HOW IT'S MADE - How is An Airbus Jetliner Built?

An Airbus jetliner is the product of highly-efficient cooperation across the company’s global supply and manufacturing chains, as well as its decades of innovation for the air transport sector.

The sections below detail how Airbus’ modern and efficient aircraft are built – covering the design and production of individual components, all the way to flight testing and delivery to customers.

DESIGN OFFICES AND ENGINEERING CENTRES

A WORLDWIDE NETWORK

In line with its philosophy of global cooperation, Airbus relies on a network of regional facilities for design and engineering activities across the company’s full family of modern aircraft. This high-tech work is divided across design offices and engineering centres located throughout Europe and North America, along with additional sites in India and China.

The design office at Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, France gathers such top-level competencies as architecture integration, general design, structural design and computation, integration tests and systems, and propulsion.

LEVERAGING EUROPEAN INDUSTRY

Design, engineering and support duties for wings, fuel systems and landing gear are performed at Airbus’ facility in Filton, UK.

Five additional Airbus design offices and engineering centres are located throughout Europe, with sites operating in Spain, the UK, Russia and Germany – the latter of which includes two facilities in Hamburg and Bremen.

Airbus’ Filton, UK location focuses on design, engineering and support for Airbus wings, fuel systems and landing gear integration, with additional teams working on systems, structures and aerodynamics projects. In Spain, the company’s Getafe facility handles composites design, development and manufacture, as well as the design and manufacturing of tooling.

The Engineering Centre Airbus Russia (ECAR) is a joint venture facility with the Russian industrial group Kaskol. ECAR design teams support Airbus engineers in Hamburg and Toulouse, focusing primarily on fuselage structure, stress and systems installation, as well as the design of cabin interiors and freight compartments. This centre employs some 200 engineers who have completed over 30 large-scale projects for the A320, the A330/A340 and the A380 programs, and will play a leading role in the single-aisle freighter conversion project and A350 XWB programme. 

A NORTH AMERICAN PRESENCE

The Airbus Americas Engineering facility in Mobile, Alabama was officially opened in February 2007.

Airbus’ first North American design and engineering facility was opened in Wichita, Kansas during 2002. Beginning with an initial staff of 40 people, this location – which is involved in wing design for the A380 and other long-range Airbus aircraft – employed more than 300 highly-skilled engineers as of October 2011, with additional growth anticipated during the following years. 

In 2010, the location was expanded with a second engineering centre to focus on wing work for Airbus aircraft, as well as to house a team of in-service repair engineers specializing in critical support for customers around the world.

Southeast of Wichita in the U.S. is the Airbus Americas Engineering facility in Mobile, Alabama, which is responsible for various interior elements of the next-generation widebody A350 XWB jetliner – including design and engineering work for its cabin, crew rest areas, lavatories and galleys. 

DELIVERING ON COMMITMENTS

As part of its pledge to support the development of India’s aviation sector, Airbus in 2007 opened its Bangalore engineering centre, which cooperates closely with the company’s other engineering sites around the world, as well as with the country’s growing aerospace industry.

As a 100 per cent Airbus-owned subsidiary, the Airbus Engineering Centre India Pvt. Ltd. (AECI) focuses on the development of advanced capabilities in the areas of modelling and simulation, covering such areas as flight management systems, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), as well as digital simulation and visualization. 

The Bangalore facility’s cooperation with other Airbus sites include the development of a simulated A380 flight management system that allows system engineers to provide mature specifications for suppliers of flight management systems, which are key elements in such modern jetliners as Airbus’ 21st century flagship.

A STRONG RELATIONSHIP

Inauguration of the Airbus (Beijing) Engineering Centre (ABEC) in 2005 marked a new phase in the decades-long industrial partnership between China and Airbus, with the goal of making China a full risk-sharing partner of up to a 5 per cent airframe work share on a new-generation Airbus aircraft. This strategy has since been applied to the A350 XWB. 

The Beijing-based facility is a joint venture between Airbus and China’s two largest aviation companies – China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVICI) and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVICII), and its core activities centre on specific design packages for new aircraft programmes.

PRODUCTION

ENHANCING PRODUCTION

Airbus has implemented a new production organisation in managing the steep and steady ramp-up of industrial activities to meet continued strong demand, while also achieving higher performance levels across the company’s series and development programmes. 

This new organisation – which became effective in January 2013 – aims to accomplish the goals through further integration, full cross-functional alignment and even more teamwork in Airbus’ production activities. 

On a structural level, the organisation empowers Airbus plants responsible for delivering aircraft components to the individual Airbus final assembly lines, and provides the necessary resources and leverage. In addition, more support will be given to engineering and the supply chain for dealing with day-to-day challenges.

HOW IT WORKS

Primary changes to the production organisation are focussed on the empowerment of Airbus’ production sites – co-locating key contributing functions like engineering, procurement and quality, and putting them under the operational leadership of a plant head. This ensures a further integration into operations to secure deliveries. 

The production activities previously performed by Airbus’ Centres of Excellence are now under responsibility and management of the individual plants, which interact directly with the Central Programme Organisations. The larger Airbus production organisation has accountability for final assembly line commitments.  

Also, a new Operational Excellence Centre of Competence was created to define and deploy Airbus’ industrial strategy and ensure “best-in-class” industrial standards for Airbus and the extended enterprise. This evolution supports Airbus’ long term “Vision 2020,” particularly in regard to integration efforts.

AIRBUS PRODUCTION SITES: GERMANY

The vertical tail planes for all Airbus aircraft are produced at the company’s Stade, Germany facility.

Airbus’ Hamburg site manages structural assembly and outfitting of fuselage sections, as well as final assembly for A320 Family aircraft. This plant also is home to Airbus' A380 major component assembly hall – which houses the structural assembly, equipping of the forward and complete rear fuselage sections, along with cabin furnishing, painting and delivery to customers in Europe and the Middle East. In addition, the Hamburg plant manufactures and equips the rear fuselage sections for Airbus’ A330 and A350 XWB programmes.

The company’s Bremen site is responsible for design and manufacturing of high-lift systems for all Airbus aircraft’s wings. Wings for the A330 and A350 XWB are delivered to Bremen from Airbus’ plant in Broughton, UK, and are fully equipped with all relevant systems. For the next-generation A400M military airlift, Bremen develops and manufactures the integrated fuselage assembly, including cargo loading system. 

The vertical tail planes of all Airbus aircraft are produced at Stade. The site also makes other carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) components – such as flaps for single-aisle A320 Family aircraft, and spoilers for the A330. Pressure bulkheads for the A330 and A380 are part of Stade's production responsibilities. For the A350 XWB, this site produces the upper wing shell, along with the A350 XWB vertical tail plane and CFRP fuselage shells.

All the electronic communications and cabin management systems needed by both crew and passengers are designed and produced at the Buxtehude site in Germany. They include the cabin intercommunication data system (CIDS) used to control cabin functions, and the passenger service units for passenger seating system controls.

AIRBUS PRODUCTION SITES: FRANCE

Engine pylons for Airbus’ full product line of jetliners are designed and manufactured at the St. Eloi site in Toulouse.

Toulouse’s responsibilities include engineering (general design, systems and integration tests, definition of the structure and more), structure testing and a materials processes development centre, systems organisation, A400M design and development, flight tests, the Beluga hangar and one of Airbus’ three delivery centres. It also hosts final assembly lines for the A320, A350 XWB and A330 – including the cabin furnishing and painting – as well as the A380’s final assembly and preparation for flight.

Toulouse Saint-Eloi is responsible for delivering equipped and tested pylons to the final assembly lines. Its primary activities include the design of pylon and propulsion systems, integration and manufacturing of pylon and nacelle components including hard metal transformation, pylon sub-assembly and pylon integration for all Airbus aircraft. 

The Saint-Nazaire plant specialises in structural assembly, equipping and testing of front and central fuselage sections for the entire Airbus family. It receives sub-assemblies to be fitted for the forward fuselage for the A320 Family, the forward and central fuselage for the A330 and A380 families, and the nose fuselage for the A400M and A350 XWB. Saint-Nazaire is also in charge of equipping and testing these sections before delivering them to Airbus final assembly lines. 

Nantes specialises in the manufacturing and assembly of the centre wing boxes for all Airbus aircraft, and is a leader in the manufacture of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic structural parts, such as the A350 XWB keel beam. Nantes also is responsible for manufacturing the radomes for the entire Airbus family, the ailerons for the A330 and A380 families and air inlets for the A350 XWB, A380 families and A320neo.

AIRBUS PRODUCTION SITES: UK

Located in North Wales, Airbus’ Broughton site assembles wings for the entire family of aircraft commercial aircraft, producing over 1,000 wings per year. Its activities include wing skin milling, stringer manufacture, full wing equipping and wing box assembly.

Filton is the other UK-based site for Airbus, with its engineering and research & technology groups responsible for wing design, landing gear and fuel systems design and testing; manufacturing of components and the assembly of the A400M wings.

AIRBUS PRODUCTION SITES: SPAIN

Airbus’ Puerto Real facility specialises in the automated assembly of movable surfaces.

Getafe, located in central Spain, specialises in aeronautical component engineering, design, production and assembly. The plant is the delivery centre for final assembly lines in Toulouse and Hamburg for all the programs with the exception of the A380 – a role it shares with the Puerto Real plant in Cádiz. Getafe uses metallic material and advanced composite materials to manufacture fuselage for all Airbus aircraft and specialises in the final assembly, systems testing and testing of all horizontal tail planes, for all Airbus aircraft; rear fuselage and tail cone of the A380 and rear fuselage of the A350 XWB. Getafe is also responsible for the A380’s main landing gear doors.

Airbus’ Illescas site is a leader in the manufacture of composite aeronautical components, mainly large-scale or complex shaped parts as the A350 XWB’s wing lower cover. The components manufactured in Illescas for Airbus models are: the stabilisers, rudders and spars including for the A400M, sections of rear fuselage and landing gear components for the A380, sections of the rear fuselage and internal skin of the wing for the Airbus A350 XWB and wing skins for the Eurofigter model.

Located in the south of Spain, Puerto Real specialises in automated assembly of movable surfaces (rudders and spars) for all Airbus jetliner programmes. It also is responsible for final equipment and delivery to the final assembly line of large, complex structural components – such as the horizontal tail plane and belly fairing of the A380 fuselage and produce the horizontal tail plane boxes of the A350 XWB.

TRANSPORT OF MAJOR AIRCRAFT SECTIONS

AIRBUS’ OWN AIRLIFTER FLEET

Airbus’ fleet of A300-600ST Super Transporters provides the rapid transport for major sections of its single-aisle and widebody aircraft.

Airbus has developed its own transportation system to airlift the large, pre-assembled sections of its jetliners from their production locations to final assembly lines in Toulouse and Hamburg.  This service is performed by a fleet of five A300-600ST Super Transporters. 

These modified A300-600s, nicknamed the ‘Beluga’, have a bulbous main-deck cargo cabin which enables the loading of complete fuselage sections and wings of single-aisle, long-range  and future A350 XWB aircraft.

Operated by Airbus Transport International, the Super Transporter is able to carry a 47 metric tonne (103,616 lb.) payload over a range of 900 nautical miles (1,667 km.). 

FOCUS: A380 MULTIMODE TRANSPORT

The A380’s size means its fuselage and wing sections are shipped via a surface transportation network that includes specially-commissioned roll-on roll-off ships to carry these sections from production sites in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom to the French city of Bordeaux. From there, sections are transported by barge along the Garonne River to the Toulouse final assembly line.

As for other Airbus aircraft programmes, production of the A380 takes place in different sites across Europe. Each site produces completely equipped sections, which are transported to final assembly .

Most A380 sections are transported to Toulouse by sea, river and road. A number of smaller components, such as the vertical fin produced in Stade or the nose section produced in Meaulte, France, are carried in Airbus’ Beluga fleet.

SHIPPING AIRCRAFT SECTIONS

A specially-designed Airbus river barge carries an A380 fuselage and aft section through Bordeaux, France, on their way to the final assembly line in Toulouse.

All large A380 sections are transported by truck from inland production sites to the nearest river or sea port. 

Wings, for example, travel by barge along the River Dee from Broughton in North Wales to the Dee estuary, where they are loaded onto a large capacity roll-on roll-off vessel. The craft is used to move aircraft sections by sea to the French port of Pauillac, near Bordeaux. 

Here, the components are transferred to specially designed barges, which carry them on the penultimate part of their 95 km voyage up the Garonne river from Pauillac to Langon. Four river journeys are required to transport fuselage sections and the horizontal tail plane of one aircraft.

In Langon, aircraft sections are transferred to outsized-load trucks to complete their journey to Toulouse by road.

Watch the A380 components travel by road, river and sea to Toulouse from a number of production locations across Europe.

FINAL ASSEMBLY AND TESTS

A BIT OF HISTORY

The milestone A300 jetliner was produced at Airbus’ Toulouse, France final assembly line

Airbus’ initial final assembly line was established in Toulouse for the A300/A310. In addition to hosting the company’s headquarters, the southern French city was home to a readily available, skilled aerospace workforce.  Production flexibility designed into the final assembly line from its inception enabled Airbus to build on the success of the A300 version by using the same assembly jigs and tooling to build the shorter-fuselage, longer-range A310. It enabled slots on the same assembly line to be assigned to either the A300 or A310, depending on market demand. 

This built-in flexibility became the foundation for Airbus’ approach of developing families of aircraft that incorporate significant commonality and can be built on a common assembly line.

BUILDING ON SUCCESS: A320 ASSEMBLY GOES GLOBAL

A320 Family jetliners are produced at three Airbus final assembly lines: Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany and Tianjin, China.

Toulouse also became home to Airbus’ initial assembly line for the A320 Family, which subsequently was supplemented by capacity at Hamburg, Germany to meet high output demand for Airbus’ best-selling aircraft. 

Another final assembly line opened in 2008 at Tianjin, China – the first such facility for Airbus to be located outside of Europe, providing a production site within one of the world’s key future air travel markets.  

Market proximity was an important element as well in Airbus’ decision to create an A320 Family final assembly line in the United States – to be located in Mobile, Alabama, with first deliveries planned in 2016.

A320 Family production across the final assembly lines is assigned as follows:  Toulouse builds A320s; Hamburg has responsibility for the A318, A319, A320 and A321; Tianjin assembles A319s and A320s; and the new U.S. facility will produce A319s, A320s and A321s.

All of the final assembly lines are organised in a similar manner by stations, each performing a specific task in the aircraft’s assembly and systems testing. A320 fuselages arrive at the line in two segments, which are joined to begin the aircraft build-up sequence.  The completed, joined fuselage is lifted into a position where the two wings are mated and engine pylons and landing gear fitted.

The A320 Family jetliners then move to a multi-purpose bay for system tests, and the aircraft is readied for cabin installation.  This clears the way for the final operations: engine installation, fuel and pressurization tests, painting, engine run-up and flight testing, followed by aircraft acceptance and delivery.

ASSEMBLING THE LONG-RANGE A330/A340

Airbus applied its experience with the A300/A310 and A320 to create a technically advanced, streamlined final assembly line for the A330/A340 long-range family of aircraft, located in a purpose-built facility in Toulouse. Only two final assembly jigs were needed to build up either the twin-engine A330 or the four-engine A340 – with sustained A330 assembly continuing after the A340’s production phase-out.

The A330/A340 FAL also is built around the ‘station’ principal.  At Station 40, the aircraft's outer wings are joined to the centre fuselage and wing. This activity is highly automated, using eight robots that are situated on either side of the fuselage and above/below the wing. At Station 35, the jetliner’s three fuselage sections are riveted together, along with installation of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, landing gear with wheels, and engine pylons. This process is assisted by four robots which move around the fuselage on orbital railways.

The aircraft are then transferred on their own wheels to a large area called Station 30, where four long-range jetliners can be accommodated simultaneously.  This is where systems are connected and tested, with ground mechanics conducting some 85 system validations.  The mechanics go from aircraft to aircraft in Station 30, rather than having the aircraft move to different positions. 

Next, completed A330s are moved outside the final assembly hanger for fuel and pressurization systems testing. The aircraft’s engines are then installed and its cabin is fitted before painting, engine run-up and flight testing, all of which precede aircraft acceptance and delivery.

A MAJOR INDUSTRIAL SITE FOR AIRBUS’ DOUBLE-DECK A380

Toulouse is the home as well for Airbus’ A380 FAL – a massive facility that provides 150,000 square metres of assembly area for the flagship double-deck jetliner. 

A MODERN FACILITY FOR THE A350 XWB NEXT-GENERATION JETLINER

Airbus’ newest final assembly line in Toulouse for the A350 XWB was officially unveiled with a ceremony in October 2012. Designed to have the lowest environmental footprint of any final assembly line ever built by Airbus, this 72,000-square-metre facility houses the initial stages of final assembly, involving the join-up of fuselage and wings. It also includes 19,000 square metres of annexes (offices, workshops, logistics areas).

A streamlined aircraft assembly process for the A350 XWB will allow teams to work in parallel, reducing the time from start of final assembly to aircraft delivery by 30 per cent. Additionally, this production centre was constructed near the existing A330 production facilities in order to provide resources optimisation. 

With a new lighting system, roof-mounted photovoltaic solar panels, translucent panels and glass arched roofs, the assembly facility is capable of producing the equivalent of more than 50 per cent of its own energy. 

FOCUS: HOW IS AN A380 ASSEMBLED?

The A380’s industrial process at final assembly in Toulouse follows a north-south axis. Aircraft sections arrive at the north of the Jean-Luc Lagardère plant from Langon by road.

Each aircraft arrives in six sections on six trucks:  front fuselage, central fuselage, aft fuselage, tailplane and both wings. The components are then unloaded by self-propelling vehicles and taken to the assembly line.

Click on the image to play the time lapse video that condenses the A380’s final assembly process into just minutes in this clip, which provides a unique look at how the world’s largest passenger airliner is built and painted.

A380 GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Airbus’ final assembly lines are organised by stations, with each performing a specific task in the aircraft’s production and systems testing

The A380 assembly process takes place on a single combined station (a section of the assembly line dedicated to performing a specific task) where all operations except for engine installation are carried out. Representing over one third of an aircraft’s value, engines are among the last components to be fitted to the A380 in order to reduce inventory cost.

When all sections have been positioned, a tool jig  - an enormous scaffold - surrounds the aircraft for the assembly process: junction of the three fuselage sections, the wings, the horizontal and vertical stabilisers, engine pylons, landing gear and electric racks.

The aircraft is entirely assembled at this first station, apart from the engines which will be installed at the second work station, known as Station 30. Once assembly is complete, the aircraft is towed outside of the hall and back into one of the three modular stations to undergo a series of general tests.

GENERAL TESTS FOR THE A380

A series of general tests are carried out at three identical ‘Station 30s’: electric and hydraulic systems; onboard computer; mobile parts; and landing gear. Fuel tanks are also tested for leaks; finally, the A380’s four engines are put in place. Airbus offers customers a choice of two engine types.

The aircraft is towed to the south of the Lagardère assembly hall for engine testing at the run-up facility. Then it performs its first test flight.

PAINTING AND CABIN FURNISHING

At the eco-efficient A380 paint shop in Hamburg, Germany, electrostatic guns keep paint mist to a minimum while exhaust air is cleaned and treated.

Cabin furnishing and painting takes place in Hamburg, and the completed A380 is delivered from one of Airbus’ two delivery centres: Hamburg (for European and Middle-East customers) or Toulouse (for Africa, Asia and the Americas).

Approximately 10 days – nine days of preparation and one day for the actual painting – are needed to paint the A380’s surface area of about 3,150 square metres. Five hundred kg. of paint are needed for an aircraft that is painted in white alone!

Paint pros

• The paint on an aircraft has a thickness of approximately 120 µm (120/1,000 mm) 
• To check paint colour, there are 4,200 fluorescent lights installed in each paint hall
• It takes about 30 people to paint an A380

The cabin of every Airbus jetliner is designed and fitted in line with exacting customer specifications. Cabin configuration varies from airline to airline, from the luxury of the Airbus Corporate Jet, or an all-business class layout on strategic routes, to all-economy seating for low-cost carriers.

Test programme and certification

Clearing an Airbus jetliner for takeoff through the entirety of its lifespan

TEST PROGRAMME AND CERTIFICATION

Before reaching series production, Airbus aircraft programmes undergo a complex, rigorous flight test and certification campaign. Once approved and certified, the aircraft is cleared for take-off for the entirety of its lifetime.

FOCUS ON A380: STRUCTURAL STATIC TESTS

The A380’s structural static tests on began in November 2004, in preparation for the first flight clearance.

The tests included: Flight Test Installation (FTI) calibration test, maximum wing bending at limit load, ailerons and spoilers functioning test during max wing bend, fuselage pressure test, and fatigue tests and flight cycles simulation.

Fatigue testing examines how the aircraft structure responds to stress over a long period of time and during different stages of its operations, such as taxiing on the runway, take-off, cruising and landing.

To re-create these conditions, a combination of loads is placed on the airframe and activated by 184 computer-operated hydraulic jacks. The A380’s fatigue testing lasted 26 months up and was conducted to 2.5 times the design service goal.

Testing accumulated a total of 47,500 flight cycles: 2.5 times the number of flights that an A380 would make in 25 years of operations. A 16-hour flight was simulated in just 11 minutes. The tests pushed the aircraft structure to its limits to identify any necessary design improvements.

Final test and preparation for flight is a phase that includes calibration of the gauges, cabin pressurisation testing, and testing of navigation systems.

A380 FLIGHT TEST CAMPAIGN

Airbus’ 21st century flagship A380 takes part in water ingestion tests for flooded runways

The A380’s first flight on 27 April 2005 marked the beginning of the aircraft’s flight test campaign. The campaign comprised up to 2,500 hours of test flights on a total of five development aircraft to achieve full certification by European and US airworthiness authorities with both engine types offered on the aircraft:
the Rolls Royce Trent 900 and The Engine Alliance’s GP7200. 

The flight test campaign was designed to assess the A380’s general handling qualities, operational performance, airfield noise emission and systems operation in normal mode, failure scenarios and extreme conditions.  For extreme weather trials, Airbus flew test aircraft from Northern Canada to the desert heat of the Gulf and hot and high altitudes of Ethiopia and Colombia. During the entire test phase, the A380 yielded excellent results and in many cases surpassed its design targets. 

Further certification flight testing was dedicated to water ingestion trials, low speed take-off tests, flutter and rejected take off and landing. In addition to the wake vortex trials  - air turbulence created behind the aircraft at take off - required for certification, Airbus performed and continues to perform an extensive series of tests and measurements in this area. These additional tests were designed to gather data in support of recommendations by the A380 Wake Vortex Steering Group made to the International Civil Aviation Organization with regards to safe wake vortex runway separation criteria for aircraft following an A380 in various flight conditions.

Airbus’ test A380 (MSN001, the first A380 built) is equipped with heavy instrumentation to test the flight envelope, handling qualities, systems and performances.

CERTIFICATION

Certification is a regulatory obligation. All aircraft, their engines and propellers are certifiable. The ‘Type Certificate’ is followed by the ‘Airworthiness Certificate’.
The certification process covers the complete development process of a new aircraft. It includes various phases:

Detailed design review, 

• Test review and participation in laboratory,
• Test review and participation in flight, 
• ...and is designed to take into account modifications in light of the results.
• Aircraft operators – especially launch companies - are closely involved in design definition, development and service introduction.

The competent authorities in each geographical jurisdiction control the certification process. Today, the two main aircraft certification systems are:

• For the United States, the FAR 25 regulations,
• For the European Union,  the JAR 25 regulations,

Each authority has the right to require specific conditions: an aircraft manufacturer must always plan in advance for aircraft certification by importing countries.

A380 CERTIFICATION

Cold weather trials were part of the test programme that validated the A380’s ability to operate in a full range of climatic conditions

The A380’s certification flight test programme was one of the most extensive in Airbus’ history. The campaign began with the aircraft’s first flight on 27 April 2005 and ended on 30 November the following year with the successful around-the-world technical route-proving trip, which took the aircraft over both poles, testing its performance under normal airline operations. To obtain its Type certification, the A380 needed 5,000 hours of test flights. 

Certification by the two major international governing bodies – the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – was granted upon successful completion of a stringent trial programme which pushed the airframe and aircraft systems well beyond design limits to ensure the A380 meets – or even exceeds – all airworthiness criteria. The A380 was the first aircraft to which 21st century certification standards were applied.

Five aircraft were involved in the intensive flight test programme, four of which have Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines and one is powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines. By certification, the test fleet had accumulated over 2,600 flight hours in 800 flights, with over 80 airline and certification pilots having flown the aircraft. During the campaign, the A380 was also welcomed at 38 airports around the world, proving its easy airport acceptance and compatibility.

The cabin also underwent a series of tests for certification, including the successful evacuation test, performed at Airbus’ Hamburg site on 26 March 2006. During what was the largest ever aircraft evacuation trial, 853 passengers and 20 crew members left the aircraft within 78 seconds - 12 seconds less than required, validating 853 as the maximum passenger seating capacity for the A380-800.

AND MORE...

In addition to flight test success, further highlights of the A380’s entry into service included airport compatibility trials, with a total of 38 airports visited around the globe demonstrating the aircraft’s ability to operate just like existing large aircraft.

Although not required for certification, but part of Airbus’ commitment to smooth entry into service, Airbus undertook a series of four Early Long Flights in September 2006 where over 2,000 Airbus employees took part to assess the cabin environment and systems in flight. 

These followed a 15-hour Virtual Long Flight conducted during May 2006 in Hamburg, where 474 Airbus employees tested cabin systems in simulated long-haul conditions.

DELIVERING TO THE CUSTOMER

AIRCRAFT DELIVERY

Airbus has modern delivery centres at its final assembly facilities in Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany, and Tianjin, China

Before taking delivery of an aircraft and signing the transfer of the title, the customer airline carries out a complete and detailed check. It is represented by a team of experts whose assignment is to check the conformity of the aircraft with the contractual specification. They are assisted in this by the Airbus Delivery team. 

The delivery phase is spread over four or five days on average, dependant on the aircraft programme. A standard delivery procedure takes place as follows:

• 1st day: ground checks : external surfaces, bays and cabin visual inspection, static aircraft system and cockpit checks, engine tests.
• 2nd day: acceptance flight : checks during flight of all aircraft systems (including cabin systems) and aircraft behaviour in the whole flight envelope.
• 3rd day: physical rework or provision of solutions for all technical and quality snags open in delivery.
• 4th day: completion of technical acceptance. Technical closure of the aircraft and all associated documents attesting the aircraft’s compliance to the type certificate and conformity to the technical specification allowing the issuance of the Certificate of Airworthiness.
• 5th day: transfer of the aircraft's title deeds to the customer airline: the aircraft changes owner. Preparation of the aircraft for the ferry flight to its home base. 

Each representative appointed by the customer airline has responsibility for a specific number of tasks. 

A typical team consists of around seven people (from engineering, quality, maintenance, flight operation, etc.) placed under the authority of a delivery team leader who centralises all the issues. 

Airbus also offers the customer airline a series of presentations about its aircraft throughout the production process, from major component assembly to painting and cabin furnishing, so that it can check that the terms of the contract have been met.

Source: http://www.airbus.com