Final Airbus A380 Convoy Makes its way to Final Assembly
Final Airbus A380 Convoy Makes its way to Final Assembly

Final Airbus A380 Convoy Makes its way to Final Assembly

Aaron Hilsz-Lothian·
A380AirbusAirbus IndustrieAviation News

Sad images were produced on the 27th of February, when the final A380 component convoy made its way through the French village of Lévignac on its way to final assembly.

Following the route through the village since the mid-2000s, the final convoy marks the end of a seriously amazing aircraft program; regardless of the poor sales and early retirements.

Consisting of six trucks carrying three fuselage pieces, the tail and both wings, residents of the town looked on for the last time, as the convoy slowly made its way with inches to spare.

Aviation Toulouse (@frenchpainter) captured the historic moment and published the convoy moments on twitter:

Airbus and its subsidiaries manufacture and deliver components for the A380 program all over Europe and the UK, before it all meets up in Toulouse for final assembly.

The front fuselage is from France, whilst the rear fuselage is delivered from Germany. From the UK are the enormous wings and the tail is from both Spain and Germany.

Engine Alliance, a joint venture between Pratt and Whitney and General Electric, and Rolls-Royce are the only engine providers for the aircraft, meaning engines are solely supplied from the UK and the USA.

Due to the A380s monstrous size the major components such as its fuselage, wings and tail have had to be transported across a sophisticated network of roads, canals and sea called the Itinéraire à Grand Gabarit or ‘large-size itinerary’, which has its own website run by the French Environment Industry.

Final Airbus A380 Convoy Makes its way to Final Assembly
IGG

Specifically created for the A380, the Itinéraire à Grand Gabarit includes a fleet of specialist ships, barges and trucks for large loads; whilst smaller components for the A380 are carried by the A300-600ST Beluga.

The road trip, along existing and new roadways, lasts multiple days and nights and secure parking areas allow the convoy to stop for breaks and checks. Modifications to the road system include the increased height of transmission lines and guidance systems, in the form of markings and guidelines to prevent components and vehicles from colliding with foreign objects.

The canal and sea journeys see components, narrowly, sail under bridges and through rough seas; however, the the weather data and research conducted since the beginning of the program have allowed the company to ensure a safe delivery.

Although this is the final full-size convoy, Airbus has confirmed to The Points Guy that a smaller convoy will operate in April; this will just be carrying fuselage pieces for MSN272. Production lists indicate MSN272 will be destined for Emirates and will be the last A380 ever to be delivered. Airbus figures show that only nine more A380s are to be delivered. Eight of these aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to Emirates and one for ANA in April.

Production of the A380 will end in 2021. Airbus will then start converting the giant production halls into A321neo lines, for their upcoming A321XLR and other variants.

Airbus to Convert A380 Production Line to Build A321neos

Whilst to some the A380 might not be pretty or blatantly considered a failure, the aircraft has proven to be a passenger favourite and is still one of the quietest and most comfortable aircraft to fly on.

Airbus doesn’t have a similar product in mind to replace the A380 and will instead focus on the A350 Family and smaller aircraft, such as the A320neo Family and A220 to meet today and tomorrows aviation market.

How do you feel seeing the last A380 convoy?

Note that cover photo is from ANAs first A380 component delivery in 2018.

Aaron Hilsz-Lothian

Based in Sydney Australia, Aaron currently works as as a load control planner among the regional operation centre of a major airline. In addition to this, he has multiple years of experience in a frontline aviation environment including ramp, customer acceptance and freight. Writing casually for Sam Chui since 2018, he intends to use his experience in the industry to answer everyday questions that passengers often ponder and to shed light on the complex systems that make aviation so fascinating.

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8 Responses

  1. Mr Lambert, you are totally right and it’s a pleasure to read your comment which proves you know what you’re talking about, unlike those A380 haters. But personally I hate the A350, it’s also responsible for the death of the A380 and comparing the A380 to that low standard aircraft is like comparing a Bentley to an Opel Vauxhall ‘

    Reply

  3. I like the A380 best of all, perhaps because it’s my one-time flight (Emirates). Last year, when I heard that the world’s largest airliner was shut down in 2021, I felt very sad. When I was young, I had a wish that when I grew up, I would buy an A380 to realize my aviation dream. Like Sam Chui, I’d like to take the first-class seats of all airlines (all routes) around the world, but I’m still young, and I don’t have the ability to make money alone on all airliners

    Reply

  5. I’ve only flown on the 380 twice, both times AF premium economy. I was amazed at how quiet it is, in part because PE is on the upper deck, I think.
    But they are ugly to look at.

    Reply

  6. It’s the saddest news I’ve ever read! The end of this magnificent aircraft is a shame! And the conversion of its factory to produce low standard aircraft such as the A321 néo which can be built anywhere is an absolute stupidity and is a decision which only deserves contempt.

    Reply

    1. No offence but the A380 is the 2nd ugliest bird just behind the A300-600 Luggie (ST-Beluga) The A380 was doomed from the start the only chance Airbus has to survive is the new A321neo which is actually a practical airframe. Where the bone heads at Airbus screwed up is not looking at the declining number of sales for the Boeing 747 cause had they opened their eyes wide open they would of spent their welfare checks creating the 321 then instead of now! Like the song says you got to know when to hold em, then know when to fold em, then know when to walk away and know when to boogie, Clearly Airbus had their head up their a** to think if the 747 was going away, what justification did they have for creating a gas hog in a changing to fuel efficiency climate…Dem ding dongs!

    2. The A380 is not ugly at all, it’s a beautiful aircraft. There’s nothing like the sight of those magnificent huge wings. It is magestic when it flies, so slow looking and so quiet for it’s size, it was one of the finest examples of engineering there has even been.

      The landings are ridiculously smooth, you barely know you’ve touched down at all, much better than any other aircraft I’ve flown in and actually I think airlines like emirates will come to regret their decision. Airports like Heathrow, Paris, JFK etc have a limited number of slots and little capacity for growth, the only way to improve capacity is bigger aircraft.

      The difficulty is the A380 has a limited market because it needs to fly at least three quarters full to be efficient and it’s easier for airlines to respond to demand by sticking on extra flights rather than larger planes, whilst that’s still an option but we will get to maximum capacity at some point at a lot of hub airports.

      For passengers and crew alike, it’s an absolute dream of a plane to fly, so much more space and the possibilities that opens up.

      David Craig really doesn’t understand what he’s talking about. The A321 has suddenly become a lot more popular because of the new larger (NEO) engine technology which means that airlines can use the medium distance single isle airline for long haul. That’s never been possible before, certainly not when the A3XX program was conceived.

      Far from being “boneheads”, Airbus are now the biggest Aerospace manufacturers in the world. The A320 NEO series of aircraft has been so phenomenally successful for Airbus that it forces Boeing into the 737 Max program as even American Airlines were ordering the European competitors planes.

      It takes at least a decade to design a new aircraft, in that times things can change. Increasing fuel costs, the fallout after 9/11 and the global recession have all had an impact on the A380, it is the right aircraft at the wrong time but the A350 will take it’s place because it uses technology developed as part of the A380. There has not been a single fatal accident involving an A380. It seems to me that it is Boeing whom are the “boneheads” that need to learn from Airbus!

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