Airbus announced its intention to develop a high capacity aircraft at the Farnborough Airshow in 1990. It would take on Boeing dominance of the market, promising a 15% lower operating cost than the Boeing 747.
The project was originally known as the A3XX. After consideration of several options (including one based on two A340 fuselages combined), a two-deck aircraft was chosen and became known as the A380.
Airbus proposed a passenger version and a freighter version, the A380 and the A380F. The freighter version would have used the same fuselage, wings (with additional internal strengthening), and engines as the passenger version. Capacity would have been up to 150 tonnes, and it would offer a range of 10,400 kilometers.
This would have made it the largest commercial cargo plane on offer, apart from the one-off giant Antonov An-225 aircraft. For comparison, the new 747-8F carries 137.7 tonnes with a range of 7,630 nautical miles.
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Which Airlines Ordered The Cargo Airbus A380? - Simple Flying
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