News   Jan 27, 2026
Pinnacle Lakeside Phase 1 Taking Shape in Toronto’s East Bayfront
 559     0 
News   Jan 27, 2026
13-Storey Resubmission Filed for Yonge Street Site Following OLT Settlement
 812     3 
News   Jan 27, 2026
News Roundup for January 27, 2026
 551     0 

When will the A380 superjumbo come to Toronto?

wyliepoon

wyliepoon

Senior Member
Member Bio
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
2,011
Reaction score
3
Singapore Airlines has introduced Airbus' A380 "superjumbo", and Air France will fly the A380 to Montreal next month.

So when will the A380 come to Toronto on a regular basis?

*****

Link to article

First Airbus A380 demonstration flight from Montreal to Paris - Air France gives 50 passengers the chance to be part of history

MONTREAL, Oct. 15 /CNW Telbec/ - The A380, the super jumbo airliner from
Airbus, makes its first ever appearance in Montreal this November. Air France
is marking the occasion by holding a contest that will give 50 people the
exceptional opportunity to fly aboard the aircraft.
The contest launches October 15. It is open to Canadians 18 and over.
Twenty-five winners will receive a pair of complimentary tickets for a flight
to Paris aboard an A380 in Airbus livery. The cabin will also be fitted by
Airbus. The passengers will return to Canada on a regularly scheduled Air
France flight.
The contest will be advertised in the major dailies The Globe and Mail,
La Presse and Le Soleil. The public will be invited to enter the contest via
the internet at www.airfrance.ca/a380 between October 15 and 22. A random draw
to determine the winners will be held October 23.
This special Airbus A380 flight to Paris leaves the evening of November
15 from Montréal-Trudeau for Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport. The passengers
will fly back to Montreal or Toronto, depending on where they live, on
November 19 aboard a regularly scheduled Air France flight.
Air France has ordered 12 A380s. It will become the first European air
carrier to operate the superjumbos when it introduces three A380s into
commercial service in Spring 2009.

Operating in Canada since 1950, Air France flies out of Montreal twice
daily and once daily out of Toronto for Paris.


*****

Video: the flight simulator version of the A380 in Toronto
 
The A380 needs approximately 11000 feet of runway, and Toronto has two such runways. But some widening of taxi lanes will be necessary so that it can taxi to a gate. Only minor modifications have to be made, though I don't know if such work has been done.
 
I read today that they can handle two simultaneously, but that there are no plans in the near future for the plane to come to T.O.! Also, an Air Canada marketing director mentioned that the plane was not worth the money and that AC would have to have some pretty high density routes, year round, before requiring such planes..

...nonetheless, doubtful..

p5
 
If I remember this correctly...

2 of the gates at the end end of Pier F were built to handle the A380, and at least 1 gate at Terminal 3 was modified this year to handle one too.

42
 
p5connex said:
I read today that they can handle two simultaneously, but that there are no plans in the near future for the plane to come to T.O.! Also, an Air Canada marketing director mentioned that the plane was not worth the money and that AC would have to have some pretty high density routes, year round, before requiring such planes..

...nonetheless, doubtful..

p5
Click to expand...

not come to toronto in the sense of no A380's calling PIA home or none coming to toronto period?
 
They're more than two years behind schedule. Let's give 'em a chance to build and deliver a few more.

I'm not sure if any U.S. airports are ready to handle this monster.
 
interchange42 said:
No airlines have announced an intention to fly A380s here.

42
Click to expand...

Emirates and Etihad have always stated that Toronto is going to inevitably be an A380 route.... Though it's surprising. We're going to be the last "major" Canadian airport with the A380 visiting (Montreal in a few weeks and Vancouver already).
 
interchange42 said:
No airlines have announced an intention to fly A380s here.

42
Click to expand...

damn!

some airlines from small nations have ordered all kinds. do they really have all that demand or is this a dick measuring contest?
 
Filip said:
Emirates and Etihad have always stated that Toronto is going to inevitably be an A380 route...
Click to expand...

Emirates is starting Toronto-Dubai service on Monday with Boeing 777-300ERs. I don't know whether they'll be flying their 358 or 427 passenger configured cabins, but either way it would be interesting to know what initial loads are, and how long they take to build to capacity. Emirates' 55 A380s will be configured for 489, 517 and 644 passengers. We would likely get the 489 long haul versions. Their A380s start delivery in mid-2008.

Etihad's thrice weekly round trips connecting Toronto to Abu Dhabi currently employ A340-600s which are configured for 286 passengers. Their A380s (of which they have only ordered 4 according to Wikipedia), will not be delivered before 2013, and I believe will be configured for 555 passengers.

Who knows how long it will take either airline to build the market enough to require A380s on the Toronto route.

42
 
Places like Dubai and Singapore aren't built by people who stick to traditional economic models. Emirates and Singapore airlines are extentions of a central branding marketing machine used to project positive characteristics about their city-states to the world. It really doesn't matter if it makes any sense to fly this new plane. That it is new and they are the first and the service will be good is all that matters. The fact that we and local media everywhere is and will talk about it when the planes land with the sparkling name of Singapore or Emirates painted on the side of the plane more than makes up for such incidental issues as plane loads.
 
There's also a chance that one of the BA flights might go A380 when they get them from 2012 onward, but the flights to India are likely to be first since they are quite limited in the number of flights per week they can operate there.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top