Airbus A380 Airplane

Every time Qantas lands one of its giant Airbus A380s at LAX, parts of the nation's fourth-busiest airport come to a halt. Service roads, taxiways and runways must be closed to airfield trucks, cars and other commercial aircraft as the world's largest passenger plane -- with wings almost as long as a football field -- arrives, departs and taxis with an official escort of operations vehicles.

United Parcel Service Inc. ordered 27 Boeing Co. 767-300 freighters valued at as much as $3.89 billion to meet demand from increasing global trade. The purchase comes as Atlanta-based UPS remains in talks with European plane maker Airbus over its delayed order for 10 A380 jumbo freighters. The new Boeing planes aren't intended to replace the A380s and will instead fill shorter-range needs, UPS said. The 767s will be delivered from 2009 to 2012.

Los Angeles officials lashed out Wednesday at Airbus, saying the European airplane maker reneged on a promise to bring its new A380 jetliner to Los Angeles International Airport on its first U.S. test flight. Airport officials called on Airbus to reconsider a recent decision to have the A380 -- the world's largest passenger jet -- touch down in New York next month on its first U.S. visit.

The president of the city's Airport Commission sent a strongly worded letter to Airbus' chief executive Sunday asking him to reconsider a decision to send the company's new jumbo jet to New York next month on its inaugural U.S. test flight. Airbus promised the city's airport agency last year that if it expedited construction of a $9-million gate at Los Angeles International Airport to park the Airbus A380, the manufacturer would bring the jet to LAX first.

Responding to revelations that airlines are increasingly taking lucrative international flights to cities with newer facilities, Los Angeles officials on Monday announced they will build more parking spots for aircraft on the back of LAX's aging international terminal. Under pressure from airlines, who have threatened to take additional flights elsewhere, lawmakers agreed to resurrect the project, which would install 11 new gates on the west side of the facility.

Officials announced that airplane maker Airbus has changed its mind and will bring the first U.S. test flight of the world's largest plane to Los Angeles and New York on the same day this month. In a carefully negotiated deal, the company agreed to land the double-deck behemoth at Los Angeles International Airport around 9 a.m. March 19 -- at about the same time another aircraft will touch down at John F. Kennedy International Airport. "Being part of the A380's inaugural visit to the U.S.

Financially troubled European airplane manufacturer Airbus has stopped work on the freight version of its new A380 super-jumbo so that it can focus more on the troubled passenger version of the aircraft, its parent company said Thursday. "The work on the freight version of the A380 has just been temporarily cut off ... so that all capacities can be directed at the A380 passenger version," said Michael Hauger, spokesman for European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co.

As it lumbers in for a landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday morning, the world's largest passenger jet will make its West Coast debut in what could be the biggest spectacle at the facility in more than three decades. Officials expect thousands of onlookers to line airport fences to see the Airbus A380, an eight-story-high behemoth with a double-decked cabin and a wingspan nearly the length of a football field.

U.S. airports planning to accommodate the Airbus A380 expect restrictions for other aircraft operating near the super-jumbo jet that could increase ground delays for some flights, congressional researchers said Friday. The General Accountability Office study shows that policymakers, airport operators and airlines are unsure about the effect the European-made jetliner will have on operations at New York's John F. Kennedy International, Los Angeles International and 16 other airports.

Nearly a decade in the making -- and two years behind schedule -- the world's largest jetliner made its commercial debut Thursday, flying from Singapore to Sydney with more than 450 passengers aboard. Some of them wore T-shirts that read "I did it on the A380" or "I'm first to fly A380." For Boeing Co., it was the gauntlet. The flight of Airbus' Megaliner kicked off a new round in the multibillion-dollar contest between the rivals to be the one that sets the agenda for long-distance air travel.