Copyright Simple Flying
With November now up and running, we are firmly in the IATA Winter Season, which kicked off at the end of last month. The change from summer to winter often sees airlines make schedule adjustments to reflect alterations in seasonal demand, with a key market on this front being long-haul travel to the United States. The Airbus A380, in particular, is an interesting angle. With this in mind, it is high time to take a closer look at the seven airlines that are flying the superjumbo to and from the US this November, and their top routes on this front. We will do so using data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, which shows that, in total, there are 1,134 A380 flights planned to and from the US this month, with 549,934 seats. A Predictable Winner As the world's largest operator of the Airbus A380, and the only carrier to truly make the jet work on a large scale, it is unsurprising to see that Emirates has the most US-bound flights with the type this November. There are 420 overall, with these spread across six routes. Five of these are served on a daily basis, and all of them originate at its main hub at Dubai International (DXB). Their destinations are Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK) via Milan (MXP), San Francisco (SFO), and Washington (IAD). Meanwhile, the sixth route is served twice-daily by Emirates' A380s, and sees the carrier fly non-stop to JFK without pausing in Milan. Last month, the carrier announced that it had topped JFK Airport's Fly Quiet Program rankings, explaining: "Emirates proactively utilizes Noise Preferential Runways whenever operationally viable, even when facing challenging conditions such as tailwinds, provided safety standards are maintained." European Operators The market from Europe to North America is among the world's most lucrative air corridors. As such, high-value routes between these two continents are ideal fits for flagship aircraft like the Airbus A380. These large quadjets also benefit from having more space for premium cabins. Two European airlines are flying the A380 to the US this month, with British Airways having the most flights, at 244. Miami (MIA) is BA's top destination from London (LHR) with the type, and is served twice daily for most of the month. Meanwhile, the carrier also has daily superjumbo flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco, while Washington will be served until November 7. A notable omission from Lufthansa's US-bound A380 roster this winter is Denver (DEN). However, the type's successful use on this route in the summer means that it will return next year. This month, Lufthansa has planned 52 round trips to the US with the A380 from its hub at Munich Airport (MUC), split between 30 (daily) to Los Angeles and 22 (five-weekly) to San Francisco. The Best Of The Rest The four other airlines flying their A380s to and from the US this month are all from the Asia-Pacific region. As pictured above, Japan's ANA has three superjumbos painted in special turtle liveries that it uses to fly between Tokyo (NRT) and Honolulu (NRT). These services will operate twice a day in November 2025, equating to 60 departures in each direction on this corridor. Qantas is also a key player when it comes to US-bound A380 operations, deploying the type on three routes to the nation this month. Two of these originate in Sydney (SYD), serving Los Angeles (28 rotations) and Dallas (17), while Melbourne (MEL) to LAX has nine rotations. Per aeroLOPA, Qantas' A380s have 14 first, 70 business, 60 premium economy, and 341 economy seats. The other two airlines flying A380s to the US this month are both from South Korea. Korean Air itself has just one route on this front, and flies its superjumbos from Seoul (ICN) to New York JFK on a daily basis. Meanwhile, fellow South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines uses the type to link its home country's capital city to Los Angeles, with 39 rotations equating to nine per week.
