Description A380-800 (British Airways) Megamodels 1:250 Improved A380-800 In 2010 Airbus announced a new A380 build standard, incorporating a strengthened air frame structure and a 1.5° increase in wing twist. Airbus will also offer, as an option, an improved maximum take-off weight, thus providing a better payload/range performance. Maximum take-off weight is increased by 4 t (8,800 lb), to 573 t (1,263,000 lb) and the range is extended by 100 nautical miles (190 km); this is achieved by reducing flight loads, partly from optimising the fly-by-wire control laws. British Airways and Emirates are the first two customers to have received this new option in 2013. Emirates has asked for an update with new engines for the A380 to be competitive with the 777X around 2020, and Airbus is studying 11-abreast seating. In 2012 Airbus announced another increase in the A380’s maximum take-off weight to 575 t (1,268,000 lb), a 6 t hike on the initial A380 variant and 2 t higher than the increased-weight proposal of 2010. It will stretch the range by some 150 nautical miles (280 km), taking its capability to around 8,350 nautical miles (15,460 km) at current payloads. The higher-weight version was offered for introduction to service early in 2013.
