Airbus jumbo's not big enough for some LINK

Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
January 21, 2005 EUROPEAN manufacturer Airbus is under pressure to make the world's biggest passenger aircraft even bigger.

Airlines including Emirates and Virgin Atlantic are already lobbying for a stretch version of the plane, which could carry more than 1000 people on shorter, heavily travelled routes.

"We've been talking to them about doing a stretch version, a longer version of the current plane that you saw today," Virgin Atlantic chairman Richard Branson said at this week's A380 unveiling.

"They're looking like they may well go for that. That would be another 200 seats so you could get about 1100 people in it."

Emirates plans to use the A380 in a three-class, 489-seat configuration on routes to Australia and New Zealand but it also will have a two-class configuration carrying 644 people.

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