Mobissimo

The Airbus A380, a double-decker passenger airplane that carries 555 passengers has been undergoing testing at various airports.  Because of it's immense size, airports need to be reconfigured to accomodate the A380.  However, major hubs like London Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Denver are spending the money to update existing facilities for the massive jet.

The A380 will stay at Heathrow for airport-compatibility tests before returning to Berlin early Friday. BAA Heathrow managing director Tony Douglas said BAA and Airbus staff also would conduct a series of tests, including crowd handling, during the aircraft's brief stay.

Heathrow operator BAA is spending some $850 million to upgrade the airport to accommodate the A380 and other anticipated ultra-large aircraft of the future. Other work has included runway resurfacing, upgrading runway lighting and the construction of new taxiways.

The Airbus is one solution to the future of air travel.  Huge planes will carry passengers to a hub and then smaller jets to the final destinations will fan out from the hub - the hub and spoke model.  Boeing is banking on the other model, point to point.  The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an extremely fuel efficient aircraft, able to fly long distances while consuming less fuel.  In addition, the interior of the 787 has been completely reconfigured, much larger windows, wider bodies, higher ceilings, a foyer.  While Boeing is banking on the p to p model, it has redone the 747 to compete with the A380.