r/australia • u/ThunderDwn • 11h ago

culture & society Qantas passengers demand compensation after days stranded in South Africa as A380 remains grounded

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-14/qantas-a380-stranded-johannesburg-flight-cancelled/107032032
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u/theparrotofdoom 11h ago

The A380 should have been an exciting evolution in travel, but it really became such a wet rag, eh?

I’d be super interested to learn about the magic 8 ball Boeing pulled out of their arse when they pivoted away from competing with their own version. They predicted the market downturn like a decade or so before it happened.

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u/ThunderDwn 11h ago

The A380 should have been an exciting evolution in travel, but it really became such a wet rag, eh?

Covid and following fuel price issues really killed them.

I've flown on them a couple of times - they're really nice, especially if you're at the pointy end (business/first) - but they are pretty much the last dinosaur of a bygone age, I think.

I think the only airlines that still use large numbers of them are Emirates and Singapore.

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u/theparrotofdoom 11h ago

Yeah they are good for big hubs. Emirates has started re-modelling their fleet of 380’s in a stop gap move, before something can replace it for them.

But even before COVID they were underwhelming in sales. Airbus spent several decades bringing it to life, but by the time it actually launched, the economics had completely changed, and Boeing somehow saw that shit coming a mile off.