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Travel & Experiences

Airbus A380 jumbo jet returns to LAX

Airbus -- stairs
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Passengers on the demonstration flight use one of two stairways that connect the main and upper decks aboard the Airbus A380.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Airbus -- first class
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Qantas Airways

Steve Duchesne, a guest from a public relations firm, stretches out in the first-class seating on the main deck of the A380. About 150 guests took a demonstration flight of the aircraft out of Los Angeles International Airport.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Airbus - downtown L.A.
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A view of downtown Los Angeles from the Airbus during its demonstration flight. The aircraft flew up the California coast to Monterey and then returned to Los Angeles International Airport.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Airbus
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As the Airbus A380 approaches Los Angeles International Airport, it contrasts with a World War I-era Spad XIII plane parked at a restaurant’s private museum.  (Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images)
Airbus on Tarmac
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The Airbus A380 makes its second visit to Los Angeles International Airport.  (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Staircases -- Airbus A380 at LAX
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Qantas Airways

Staircases roll up to the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft. The A380 is eight stories tall, has a 261-foot wingspan and can carry 555 passengers.  (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Economy class -- Airbus A380 at LAX
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Qantas Airways

Each seat in economy class of this version of the A380 gets its own video monitor.  (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Business class -- Airbus A380 at LAX
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Qantas Airways

Robert Wrigley of Airbus demonstrates seats in the business class of this version of the A380.  (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Visitors -- Airbus A380 at LAX
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Visitors from Orville Wright Middle/Aerospace Magnet School in Westchester share their impressions of the A380.  (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
By Jennifer Oldham
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

The world’s largest passenger plane touched down this morning on the southernmost runway at LAX on its second visit to Los Angeles this year.

Aviation aficionados crowded streets near the airport to get a look at the eight-story high Airbus A380, which will remain based at Los Angeles International Airport until Friday morning. The jet, which arrived around 11:50 a.m., taxied to the Imperial Terminal, where it will remain this afternoon for private tours.

The massive plane is not yet available for commercial service in the United States. Airbus, which manufactured the behemoth, and Qantas Airlines, which plans to bring the first commercial A380 flight to LAX next year, will offer an invitation-only demonstration flight on the aircraft Thursday morning.

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Airbus and Qantas also plan to work with Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that operates LAX, to test a double-deck gate built specifically for the giant, as well as how to best fuel and service the craft when it’s on the ground. The aircraft, with room for more than 500 passengers, is scheduled to depart the airport at 8 a.m. on Friday on its way to Sydney, Australia. The best place to watch the departing aircraft is from Dockweiler Beach, officials said.

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