The capacity of the A380 is such that in the face of a pilot shortage, restoring an A380 to operations makes sense when compared to having to staff two B777-300ERs. The prospects – or the lack of them - for the A380 were already self evident before the Covid Event. The Pandemic caused some operators to accelerate the retirement for the A380 while for others there was only to be a hiatus in operations. As the market has recovered operators have needed to restore capacity that much sooner than expected – although such a surge was inevitable. Returning “retired” A380s back to service has therefore been an option for some operators. Moreover, some operators have refurbished and reconfigured A380 interiors as a means of enticing passengers back to long haul travel. The move to reinstate the A380 is a consequence of the limited supply of new widebodies and the difficulty of both Airbus and Boeing in restoring rates to pre-Covid levels.
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