Design Management Group

Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 is the world's first twin-deck super-jumbo airliner, due to go into service in 2006. It will carry 555 passengers and will have an operating cost per seat 15-20 percent below that of the 747. Part of this is due to the increased capacity and part to new technology: reduced weight through the use of new composite materials, better aerodynamics and improved maintenance regimes.

Airbus was formed in 1970 as a consortium of aerospace companies from four countries: France, Germany, and later, Spain and UK, recognising that the European aerospace industry could only become competitive through collaboration. It formally became a company in 2001 when EADS (an earlier merger of Aerospatiale, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and Construcciones Aeronauticas) and BAe Systems pooled their Airbus-related assets.

Before this, each European country had its own aerospace industry serving national airlines. It was becoming clear that these could not compete in global markets with Boeing, Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas. Today, the rivalry is between Airbus and Boeing.

Airbus has 50000 employees at 16 manufacturing sites in four countries. Factories and suppliers are linked by a system called Airbus Concurrent Engineering (ACE) which provides a master database for manufacturing process information.

Product engineering has relied heavily on 3D CAD tools such as CATIA and Product Data Management (PDM) tool Windchill.

Further information

• Airbus website has an area devoted to the Airbus A380 (needs 1024x768 min) and Airbus history
• Airbus industrie, T.A. Heppenheimer, US Centennial of Flight Commission website (history of Airbus)
• Notes on the Boeing-Airbus rivalry, Jaime de Melo, October 25, 2000 (PDF)
• Reflecting true collaboration, John Dwyer, The Manufacturer, October 2004

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