With the airline's first A380 having its RR Trents attached, it is getting closer to delivery.  This image was released yesterday. 

The A380 has already developed a very interesting following. BA's first airplane is MSN095 – surprising isn't it? There are a lot of them flying now. The A380 fleet carries about 1m people per month.  As we approach the first five years in service, the A380 program now seems to be humming along.  The hiccups are behind it and the Airbus factory has settled into a steady rhythm.

BA's decision to support the A380 makes sense when one considers the myopic policies by various UK governments regarding expanding both Heathrow and Gatwick.  Greater London is extremely constrained in terms of aviation.  Heathrow is the finest example Airbus can point to as an airport that justifies not just VLAs but the A380 in particular.  The airport has a lot of long haul thick routes.  The best way to serve such routes is using a VLA and the biggest VLA is the A380.

Airbus produced an interesting chart shown below.

Readers may recall the heated arguments when the A380 and 787 were launched. The clash of OEM visions was seen as a watershed.  Yet here we are and we see that both OEM visions have merit. The A380 clearly has become the flagship at airlines that operate it – they benefit from the A380 effect.  A380s now serve nine of the world's top ten airports.