Modifications Cost $842 Million -- How Many Airports Can Do That?

What's it take to make one of the world's busiest airports ready for the world's biggest commercial passenger plane?

About $842 million. Just ask the folks who run Heathrow in London.

"The A380 will be an important aircraft for Heathrow," said the operator of London's Heathrow Airport, the BAA, says on its website. "Its extra capacity will make efficient use of our two busy runways and will make it attractive to airlines operating in busy airport environments such as Heathrow."

BAA officials say the Airbus A380, which will be officially unveiled to the world on Tuesday, will bring an additional 10 million passengers a year to Heathrow -- without the addition of one single flight. The first A380 is expected to grace the runways at Heathrow in the Spring of 2006.

"It is the biggest plane in the world, it means that the mile cost per seat comes down and therefore it just makes Virgin Atlantic that much more competitive," Virgin Atlantic chief Sir Richard Branson told BBC television.

So far, only two US carriers have ordered A380s -- FedEx and UPS. Still, anticipating more orders and international carriers' desires to fly the A380 into the US, several domestic airports are either contemplating accommodations for the behemoth or have already started building them.

At the fore is Miami International Airport, which is already improving four terminals to accommodate the A380. The improvements will allow for onloading and offloading passengers on two different levels.

"We have prestigious routes and this is an international hub airport," MIA Assistant Director for Operations Bruce Drum told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "Basically, we're ready today to accommodate it." Drum says MIA expects three foreign carriers -- Lufthansa, Air France and Virgin Atlantic, to begin flying A380s into his airport by 2008.

San Francisco's SFO and Los Angeles' LAX are also working on accommodating the super jumbo jet. But some airports have no such plans.

"With the wingspan on that thing, you'd have to build new taxiways for it," said Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport spokesman Jim Reynolds.

"We don't plan on making changes to accept the plane for the sake of being on standby, or an alternate airport," Palm Beach airport spokeswoman Lisa De La Rionda told the Sun-Sentinel.

Indeed, there are concerns among US airport operators that the A380 will simply be too much to handle.

"With a 555-passenger load, it's fairly obvious we're talking multiples of the usual security processes to get people on board, as well as with checkpoints, baggage screening and cargo," aviation security consultant David Forbes told the Fort Lauderdale paper.

One more thing that could hamper A380 sales in the US: Money. Each of the super jumbos costs about $405 million. With US airlines scrambling just to stay out of bankruptcy court and eliminate a huge surplus of seats, the market for A380s on this side of the world may be limited for some time to come.

"We're aware of this aircraft, but we're currently focused on our financial situation," Martha Pantin, spokeswoman for American Airlines, told the Sun-Sentinel.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.miami-airport.com