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Super-size jet makes U.S. debut

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 20, 2007

NEW YORK - The largest passenger jets ever to hit the skies debuted in the United States on Monday when a pair of Airbus' double-decker A380s landed almost simultaneously on both coasts, part of a sales tour clouded by concerns that many airlines won't be able to afford them.

The eight-story-tall planes touched down at Los Angeles International and JFK Airport in New York.

As it taxied along the tarmac, the A380 dwarfed the other passenger jets, even making the heretofore king of jumbo jets, Boeing Co.'s 747, look small.

The first U.S. flights are a chance for plane builder Airbus and German airline Lufthansa AG to show off the jewel of Airbus' offerings to potential American buyers and to the airports they hope to turn into flight bases for the jet.

Airbus has yet to sell any of the planes to U.S. carriers. The A380 comes with a price tag of about $300-million, although that figure varies depending on the airline's order, said John Leahy, chief of operations for Airbus.

Leahy called the A380 the flagship jetliner for the 21st century, much like the Boeing 747 was in the last century. Airbus has about 160 global orders from 15 airlines for the new plane, which has already made tests flights in Europe and to Asia. The planes brought to the United States Monday have 555 passenger seats, but the plane can be configured to hold more than 800.

The U.S. flight marked one of the highest-profile maiden trans-Atlantic voyages since 1969, when the Concorde arrived at JFK from London. The European-made Concorde was retired from British and French service in 2005.

BY THE NUMBERS

The Airbus A380

239 Length in feet

262 Wingspan in feet

79 Height in feet

617.3 Weight at takeoff in tons

555 Number of passengers the plane holds in Lufthansa's configuration

8,000 Range in nautical miles

81,890 Fuel capacity in gallons

560 Top speed, in mph

8 U.S. airports that can currently accommodate the plane (Anchorage, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, John F. Kennedy, Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco).

[Last modified March 20, 2007, 02:17:04]