Mar 20, 2007 11:52 pm US/Central
World's Biggest Passenger Plane Lands At O'Hare
Airbus A380 Can Seat Up To 550 Passengers
CBS 2's Katie McCall and Alita Guillen and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Airbus A380 (File)
Thomas Lohnes/AFP/Getty Images
The world's biggest passenger plane made its Chicago debut today, making even an SUV on the tarmac look like an ant. CBS 2's Katie McCall was at O'Hare Airport for the picture-perfect landing.
The world's largest passenger plane touched down at O'Hare to the delight of industry insiders.
The Airbus A380 completed its maiden voyage to the United States on Monday, arriving at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, while another demonstration flight landed in Los Angeles.
From SUVs to fast food, consumers seem to like things large, and that's just what Airbus is counting on with its A380.
"As an airline you simply can't compete against this airplane so anyone who is flying these long, over-the-pole routes is going to have to, in one way or another, fly an airplane like the A380," said Allan McArtor, Chairman of Airbus North America.
The plane dwarfed other aircraft and made cars parked on the runway look like toys.
At 237 feet, it is the length of a 24-story building.
It takes nine tanker trucks full of jet fuel to get the aircraft going, putting the price tag for one tank of gas at $150,000.
Its wing span is wider than a football field, and it seats more than 500 people. That's one hundred more passengers than a 747.
It is also 30 percent quieter and burns 12 percent less fuel.
Test pilots say despite its size, flying the plane is a breeze, even into the Windy City.
"If anything, it is easier to maneuver than some of our smaller airplanes," said Frank Chapman, experimental test pilot.
"It was quiet that was the number one impression. When we turned onto the runway you expected to hear the four engines roaring to get something that big off the ground and it just never came," said Kevin Paige of Lufthansa Airlines.
Inside the plane features perks like bars, lounges, leather seating and personal television screens, promising coach, business and first class passengers a new level of luxury in the air.
"Even the lavatories, it sounds silly, but you go in their and there is more space," said A380 passenger Kara McSwain.
The big selling point for consumers is going to be comfort. Even with 519 seats on this aircraft there is still plenty of room to stretch your legs.
Airbus has had its fair share of turbulence over the A380. A two-year delay cost the company billions of dollars, but so far 116 of the planes have been ordered, 15 of them by Lufthansa. A U.S. company has yet to order the plane.
As CBS 2's Alita Guillen reports, O'Hare does not have a runway large enough to accommodate the plane on a regular basis, but there are plans to build one.
Controversy over the 10-center runway, now home to a cemetery could also be a problem for the A380, which is scheduled to begin landing here in 2009.
But the airport is promising that FAA waivers and modifications will make room for this gentle giant.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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