A lot of excitement is in the air among the public and the airline industry all over the world regarding the new plane, Airbus A380. The excitement is understandable and justified as the plane is so big and large. It has a wingspan of 79.8 meters (261.8 ft); length is of 73 meters (239.5 ft) and a take-off weight whose maximum is more than 540,000 kg (1.2 million pounds). Besides, it also has a configuration of three classes which in all created the hype.
There is a lot of speculation as to whether it will revolutionize commercial aviation or turn out to be another “Spruce Goose.” We shall examine the above and also find out just how big it is and how many people it can carry? This is so, as this program of Airbus A380 production has already faced a number of costly delays despite undergoing test flights numbering three in September 2006 (one) and March 2007 (two). No wonder, many wonder whether this new plan shall ever finish and be out to be produced commercially.
The A380 lessens cabin noise production by 50% compared to a 747 and offers greater cabin air pressure (equal to measurement in altitude of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) versus 2,500 m (8,200 ft); and these features are designed to help reduce the fatiguing effects of travelling. The lower and upper decks are linked by a couple of stairways, front and back, broad enough to provide accommodation for two persons, side-by-side. In a configuration of 555 passenger seats, the Airbus A380 allows 33% more seating capacity as compared to a 747-400 in a normal three-class configuration through 50% more cabin space, as a result there is more space for every passenger. The official maximum carrying capacity of an A380 is 853 passengers in a configuration for an all-economy class. The dual full-stretched decks and broadened stairways offer multiple seat set up for the Airbus model A380. The declared configurations start from 450 persons (Qantas) to 644 persons (two-class configuration for Emirate Airline).
In comparison with a 747, an A380 has bigger window dimensions and overhead storage bins, plus added headroom of 60 cm. The much wider cabin results to allowing 48 cm-wide economy seats at a ten abreast arrangement on its main deck, at the same time a ten abreast seating on a 747 has a seat measurement of only 43.7 cm in terms of width.
Airbus’ first public promotion emphasized the unrivalled comfort and relaxing additional space provided by the A380’s newly designed cabin. Installations such as recreation areas, bars, beauty salons and duty-free stores have been anticipated. Virgin Atlantic Airways has a bar that serves upper class passengers on their 747 and A340 airplanes, and has declared plans to put in double beds, casinos, and sports gyms, on its customized A380s. In another case, Singapore Airlines provides twelve top-class suites on their A380, each having a full as well as a secondary seat, a desk, a full-sized bed, and a personal storage. Four of the suites have dividing walls that can be detached or sliders to create “double” suites with two beds convertible into one double bed if needed. Qantas Airways has revealed its product which shows a long, flat bed that converts to a seat, yet they do not have any privacy doors. Finally, Emirates Airline’s 14 first rate private suites are sharing entry to a couple of “shower spas”. Business and first class passengers are sharing access to a lounge that has two sofas, and a snack bar. There is also a special lounge offered only to first class fliers.

A main part of the incorporated Air Data Inertial Reference System (ADIRS) is the Air Data Inertial Reference Unit (ADIRU), which provides air data (specifically altitude and air speed) and information on inertial reference (particularly attitude and position) to the Electronic Flight Management System monitor along with other system devices on the airplane like the autopilot, engines, landing gear system controls, and flight control. The ADIRU serves as a common, fault tolerant basis of navigational information for the two pilots on board the aircraft.
This computer mechanism is commonly used on several military aircraft and civilian airliners beginning with the A320 of Airbus and 777 of Boeing.
The Qantas Dive Scare (2008)
Australian investigators have concluded that a flawed command from the on board computer system was the main reason behind the near fatal dive.

A computer error overrode the autopilot controls, causing one Qantas plane to freefall from mid-air over the western part Australia in October 2008, as authorities declared. The computer inputting air data or the ADIRU of the Airbus A330 sent faulty information into the flight control mechanism making the autopilot to fail.

Over 70 passengers on that Qantas flight from Singapore and Perth-bound suffered injuries when the Airbus, loaded with 303 people along with 10 crew members, suddenly lost altitude. Passengers were thrown in mid air inside the plane and the pilots were compelled to execute emergency landing procedures in the northern part of Western Australia.

The incidence of computer related problems with the Inertial Reference Systems on Airbus manufactured airplanes is not common, but this certainly was not the first time.

Considering that the flight systems are very complex and problems have only occurred a few times over the past 10 years, the continuous search for computer glitches in the sophisticated equipment is ongoing.
Airbus A380 Incompatible Software Problems (2006)
The Airbus concern of 2006 emphasized a problem most companies are bound to have with software -the results when a program does not talk to the other. In this case, the trouble resulted from two separate halves of a similar program, which is the CATIA software and is being utilized to design and builds one of the largest aircraft in the world, the Airbus A380. The software problem was an important European responsibility and, as Business Week would have it, the trouble occurred with communications of two parties in the company -French Dassault Aviation in Toulouse and a Hamburg manufacturing factory.
In other words, the German team utilized an older version of CATIA software and the French group, on the other hand, used the most recent version. Thus, when Airbus was trying to connect two parts of the aircraft, the wiring on one could not possibly match the other because they were of different software. The cables would not link without being altered.
The issue was in time fixed, although each manufacturing sites associated with it felt that fixing it would cost a lot, the project was back on the drawing board.