Qantas superjumbo causes a super headache at airport

[Philip Argy]

Originally Posted by Montague S

LAX is, and has been, a dump for many years!

As a solicitor it's always fun to go through Tom Bradley Terminal where the perpetual recorded message is "Please do not give money to solicitors".

Of course they mean vagrants and beggars but it was alarming the very first time I heard it as a young solicitor on my first trip to USA in 1982.

[D Chan]

Controllers say it is only because of the slump in air traffic since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, that the airport can manage the A380.

not a credible statement - sept 11th happened 7-8 years ago. Has little or no bearing on an airport accomodating the a380. But then we all know how credible the media is!

[Rhys Xanthis]

I'd prefer for them to show some evidence that air traffic has dropped since sept 11...

[Mike W]

Just as a matter of interest. Where does an Airport get an ROI on money they spend to accomodate the 380? BTW, this is a genuine question.

[Shameel Kumar]

Originally Posted by Mike W

Just as a matter of interest. Where does an Airport get an ROI on money they spend to accomodate the 380? BTW, this is a genuine question.

I guess some of it would come from the landing fees, as well as increased revenue from airport tax for passengers as a result of increased passengers numbers that the A380 is supposed to bring.
Also, I'd imagine it's a long-term investment since the A380 isn't going anywhere for many many years (just like the 747), so it's less of an option and more of a neccessity to investment the money to facilitate A380 operations.

Any idea if airlines foot a portion of the bill to make an airport A380-compatible.. or would they only have to pay for airline-specific extras such as an all-glass aerobridge for EK First Class passengers (that's just my idea...but I'm suprised they haven't thought of it!) ??

[Mike W]

Originally Posted by Shameel Kumar

I'd imagine it's a long-term investment since the A380 isn't going anywhere for many many years (just like the 747), so it's less of an option and more of a neccessity to investment the money to facilitate A380 operations.

Pretty much what I was thinking. No wonder LAX is reluctant to get too carried away with the behemmoth. They would account for a miniscule percentage of their business, yet command huge costs to accomodate. Even if they're (380) not going away, they're not exactly going to be every second aircraft either with only a handful of airlines ever going to use them.