The Airbus A380 is manufactured by Airbus Industries. Development of the aircraft began in June 1994. The goal of development was to build an aircraft that could carry more passengers, be more fuel efficient and achieve greater performance than the rival aircraft on the market. The first Airbus A380 entered service in March 2006.
The Airbus A380 has a 261 foot wingspan, four Rolls-Royce engines (each producing 84,000 pounds of thrust) and two passenger decks that run the length of the fuselage. The aircraft in its normal three-category configuration seats 525 passengers.
The Airbus A380 has a cruising speed of Mach .85 with a max cruising speed of Mach .88. It has a range of 8,000 nautical miles and a service ceiling of 43,000 feet. The Airbus A380 only requires two crew members to operate it.
