Editing Airbus A380 (section)

===Frequency and capacity===
In 2013, [[Cathay Pacific]] and [[Singapore Airlines]] needed to balance frequency and capacity.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/asian-airlines-changing-presence-at-london-heathrow-pt-1-cathay-and-sia-increase-capacity-96950 |title= Asian Airlines' changing presence at London Heathrow |work= Center for Aviation |date= 13 February 2013}}</ref> [[China Southern]] struggled for two years to use its A380s from Beijing, and finally received Boeing 787s in its base in [[Guangzhou]], but where it cannot command a premium, unlike Beijing or Shanghai.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/china-southerns-a380-problems-may-not-be-solved-by-possible-air-china-partnership-103063 |title= China Southern's A380 problems may not be solved by possible Air China partnership |work= CAPA: Centre for Aviation |date= 2 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-02/china-southern-gets-first-dreamliner-after-failed-a380-strategy.html |author=Jasmine Wang |title=China Southern Gets First Dreamliner After Failed A380 Strategy |date=1 June 2013 |publisher=Bloomberg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602205556/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-02/china-southern-gets-first-dreamliner-after-failed-a380-strategy.html |archive-date=2 June 2013}}</ref> In 2013, [[Air France]] withdrew A380 services to Singapore and Montreal and switched to smaller aircraft.<ref>{{cite news |author= Kurt Hofman |url= http://atwonline.com/airframes/air-france-airbus-a380-not-good-fit-network |title= Air France: Airbus A380 not a good fit for network |work= Air Transport World |date= 30 September 2013 |url-access= subscription}}</ref>

In 2014, [[British Airways]] replaced three 777 flights between London and Los Angeles with two A380 per day.<ref>{{cite news |author= Ian Goold |url= http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/farnborough-air-show/2014-07-13/airbus-airlines-happy-a380 |title= Airbus, Airlines Happy With A380 |date= 13 July 2014 |work= Aviation International News |access-date= 20 July 2014 |archive-date= 29 November 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141129034118/http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/farnborough-air-show/2014-07-13/airbus-airlines-happy-a380 |url-status= dead}}</ref> Emirates' [[Tim Clark (airline executive)|Tim Clark]] saw a large potential for East Asian A380-users, and criticised Airbus' marketing efforts.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/new-breed-managers-needed-a380-success-tim-clark-believes |title= 'New Breed of Managers' Needed For A380 Success, Tim Clark Believes |author= Jens Flottau |work= [[Aviation Week & Space Technology]] |date= 17 November 2014}}</ref> As many business travellers prefer more choices offered by greater flight frequency achieved by flying any given route multiple times on smaller aircraft, rather than fewer flights on larger planes, United Airlines observed the A380 "just doesn't really work for us"<!--<ref name=reuters4jun2015/>--> with a much higher trip cost than the [[Boeing 787]].<ref name="reuters4jun2015">{{Cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/united-airlines-fleet-idUSL1N0YQ00Z20150604 |title= United Airlines does not see a fit for Airbus A380 |work= Reuters |date= 4 June 2015 |author= Jeffrey Dastin |access-date= 30 June 2017 |archive-date= 17 October 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151017020432/http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/04/united-airlines-fleet-idUSL1N0YQ00Z20150604 |url-status= live}}</ref>

At the A380 launch, most Europe-Asia and transpacific routes used [[Boeing 747-400]]s at fairly low frequencies but, since then, routes proliferated with [[open skies]], and most airlines downsized, offering higher frequencies and more routes.<!--<ref name=Flight19sep2017/>-->
The huge capacity offered by each flight eroded the yield: North America was viewed as 17% of the market but the A380 never materialised as a 747 replacement, with only 15 747s remaining in passenger service in November 2017 for transpacific routes, where time zones restrict potential frequency.<!--<ref name=Flight19sep2017/>--> Consolidation changed the networks, and US majors constrained capacity and emphasised daily frequencies for business traffic with midsize widebodies like the 787, to extract higher yields; the focus being on profits, with market share ceded to Asian carriers.<ref name="Flight19sep2017" />

The 747 was largely replaced on [[transatlantic flight]]s by the 767, and on the transpacific flights by the 777{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}; newer, smaller aircraft with similar [[Available seat miles|seat-mile]] costs have lower trip costs and allow more direct routes.<!--<ref name=Flight19sep2017/>-->
Cabin 'densification', to lower unit costs, could aggravate this overcapacity.<ref name="Flight19sep2017" />