The first passenger-carrying Chicago flight by the double-decker Airbus A380 — the world’s largest passenger airplane — landed here Tuesday. But it could be a while before the monster jet, which manufacturer Airbus has found a tougher-than-expected sell, starts making regular visits.
Dubai-based airline Emirates flew one of its 81 A380s to O’Hare International Airport to test out improvements designed to let the airport accommodate the 238-foot-long, 79-foot-high jet with a 261-foot wingspan.
Emirates isn’t yet committing to regular A380 flights in Chicago, said Rob Gurney, the airline’s senior vice president of the Americas. Now that O’Hare is equipped to handle the plane, the question is whether there are enough travelers to fill its seats.
“We’re going to watch it very closely, and it’s under evaluation. We don’t have a definite date but I’m sure we’ll see the aircraft here one day,” Gurney said.
Airbus says the A380 is capable of hauling 853 passengers, though Emirates only packs 489 aboard. Much of that extra space goes to onboard perks for those willing to pay up.
On the upper deck, 76 lie-flat business class seats and 14 first-class private suites are flanked by the onboard lounge and shower spa. Both groups of passengers have access to the lounge, where a bartender mixes drinks from the moment the plane hits cruising altitude to its descent. Only first-class fliers can use the two showers, but even a first-class fare won’t get you more than five minutes of shower water during each 30-minute session.
Between the meal service, lounge hors d’oeuvres and in-seat snack selections, food options abound. All passengers get some amenities, including the on-demand entertainment — though screen size varies — and kids get a free stuffed animal.
The A380 currently flies or has operated international routes out of eight U.S. airports. Emirates says it has regularly scheduled flights on A380s in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Although Chicago has had a runway big enough to accommodate the A380 since 2013, it never made the cut as a destination, in part because it lacked a gate that fit the two-level plane. Emirates uses the Boeing 777, which is smaller than the A380 but still has the range for long-haul international trips, on its O’Hare flights.
Though no airlines have yet committed to bringing A380s to Chicago on a regular basis, three or four have expressed interest in doing so, said City Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans.
O’Hare already has plans to add a second gate equipped for the larger plane as part of a recently-announced project to expand Terminal 5 and redevelop Terminal 2.
The upgrades will let O’Hare handle scheduled or emergency A380 flights diverted from another airport and keep O’Hare competitive, Evans said.
The city also is constructing a second 200-foot-wide runway, scheduled to open in 2020, that will accommodate the aircraft, said Gregg Cunningham, special projects coordinator.
Raymond Weaver, an engineer with Burns McDonnell, the company that handled the renovations to the gate where the Emirates A380 landed Tuesday, said the already-completed upgrades cost nearly $5 million.
Although the Boeing 747 is longer, the A380 is wider and has two decks spanning the length of the plane. Engineers had to shift one gate to give the wider A380 room to maneuver and build another with two jet bridges and fixed walkways, one for each deck. Construction started in mid-March and was done by July, Cunningham said.
Tuesday’s Chicago visit wasn’t the A380’s first. A Lufthansa-operated A380 touched down in 2007 while touring the U.S. and completing FAA-required technical procedures before starting U.S. passenger service.
Emirates, which has been operating daily flights from Chicago to Dubai since 2014, says it has the most A380s of any airline. Gurney called it a “customer magnet” and said Emirates has “overall seen very strong demand.”
Despite Emirates’ enthusiasm, Airbus hasn’t found the aircraft as easy to sell to airlines as it hoped.
At the Farnborough Airshow in England last week, Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier said the company would cut back on production of the A380 after getting fewer orders than expected. Although “convinced that this aircraft will find its way,” Bregier said some customers see the A380 as “a bit too big to be seen as an upside.”
According to Airbus, there are a total of 193 A380s operated by 13 airlines.
United Airlines recently announced plans to upgrade business-class seats and service on international flights while gradually eliminating first class. Chicago-based United executives acknowledged the new business class, called Polaris, lacks some of Emirates’ first-class creature comforts but said it would compare favorably to any other airline’s business class.
Mark Krolick, United’s managing director of marketing and product, said the airline didn’t see enough demand for first-class luxury at first-class prices. “We’re able to provide a truly amazing international travel experience with a business-class price tag, and that’s what the market is now demanding,” Krolick said.
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @laurenzumbach
