At one point, there were no A380s flying!

有一段時間，天空中竟然連一架 A380 都沒有！

Moreover, operators such as Air France and Lufthansa retired their units.

更有甚者，像是法國航空和漢莎航空等的航空公司也在淘汰掉他們的 A380。

However, despite the mass groundings, the superjumbo is seeing a positive twist of fate.

然而，雖然大多仍停靠在地面上，這種超級客機的命運似乎還有轉圜的餘地....

The pandemic catalyzed retirements of the A380 due to long-haul travel being the most affected market segment in aviation.

在疫情大流行中，長途飛行是航空產業內最受影響的市場。

Nonetheless, with passenger activity picking up again largely thanks to vaccination efforts and easing border restrictions, airlines are beginning to take another look at their options with the A380.

然而由於近期疫苗接種的進展以及各國反緩對邊境開放的限制，旅客流量正在重新增長，而航空公司們便開始設想可以如何利用他們的 A380。

Let's look at the status of the aircraft with each of its operators.

讓我們來看看各個航空公司操作的狀況吧。

In mid-October ANA took on its third and final Airbus A380.

在十月中，全日空接收了該公司第三架，也是最後一架的空中巴士 A380。

The Japanese carrier deploys the type primarily between Tokyo Narita and Honolulu.

這個日本航空公司主要將該機型部署在東京成田機場與夏威夷檀香山之間的航線。

While restrictions were in place, it used its existing units on special tours around Japan.

儘管飛航仍有諸多限制，該公司用上了 A380 來進行環繞日本的特殊航程。

Over in Europe, British Airways is preparing short-haul A380 trips to Frankfurt and Madrid in November to get crews familiar with the plane again.

而在歐洲，英國航空則準備在十一月將 A380 用在從英國到法蘭克福與馬德里的短程航線，好讓機組員能再次熟悉該機型。

The airline is bringing back four of its 12 units next month.

該航空公司將在下個月從其總共 12 架的機隊中重新啟用 4 架。

Going back to Asia, China Southern presently has four of its five units in the skies.

回到亞洲，中國南方航空目前運用了總共五架中的四架飛機。

These jets have been flying from Guangzhou to the likes of Melbourne, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam in recent weeks.

這些飛機在近幾個禮拜曾從廣州飛到諸如墨爾本、洛杉磯與阿姆斯特丹等地。

Emirates was continuing to take deliveries of the A380 during the peak months of the pandemic.

阿聯酋航空在疫情最嚴重的幾個月仍在持續接收新交機的 A380。

As the largest operator of the A380, Emirates presently has over 40 of its 120 units active.

做為操作最多架 A380 的航空公司，阿聯求航空目前使用了總共 120 架當中的 40 架。

If all goes according to schedule, in December, the carrier will take delivery of the last A380 ever built.

如果一切照著規畫進行，該航空公司將會在十二月時接收最後一架 A380。

Interestingly, Korean Air is merging with compatriot Asiana Airlines.

有趣的是，大韓航空正在與同樣來自韓國的韓亞航空合併。

Therefore, the flag carrier of South Korea will have another six A380s to think about on top of its existing 10 units.

因此這家韓國的國籍航空公司除了現有的 10 架以外，還會獲得另外 6 架 A380。

The airline has previously stated that it plans to let go of the model within five years.

該航空公司曾表示已計畫在五年內汰除該機型。

Qantas has 12 A380s in its holdings.

澳洲航空總共擁有 12 架 A380。

While all of these are grounded due to Australia's strict border policy during the pandemic, Qantas previously stated that it plans to reactivate its fleet of superjumbos.

雖然它們在疫情期間全都因為澳洲嚴格的邊境政策而停飛，澳洲航空先前曾表示計畫將要重新啟用它們的超級客機機隊。

This summer, the carrier noted that the A380 will fly for many years to come.

在今年夏天，該航空公司提到 A380 未來還將飛行許多年。

Qatar Airways has been one of the more interesting cases when it comes to the A380.

卡達航空是 A380 的使用者裡較為有趣的例子。

The airline announced a surprise return for the A380, scheduling it on services before the end of the year.

該公司令人跌破眼鏡地宣布要重新啟用 A380，並打算在今年結束之前將其投入使用。

In recent months, management had shared that the plane was a thing of the past and its biggest mistake.

近幾個月前，卡達航空的主管級人士才透露過認為該機型是過去的產物和天大的錯誤。

Yet, the flag carrier of Qatar now highlights that in order to alleviate the current fleet challenges amid the grounding of several A350s, the A380 is being brought back.

然而由於機隊裡的幾架 A350 正面臨停飛的窘境，這家卡達的國籍航空公司於是只好再次啟用 A380。

Singapore Airlines has been removing units from storage in recent months.

新加坡航空近幾個月正在把封存的 A380 重新啟用。

However, a few of its retired ones have been sent for dismantlement recently.

然而其中幾架被汰換掉的飛機已被送去拆解掉了。

Nonetheless, the airline is been bringing back A380s for vaccine lane flights as well as for a daily service to Kuala Lumpur, a flight that lasts less than an hour!

不過該公司仍將 A380 重新投入使用，甚至用在每天前往吉隆坡的航班上，而該航班的飛行時間不到一個小時！

Unfortunately, it looks like the A380 is gone for Malaysia Airlines, Thai Airways, and most likely Etihad.

不幸的是，馬來西亞航空與泰國航空的 A380 看來是復出無望了，而阿提哈德航空的很可能也是相同命運。

Altogether, there is now notable progress with the A380, with passengers increasingly returning to the air as governments start to open borders and loosen travel restrictions.

總體而言，在旅客逐漸回流與各地政府們開始開放邊境並放寬旅行限制的影響下，A380 的進展仍相當顯著。

Even though there is an optimistic pattern emerging in the short term, the A380 is still on its way out of the industry as carriers prioritize fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

不過儘管短期來看情勢相當樂觀，隨著航空公司將燃油效率與低碳排放是為優先課題，A380 確實可說是一腳跨進了航空業界的棺材。

With stakeholders looking at long-term, efficient solutions, the gas-guzzling quad jet is finding it hard to have a role in this next stage.

隨著利害相關人們追尋著更加長遠且有效率的航空運輸解決方案，接下來的時代已經容不下這種耗油的四噴射引擎客機了。

Other than with Emirates and its plethora of units, it will be hard to spot the A380 by the time this decade is over.

除了阿連酋航空所坐擁的機隊以外，在 2020 年代結束後將會很難再次看到 A380 遨遊天際。

What are your thoughts about the Airbus A380? Are you hoping to fly on the plane again?

你對空中巴士 A380 有什麼想法？你會想再次登上這個機型嗎？

Let us know what you think of the superjumbo and its prospects in the industry by leaving a comment.

在下面留言來讓我們知道你對這架超級客機本身，以及它在航空業界中的未來有什麼想法吧。