GTAA welcomes A380 to Toronto

[hugh]

Press release today

TORONTO, March 16 /CNW/ - The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) is thrilled with today's announcement that Emirates Airlines will introduce their Airbus A380 on the Toronto-Dubai route, effective June 1, 2009.

Emirates launched three weekly flights between Toronto and Dubai in October of 2007. This move to offer service on the A380 adds capacity to the popular route, and marks the first scheduled A380 route in Canada.

...

Toronto Pearson is ready to handle the double-decker A380 as a result of the airport reconstruction undertaken by the GTAA. Runways, taxiways, aprons (aircraft parking area) and certain gates have been built to handle the A380, as an integrated part of the airport redevelopment. This forward-looking planning and design work is now paying off in the form of additional flight opportunities for passengers.

Emirates operates out of Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson.

[hugh]

from Wikipedia

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. The largest passenger airliner in the world, the A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France, and made its first commercial flight on 25 October 2007 from Singapore to Sydney with Singapore Airlines. The aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX during much of its development phase, but the nickname Superjumbo has since become associated with it.

The A380's upper deck extends along almost the entire length of the fuselage, and its width is equivalent to that of a widebody aircraft. This allows for a cabin with 50% more floor space than the next-largest airliner, the Boeing 747-400. and provides seating for 525 people in standard three-class configuration or up to 853 people in all economy class configurations. The A380 is offered in passenger and freighter versions.

The A380-800, the passenger model, is the largest passenger airliner in the world, but has a shorter fuselage than the Airbus A340-600, which is Airbus's next-biggest passenger aeroplane. The A380-800F, the freighter model, is offered as one of the largest freight aircraft, with a listed payload capacity exceeded only by the Antonov An-225.

The A380-800 has a design range of 15,200 km (8,200 nmi), sufficient to fly from Boston to Hong Kong for example, and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h or 560 mph at cruising altitude). It is the first commercial jet capable of using GTL-based fuel.

[Nanuuk]

Pretty big aircraft!

[jvincent]

I've been flying into Hong Kong on a fairly regular basis and I haven't seen one of these yet.

I keep looking but I must be at the wrong gates. I'm going to have to check out the Emirates gate next time I'm there.

[james99]

History was made at Toronto Pearson this afternoon when the largest passenger aircraft ever built – a double-decker Airbus A380, capable of carrying 486 passengers – arrived on its first flight to Canada from Dubai.

And the pilot who landed the Emirates Airline monster just before 4 o’clock is from just down the road in Burlington.

[Pinza]

Does anyone know when the A380 is due in again.?

I would love to get some pictures of this aircraft.

[57]

Check the Emirates Airlines from Dubai schedule to see when they're flying the 380. I put in Toronto as a destination and quickly found the following:

June 8 at 15:45 and June 16 at 18:35, but don't take my word for it.

[Pinza]

Cheers 57.