cost a loading position or two.
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Jun 1, 2014 12:44:54 GMT 1
Yet, any A380 freighter would use some kind of lifting device (whether left at the airport or carried). That's one reason I said the design would not be easy.
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Baroque
in service - 2 years
Posts: 3,991
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Post by Baroque on Jun 1, 2014 14:21:01 GMT 1
I presume trip costs are important here too. It's quite a big machine and you have to make sure you have enough cargo both inbound and outbound to pay for it. I think we're more likely to see A380s coming off lease continuing to fly on as passenger aircraft than being converted to freighters. But we'll see. Post-2020 will definitely see some new liveries on A380s.
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Post by peter on Jun 1, 2014 20:52:15 GMT 1
I think we're more likely to see A380s coming off lease continuing to fly on as passenger aircraft than being converted to freighters. I also remember an article (can't find it right now) that the upper deck floor needs to be replaced with a much heavier one, reducing capabilities as a freighter...
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mjoelnir
in service - 2 years
Posts: 4,089
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Post by mjoelnir on Jun 1, 2014 22:11:33 GMT 1
I think that there are a lot of rumours around the A380F.
It is well possible that that freighter will never come but that would be IMO more to the development of the freight market than the unsuitability of the A380 as a freighter.
The A380 would be superior to any other freighter in load and range, about 150t 5,600 NM. The B777F does 102 4,900 NM and the B747-8F does 134 t 4,400 NM. The A380 would be superior to any other freighter in volume of freight. The upper deck would not be needed to be reinforced, because it would only be needed for high volume freight, if there would be high weight low volume freight, the main deck and hold would have all the volume needed.
I think the A380 would be a large and efficient freighter, my question is rather does anybody need such a beast.
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