The Boeing 747-8i was the final passenger iteration of the famous 747 program, while the Airbus A380 is the largest passenger airplane to ever make it into service. The Boeing 747-8 entered service in 2011, with the last being delivered in 2023. The first A380 entered service in 2007, and the last was delivered in 2021. The production runs of both aircraft were disappointing, and it’s likely neither Airbus nor Boeing recouped the development costs of these massive aircraft.
This makes the two giants contemporaries that directly compete with each other. Which costs more to operate: the Boeing 747-8i or the Airbus A380 Superjumbo? Compared with other aircraft, these are only flying in low numbers, with around 29 Boeing 747-8is in commercial passenger service (some of which are parked) and around 186 Airbus A380s in active service, and some in storage.
Buyer’s Remorse
Photo: Arseniy Shemyakin Photo | Shutterstock
The Boeing 747-8i was the final passenger variant of the venerable Boeing 747 passenger jet. However, it proved unpopular as a passenger jet. Only 34 commercial passenger examples were sold, with over half of those being purchased by Lufthansa. Most of the Boeing 747-8s sold were freighters. Whereas the 747-8 was an update on what was fundamentally a 1960s aircraft, the Airbus A380 was a clean-sheet aircraft.
But the Airbus A380 only attracted 251 orders, all of which were passenger variants, as no freighter variant was ever produced. In the end, the Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A380 didn’t so much compete with each other as they did with the smaller next-generation twin-engined Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350. Airlines that purchased these aircraft soon came to regret it. Air France, Malaysia Airlines, and China Southern retired their A380s by 2022, while others like Lufthansa trimmed their fleets.
Qatar Airways even stated buying the A380 was the biggest mistake it made, although Emirates seems to be an outlier, enamored with them. Most 747-8is remain in service, except Korean Air, which has sold half of its passenger 747-8i fleet to contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation for the United States Air Force. Korean Air wants to retire its 747-8s, A380s, and older 777s, but it cannot, as widebody 787, 777X, and A380 replacements are delayed.
Difficulties In Comparing Costs
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis l Shutterstock
Comparing the costs of different aircraft types is incredibly complicated. Answers are influenced by factors like how densely the seating is configured on the aircraft, how long the routes are, the demand on those routes, the ratio of upper-class seats, airport taxes, and much more. For example, Delta Air Lines found it economical to operate a large fleet of Boeing 717s, partly because it already had expertise in operating the related MD-95.
The Airbus A380 benefits from being a much newer clean-sheet design compared with the Boeing 747-8. Updating aircraft is generally not as good as building a clean-sheet design. For example, the upcoming Boeing 777X is coming with a low percentage of lightweight composite materials compared with the A350 and 787. However, these aircraft also don’t come with the overbearing developmental costs of clean-sheet aircraft.
It cost around $25 billion for Airbus to develop the A380, and it was unable to recoup all these costs before the program was terminated. It’s unclear how much it costs to develop the 747-8, but estimates range from $4 billion to over $10 billion. These development costs need to be passed on to the airlines purchasing the aircraft.
The Airbus A380 Has A Lower-Per Seat Burn
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
On a per-aircraft basis, the 747-8 burns around 20-25% less fuel than the A380, but this is thanks to it being a smaller aircraft of the two, with a max seating of around 605 passengers compared with the Airbus’s 853 max capacity. When operating with high seating, the A380 can burn around 11% less fuel per seat compared with the 747-8. Although this can fall to as low as 5% more efficient per seat, depending on the seating configuration.
Leeham News reported Emirates (which has long loved the A380) as saying the A380 has 16% lower costs than the 747-8. At the time, Emirates was operating passenger A380s and freighter 747-400s. Meanwhile, Lufthansa, which operated both the A380 and 747-8i, stated the A380 burns “less fuel per 100 passenger kilometers, though the figure is 3% lower on a litre-per-passenger kilometer basis.”
All Is Not What It Seems
Photo: HarrisonKim1 | Shutterstock
According to the information above, the Airbus A380 is a more modern and efficient aircraft than the 747-8 with a lower per-seat fuel burn. All else being equal, that should mean airlines would first opt to divest of their less efficient 747-8is. But all is not equal, and that isn’t what happens. At least three airlines have fully divested of their fleets of A380s, and none have yet fully divested of their 747-8 fleets (although only three airlines ordered it).
Lufthansa and Korean Air purchased both the A380 and 747-8i. Lufthansa purchased 14 A380s and 19 Boeing 747-8is, with the A380s delivered between 2010 and 2015, while the Boeing 747-8is were delivered between 2012 and 2015. When crunch time came in 2020 with the pandemic, Lufthansa decided to shed six (almost half) of its still relatively new A380 fleet.
Boeing 747-8i (commercial passenger jets)
Airbus A380
Passenger variants sold (exc. business jets, less to special Air China aircraft)
34
251
Remaining in active service
29
189
Number scrapped
24
Principal operators
Lufthansa, Korean Air, Air China
Emirates, British Airways, Singapore, Lufthansa
However, Lufthansa did not, and has not, retired any of its Boeing 747-8i aircraft, and it still flies eight of its older 747-400s. The Boeing 747 and A380 are not direct equivalents, and they are built with different capabilities. But still, Lufthansa considered it better to retire A380s over 747-8s or even more 747-400s. Something similar was seen with Korean Air, although it had the option of selling, not just scrapping its 747-8is. This highlights how complex it is when comparing the operating costs of different aircraft. The answer may be different for each airline.
As the A380 is out of production, there is a shortage of spare parts, and so airlines need to cannibalize parts of their fleets to keep the rest of them running. By contrast, there is demand for the Boeing 747. The largest single demand for a retiring 747-8i is likely conversion to freighters. There are also special applications for the Boeing 747-8. As stated, Korean Air was able to sell five examples to the US Air Force’s SNC contractor.
Non-commercial passenger or freighter applications
Boeing 747-8i (special use)
A380 (special use)
VIP Aircraft
9 (foreign governments)
Business jet
1 (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman)
US Air Force
2 (VC-25B Air Force One)
US Air Force doomsday aircraft
5 (ex-Korean Air)
Chinese government
2 operated as VIP transports by Air China
The Qatari Boeing 747-8 ‘donated’ to the United States to be converted as Trump’s Air Force One is another example of the demand for the jet. It’s possible some could be converted as outsized transports, like some 747-400s were converted as Dreamlifters for Boeing. Put another way, an A380 that is too inefficient to operate as a passenger aircraft is likely a deadweight, whereas a 747-8 too expensive to operate as a passenger jet may be repurposed. In Air Force service, those ex-Korean Air 747-8s may continue flying into the 2050s or 2060s.
Safety In Numbers
Photo: Matheus Obst | Shutterstock
There is safety in numbers. This is partly why Emirates likes the Airbus A380, because it went all in on the program. It has half of the world’s Superjumbos. This means it has a large base of qualified pilots and maintainers, as well as a large fleet that can be gradually cannibalized for parts. Conversely, most airlines have very small fleets of A380s, making it more difficult to maintain the dedicated training pipeline and logistics needed to maintain those jets.
Over 1,500 Boeing 747s were delivered over the course of the program, and over 400 continue flying today. The aircraft is popular as a freighter, and that helps to logistically support the limited number of passenger variants still in operation. It also likely means there is a greater supply of spare parts for the aircraft.
The bottom line is the A380 is a newer aircraft and likely has a lower seat burn per seat, but the 747-8i is likely to outlive the A380 as a freighter and other special-purpose aircraft. Air France retired its A380s just four years after its 747-400s, while Lufthansa retired six A380s during the pandemic. On the other hand, the A380 has at least one loyal friend. Emirates recently pitched Airbus to put the A380 back into production as a modernized, re-engined Airbus A380neo.
Transatlantic Boeing 737 MAX flights from the US and Canada to Europe are growing. Given the relative newness of the model, it’d be odd if they weren’t. According to the latest Cirium Diio data, the MAX has an average of 24 daily transatlantic flights in September, up from 19 daily in the same month last year. Air Canada, Icelandair, United Airlines, and WestJet will operate them.
Schedule analysis reveals that the Boeing narrowbody will operate 3.3% of all transatlantic passenger services. One in every 30 takeoffs will be on this type. Perhaps more surprisingly, the MAX will only operate a fifth of all such single-aisle flights. The A321LR and A321XLR—including those operated by Aer Lingus—are collectively much ahead (1,558 departures; 46.1%).
The 10 Longest Transatlantic MAX Flights In September
The entries include multiple never-before-served routes. They include WestJet between Halifax and Barcelona, which is Spain’s second most populous city, a tourist hotspot, and an important cruise location. Timed at up to 7h 45m back to Canada, with flights having headwinds, it is the joint-third-longest service aboard the single-aisle equipment. It is also the longest passenger route operated by a Canadian carrier from Halifax.
Icelandair (daily MAX 8 until September 13; it coexists with the A321LR, which will then operate exclusively again)
7h 45m=
Barcelona back to Halifax
WestJet. A brand-new route, which started in June 2025 (four weekly MAX 8; the last Canada-bound flight of the season is on September 29)
7h 45m=
Keflavik to Vancouver
Icelandair (four weekly MAX 8)
7h 45m=
Dublin back to Toronto
WestJet (daily MAX 8, but two daily flights on September 1, which is a hangover from the peak summer)
7h 40m
Edinburgh back to Toronto
WestJet (daily MAX 8, but two daily flights on September 1, which is a hangover from the peak summer)
7h 35m
Funchal back to Newark
United. A brand-new route, which began in June 2025 (three weekly MAX 8; the last US-bound departure of the season being on September 24)
7h 21m
Amsterdam back to Halifax
WestJet. A new route for the airline, which started in May 2025 (six weekly MAX 8, but down to four weekly later in the month). More on this link later in the article
Air Canada. A brand-new route, which started in June 2025 (three weekly MAX 8; the last Canada-bound departure of the season is on September 6)
* Even if once. They will vary at other times
** They will vary at other times. Other equipment is excluded. Each route’s full MAX operation is mentioned, even if not all services have the maximum time
Keflavik To Orlando Is Number One
With a block time of up to 8h 00m, Keflavik to Orlando ranks first by this measure. However, if the great circle distance is considered instead, it is ‘only’ the third-longest airport pair, behind the company’s services to Seattle and Vancouver. However, there’s not much in it.
The year-round route to Orlando is now entirely on the MAX 8. The 757-200, which served it for many years, was last flown in August, with the A321LR down to operate next summer. Unlike earlier this year, when Icelandair’s flights remained in Orlando overnight to maximize European connectivity, things are different now.
In September, 160-seat MAX 8s leave Iceland at 16:45 and get to Florida at 20:45. Returning, they depart just 70 minutes later at 21:55, and arrive back at 09:15. This connects to a growing range of flights to European cities that leave Iceland after 10:00. However, this middle-of-the-morning departure bank from Keflavik to other European airports is a summer setup. As such, Icelandair is returning to its overnight stay in Florida later this year.
WestJet’s Amsterdam Service Relies On Its KLM Partnership
After a two-year absence, WestJet returned to Amsterdam in May. While it used the 787-9 Calgary between 2021 and 2023, things are extremely different now. This time, it operates from Halifax aboard the 174-seat MAX 8. The Nova Scotia link was flown by KLM and Martinair in the 1990s.
WestJet serves Amsterdam a surprisingly high six times weekly during most of the summer, falling to a low of four weekly at times. This high frequency is influenced by WestJet’s codeshare agreement with KLM (they codeshare to multiple places via Schiphol, especially in France, Portugal, and Italy), together with the Canadian carrier’s (limited) connections over Halifax.
GE Aerospace named two new propulsion systems that will be offered as a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) engine to power the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-proposed Next Generation Responsive Strike (NextRS) demonstrator aircraft. The newly designated GE81 High-Mach Gas Turbine…
Steve covers military aviation, missiles and space for the Aviation Week Network, based in Washington DC.
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On August 1st, a British Airways Airbus A380 flying from Johannesburg OR Tambo International in South Africa to London Heathrow was forced to return to its point of origin due to reports of smoke in the cabin. It was later revealed that the problem even affected the jet’s crew rest area.
The issue forced the double-decker quadjet to return to Johannesburg. Because it didn’t perform a fuel dump, the landing was fairly heavy.
Air Canada,
Star Alliance
