Earlier this year British Airways signed a contract to replace their previously used Boeing 747 model with the A380 airbus jumbo-jets.
Airbus claims that the giant planes, with an upper deck six feet wider than the Boeing 747s they will replace, will each save the airline £100m in fuel costs over their lifetimes. The fuel bill for one long-haul flight runs into six figures and the A380 is said to be 16% more efficient. More significantly for those under the flightpath, the A380’s “noise footprint” on landing at Heathrow – the area greatly affected by noise disturbance – is claimed to be a quarter of that of a 747.
All BA’s A380s will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines built at Derby which means up to 40 per cent of the value near £300million cost of each super jumbo – or around £120million – is ‘British made’. Airbus said that over its lifetime of the A380 plane will contribute £15billion to the UK economy with the Rolls-Royce engines adding another £11billion.
Sources
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/04/british-airways-airbus-a380-heathrow