The reason is simple: all of the major US international airports don't have the type of severe landing slot restrictions that London Heathrow has. Indeed, the A380 was specifically designed to get around this restriction.

The A380 is known to require a 85% load factor to break even. And when you’re talking about 600+ seats, that’s a lot of butts needed to just pay the bills.

Did you just call Atlanta, the busiest airport in the world, a “smaller regional airport”

Atlanta is literally the busiest passenger airport on the planet. Not a "smaller regional airport".

"not to a hub but to smaller regional airports" continues showing more hubs, some of which are more busy than LAX or JFK

Although it is a technological marvel the A380 was not a success. They only built 242 and it was a loss financially for Airbus by their own admission.

"A380 saw great success" I stopped the video laughing out loud.

Don’t forget that Emirates is heavily subsidized so profit is not a concern.

The cost of 4 engines in a A380 vs the 2 engines of a Boeing 777 has been a major factor as well. This is also effecting the Boeing 747. Though the 747 is better set up for cargo operations.

I remember flying on the A380 about 3 years ago, it was honestly an amazing experience…

I love how KSFO and ORD got labeled as “Smaller regional” airports that can’t harbor the plane and yet airlines fly the A380 into both of them no problem lol

One major thing you missed is the US carriers did essentially have A380s via their intl JV partners. For Delta why buy a 380 when Air France will take care of it same for United and Star partners.

The A380 was just about 40 years to late to see US sales

0:33 :Nick:Never see big planes in the US Boeing 747 of united airlines:Am i a joke to you?

I flew Lufthansa business class once on an A-380 from Frankfurt to Delhi. Hands down it was the smoothest flight I have ever taken. An absolutely amazing plane.

I love flying out of LAX. There’s always A380s there from multiple airlines. Although during COVID, I’ve only seen China Southerns. Hoping the others will return. QANTAS has some parked by their hanger. Lufthansa is still flying the 747-8 in, which I love.

It was too big and expensive maintenance. U.S airlines prefer fuel saving twin engine and 787 solve that problem.

You pretty much got to the heart of the reason towards the end of the video: US-based airlines were already looking to divest themselves of their existing 747's, which were a proven, reliable aircraft, because more, smaller, aircraft were proving to be more economically viable for them than fewer larger ones. In that market, there's no way they were going to buy something even BIGGER than a 747, if even that aircraft was already too big.

"A380 saw great success worldwide" *checks notes* - didn't break even and soon no longer in production.

In Brazil, we just have one flight (EK 261, EK 262, Dubai/São Paulo - São Paulo / Dubai) and nothing more than this, however, that's a dream for many but just a few can afford it.

I saw plenty A380's last time I was at LAX. Impressive in size, it seems impossible for them to fly but they take off just fine! 😏 They still looks like overfed babies to me, though.

as a big plane nerd, i actually shed a tear to hear the 747 is on its way out, but its completely understandable why.

One thing that killed the 380 is not mentioned here. When the 380 was designed twin engine planes weren't allowed to fly more than two hours away from an airport in case an engine failed. This was changed for the 787/A350 because engine failure is now very rare. The 380 (and 747) lost its monopoly on these routes.

A380 just didn't came in at the right time. It's still a beautiful and gorgeous aircraft that will be in our hearts forever. ❤ Luckily we have people like Nick covering these kinds of topics! I hope you can keep up with the great work and continue making stunning content like this! Edit: Your voice is very soft and nice. One of the best men voice I had ever heard before 😃

For the same reason they stopped buying 747's. They got rid of the "hub and spoke" air routes.

The us airline I work for had many on order, and full preparations were underway for their use. The orders were cancelled when the 1 year production startup delay occurred. So if that hadn’t happened they would be in our fleet now.

I worked for McDonnell Douglas in "New Business" when the department generated the business case for a super jumbo. Extensive market analyses made it clear that our company wouldn't make enough return on the development costs of such a plane. At the time our two aisle plane was the MD-11, so we were aware that airlines were becoming reluctant to purchase even a three engine plane. It was a surprise when Airbus decided to go ahead with the A380. It seemed like a vanity project.

I felt that is Pan Am still exists, they gonna buy tones of A380s

Flown on them twice. Once with Emirates, once with British Airways. Beautiful massive aircraft and a shame more were not sold.

The a380 won't be around much longer. I'm glad it had its chance and got to see one.

The flight characteristics of the A380 machine are awesome! It's not a bit cumbersome, on the contrary, it flies like a small, handy machine. It can land in wind forces that blow other planes off the runway! The toughest and most ingenious Airbus ever built! You've forgot the A350 in your Video!

The A380 is an eye-catcher. I love watching em land and take off I also had my greatest flying experience flying Emirates A380 by far the most comfy flying experience ever

"great success worldwide"? Sales don't justify that claim.

American does have major hubs, including JFK/LGA, ORD, DFW, and LAX. But, airlines like BA, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, and Singapore all have one hub. LH has Frankfurt and Munich. U.S. carriers have multiple hubs for overseas service. AA has service to Europe from JFK, PHL, CLT, MIA, DFW, ORD, and LAX. It has Latin American service from MIA and DFW, with limited service from other hubs. Its Asian service flies out of DFW, ORD, and LAX. The Phoenix metro area keeps growing, meaning that AA will start to add more overseas service in the future. It's the same situation with United and Delta. United has EWR, IAD, ORD, IAH, DEN, SFO, and LAX. Delta has JFK, ATL, DTW, MSP, SLC, and LAX. Meanwhile, AA and DL are starting the fight over Seattle. Delta has been expanding, and AA and Alaska are expanding code sharing, while AA plans to add international routes. Except for a very few select routes, such as JFK or ORD to LHR for AA, ATL to LHR, CDG, or AMS for Delta, or ORD or EWR to FRA for United, the A380 would be way too many seats for any given flight. It doesn't make sense to buy only a few planes of any type, let alone a few super-jumbos.

Emirates has over 100 of these planes. Some airlines are retiring some or all of their planes. AirFrance and Thai retired theirs and I think Singapore airlines have retired a few.

I've never flown on an A380 and probably never will. I'm in Dallas, where (pre-Covid) AA had four daily 777 flights DFW-LHR, plus the one BA 777 flight. I'd much sooner have multiple departure options ... it's just more convenient. *** UPDATE Apr 8, 2022 *** AA's four daily DFW-LHR-DFW 777s are back and BA will be switching to an A380 for their LHR-DFW-LHR flights. (Heaven knows where all those passengers are coming from!)

That was a fantastic video! Keep up the good work Nick!

Why bother with a big aircraft like that when you have eight hubs?

I am happy that I had the experience to fly on the 747 and the 380. Fond memories of disappearing aircraft!

Interesting note about that Fedex 727 you see landing and being taxied at 7:08. I believe it was the last Fedex 727, and it was being retired to its new home in Anchorage Alaska, on a small-plane airport named Merril Field. There was some buzz about it because there was a real question of whether or not the plane could land on that short runway. great video!

That's why they require at least an hour of boarding time before the flight unlike the regular 30 minutes.......but the best experience is while you're on board. Very stable once it's cruising.......and the seats are roomy and the food. Perfect for a long haul.

WHY? COSTS. cost to train maintenance, reconfigure hangars, beef up runways, etc. just not worth it. just too big. Boeing warned them,,,saying the 380 was just too big.(for NA market)

Interesting footage at 7:04. That was a FedEx 727 that was donated to the University of Alaska aircraft maintenance program in Anchorage. The footage was of the jet landing at Merrill Field, a small regional airport in downtown Anchorage, Alaska normally used by light single engine aircraft.

It’s also that Boeing 787 and the A350 wipe the floor with the A380 in efficiency. So the three major US carriers chose those instead of the a380.

Great aircraft the A380 is, but definitely expensive to operate esp. at these depressing times!

You forgot Southwest's livery on A380. If any US carriers can fill an A380, it'd be Southwest with a transcon service at $49 per person.

If only the A380 came out in the 70s

A real shame, I flew British Airways A380 from London Heathrow to SFO and it was a wonderful experience.

2:37 One quick correction. There were no A380s used on the JFK-LHR route. BA uses Terminal 7 at JFK which can't accomodate the A380. I don't think there were any A380s used on EWR-LHR either.

In their determination to build a bigger better jumbo jet they didn’t think carefully enough about the demand for such a large and expensive aircraft. It’s a beautiful aircraft though

I've flew on A380 and 787. I gotta admit the A380 is much better for a long distance haul and very comfortable.

i live in miami and a british airways a380 comes everyday i think its cool and i’m glad i get to see this beautiful plane

The key reasons why the 380 failed in the longhaul market(i.e. the shortest production run of all civil widebody families in history except the L1011 Tristar and MD11) are the same reasons why the 321XLR is becoming increasingly successful in that market segment today - the decades long market trend/phenomenon known as 'fragmentation' started since the advent of ETOPS in the mid 80s. Key points: 1) 380 superficially seems to be a solution to severely slot restricted hub airports like LHR. However, since a high% of those pax on a typical 380 flight still need to connect to/from other flights at the hubs, more slots will still be needed for those increased connecting flights. 2) Famous wisdom/quote by AA CEO from decades ago: Airlines never lose $ because their airplanes are too small. But they often do when their airplanes are too big.

The A380 was not exactly a success. It's expensive, difficult to fill on the more point to point travel that exists in the US, can't land at a majority of US airports. Half of all A380s went to Emirates and it did not meet it's sales targets and don't have much use secondhand as freighters where the B747 was originally designed as a frieghter and can easily convrrt.

As a passenger, I don't miss these huge aircraft at all. Embarking and disembarking is not fun. From an aircraft lover's POV I enjoy all the huge aircraft.

This channel should deserve more subscribers. You the man.

No US airline bought the A380, but every aviation channel has done a YT video on why not 🙄

Boeing looked into a 380 sized a/c years ago and decided it didn’t make economic sense.

Sweetie this sounds like a love letter/sales pitch lmao good video tho love you’re content

I dont remember the timestamp but whenever he said "the a380 was never used in a domestic market" can we take a moment to continue to realize the 747 is the far better version simply because boeing made a short version for a high capacity route Japan Air Lines needed

The A380 was a beautiful aircraft, but she was a day late and a dollar short. In my opinion the 747 is still the more successful aircraft of the two. Not only in production and life expectancy but the historical importance of the 747.

Covid-19 be like yup! you won’t need them for a fee time

I had the option of flying from Washington Dulles to Auckland New Zealand, either via the pacific or via the atlantic ocean. Over pacific the choice was US carriers who invariably made a stop at Houston or Los Angeles from Washington Dulles I chose Emirates even though it added 8 extra hours ; both legs each way ( IAD- DXB-AKL) was on a A380 Tickets were more expensive but I got to enjoy a better more comfortable plane and service.

Not ordering that behemoth was a stroke of genius

To the best of my knowledge, no North American passenger airline went even for the domestic Boeing 747-8 model, let alone the foreign A380. Perhaps too bad from sentimental standpoint, but one cannot argue with economic realities.

I always wondered why they couldn’t turn off 2 engines while in flight. I’m sure there is a logical engineering answer just curios.

I really enjoy your watching your great videos. I am an retired UAL Fleetservice employee and have worked at one time or another on most of the aircraft you cover starting with the 707s to the 787 Deramliners and most in between. Never the A380s. UAL never had them as you know hahaha. As a Fleetservice or Rampservice worker. I saw the huge engines that were on the 777s and later on the 787s. I was always curious as to why, if they could manufacture an engine as large as the 777s and 787s for these two wonderful sky-birds both to use 2 engines. Why didn't some engineer come up with the Idea to manufacture a large enough engine to use two of them on the 747 and an American made jumbo to rival the A380? Think this concept of mine over, and hopefully you can do a video for Jumbo engines on monster aircraft. Thanks my friend have a wonderful day and Fly Safe.........

Well a great success is a bit of an overstatement xD

The A380 is really underrated.

It’s a considered process but still for higher costs imposible

An American airline operating a A380 is more cursed than a Ryanair operating a Concorde

Same reason why I don’t get an 18 wheeler to deliver my pizza 🍕

One of the things I hate about the super large planes is the time it takes to embark and disembark...The other thing is there's so many people on board that it sounds like Grand Central Station...Noise canceling headphones or earplugs are required.

As resources grew more scarce, the giants of the past simply couldn't sustain their bulk in competition with smaller, more nimble creatures. But, eventually, an ice age will roll around and the giants will rise again.

Why is the background music of this so calming

Nice video 👍 brother Iam from London

Well, I've never had so much flying as on Southwest . The flight attendance personnel actually seem to enjoy their jobs. Also, kudos to American Airlines for the same reason. From DFW I can go wherever I want (as long as the money holds out)

They can grab the two ones Thai is selling for preety cheap and use them between JFK and LHR

Nice video ✈️

Many airports in the USA would be equiped pretty well for the A380 because they are already equiped for the 747. Detroit for example has two gates with two jetways for 747 at different levels now used for the A350.

Imagine if in the future there will be twin engined 747 due to future innovations

Greta shame as even in economy it’s comfier than the 777 when comparing both from the same carrier. I will be sad to see it go and be replaced by hordes of single isle jets p2p.....I actually appreciate the hub, being able to get off and stretch my legs after 8-9 hours in the air...

I miss seeing the Qantas at D16 daily at DFW. Now it is a Speedbird Super.

This channel is so amazing, you need so much more credit than what you get. Sad video 😂. God Bless & Merry Christmas!

A few years ago I saw Ann article with a rumor that United could get it to replace there 747s and increase capacity from 777 on some routes. Some of the 747 routes were sfo-nrt sfo-hnl sfo-hkg sfo-lhr sfo-fra sfo-pvg sfo-pek sfo-sin ewr-lhr ewr-nrt ewr-fra ewr-hkg ord-lhr ord-nrt. Instead United chose the 777-300er and 787 wich is a good choice.

It showed up way too late to the market. Although it's an amazing machine, it will go down as one of the biggest flops in history

Excellent video with great amount of information !

I hope Airbus makes a bigger plane, like a much longer frame and triple decks with 6 engines. Would be really cool to see. And even better if it can hold up to 1000 seats

Not related to the a380.. But it's funny how airline companies are running at a cheaper cut by flying two engine planes, cutting on services like food and luggage but yet prices still keep going up 🙄

The A380 was already obsolete when it came out

I got rickrolled in an ad in this video, way to start io the vid.

In my opinion, I believe they are avoiding giant jets after learning from the fall of TWA and Pan Am

You must have dropped this around midnight! My first video for the day - hail Nick!

The A380 had to get airlines to make a multi-year investment in new big planes. Considering the pandemic, it was really fortunate they didn't. More to the point, the inventory of 747's, from almost new to archaic, really kept the demand down...

I don’t know anything about this stuff, but I find it interesting. I’m also doing some math in my head. Let’s take the NY to LA route, for example. Probably the busiest U.S. domestic route, right? Just guessing, of course. I don’t know what the matrix is to calculate this. The calculations below don’t even include airline costs besides the flying cost per hour, which makes my argument even stronger against jumbo jets, the 380 in particular. 1) NY to LA is around 5 hours. Which means one plane can do 3 one-ways a day, right? 15 hours of flight time times $22,000 an hour equals $330,000. To offer 3 flights a day from either coast (morning, afternoon, night), you need two planes. So that daily fly cost is now $660,000 for two planes. 2) At max capacity of 600, and 6 flights, that’s 3,600 passengers. But that’s with a mostly economy configuration, right? Let’s assume that, which brings us to an expense cost per passenger of around $185, one way. So $370 round trip expense right off the bat, which means the airline would have to charge what? $550? Assuming it could ever hope to fill every single seat in the best case scenario So it doesn’t make sense on ANY level, for a passenger to pay top dollar, to fly economy, crammed in with 599 other people. 3) Now, we know the upper class seats offset costs of economy seats, but let’s put that aside for now. 4) Let’s assume you configure these same two planes to ALL business and/or first class. What does our max capacity go to? I’m guessing ONE THIRD of all economy’s 600, which means 200 passengers. We are now looking at an approximate one way per passenger cost of $555...$1,110 round trip. What does the airline have to charge now for a round trip to make it profitable? Probably $2,000 at the low end, considering the added expensive of first class amenities. Not an outrageous price at all although this is at the low end, but can the airline do this EITHER? Fill every flight, even if it’s only 200 passengers, especially considering 200 UPSELL passengers? 5) And who expected COVID!? Bye bye air travel, even a lot of business travel, because of telecommuting. Not to mention... 6) Stratosphere Air Travel! (Is that what you call it?) It’s 2021, and the prospects of being blasted into “space” at 1pm in NYC and landing at 2:30pm in London is no longer some crazy dream. This could easily be a reality within 10 years, and the economies of “flying” will drastically change, and the jet engine could go the way of the Dodo.

Been binge watching these for hours now haha

“Most of these flights are not to other major hubs but small regional centres” casually shows Atlanta and Denver

Mr. found and explained:” the a380 is airbuses biggest plane Airbus beluga: am I a joke to u

I always wondered why I only see single level passenger aircraft at the airports I end up at (only in the US). Makes sense!

I think they look wonderful in each fleet