World Traveler

Yesterday marked the transatlantic maiden voyage of the Airbus A380, the largest commercial passenger airplane in the world. The maiden voyage across the Atlantic is considered one of the most important airline flights since the Concorde. The Airbus A380 is a double decker jet plane. Airbus hopes that when Americans see how efficient the plane is, they will want to buy them in order to service transoceanic flights. MSNBC reports:

Lufthansa Flight 8940 is meant to be a statement by Airbus that it can accommodate vast numbers of travelers comfortably and efficiently.

“We’re talking about an airplane that is representing aviation in the 21st century in terms of efficiency,� said Jens Bischoff, Lufthansa’s vice president for the Americas.

The specs on the Airbus A380:

• Holds 550 passengers
• 239 feet long
• Wings the size of a football field
• Holds 81,890 gallons of fuel
• Flies 560 miles per hour
• Can go 8,000 nautical miles without refueling

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