A380 lands at more airports, but will it fly for U.S. airlines?

When the biggest passenger jet in the world eight stories high and longer than a football field is wide made its inaugural landing at Miami International Airport last month, the welcome befitted the arrival of a rock star more than an airplane.

Water cannons sprayed and crowds cheered the mammoth A380 jet, made by European planemaker Airbus and flown from Frankfurt by its owner, German airline Lufthansa.

"We thought, 'This is a historic moment for the airport,'" Greg Chin, spokesman for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, said of the June 10 arrival. "So we felt historic aircraft deserve a historic day."

Since the A380 flew its first commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney in October 2007, the jet that surpassed the American-made Boeing 747 to become the largest passenger plane in the world has joined the fleets of six airlines and ferried more than 12 million passengers. This summer, it will appear in the USA in greater numbers and be available to more American travelers, as airlines such as Lufthansa fly it to runways from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.

Airlines that fly the superjumbo A380 say they're having no trouble filling most of the 525 seats that are typical for the aircraft. And they and Airbus officials tout the plane's fuel efficiency, design and comfort as setting a new standard for the travel industry.

"This is an aircraft that has become a new benchmark of efficiency and customer appeal," says Richard Carcaillet, head of A380 marketing for Airbus, Boeing's chief global rival in the production of passenger jets. "It's a game changer."

But while U.S.-based fliers can hop aboard the supersized jet in five cities, no U.S. airline currently flies it. And with U.S. airlines focused on boosting profits and flight frequency, some analysts doubt they'll add the superjumbo A380, or even more of Boeing's nearly as big 747s, to their fleets anytime soon.

"There's a reason that (U.S. airlines) are not adding 747s to their network," says Bob McAdoo, senior airline analyst at Avondale Partners, a Nashville-based institutional brokerage house. "They've all gotten rid of them because they've found other airplanes that are a better fit for the way they want to fly their routes," with smaller aircraft better able to make more frequent non-stop trips from U.S. cities.

For all its rock-star appeal, the double-decker A380 also poses a mammoth challenge for many airports that already struggle with heavy air traffic and now have to deal with its giant size on their crowded runways and taxiways.

Changing airliners

A next generation of aircraft that's lighter, more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly is beginning to take flight. Among them: Boeing's new Dreamliner 787 and Airbus' A350, which are being made largely from carbon fiber composites instead of aluminum, and Boeing's latest version of its jumbo 747 that drew on some Dreamliner technology.

The A380 is counted among them. But Airbus says the A380's massive size and cabin perks set it apart. "These are aircraft that will also be very advanced," Carcaillet said of the other new aircraft being developed. "But (they) will not bring a novelty in terms of capacity or experience."

Six carriers, including Singapore Airlines, Air France and Emirates, are flying 51 A380s between 25 airports. As of June 29, Airbus has had 234 orders for the aircraft from 18 customers. Chances to fly the A380 from the U.S. to Europe and Asia are also on the rise, with eight new North American routes being added this summer.

Lufthansa flights between Miami and Frankfurt are among the newest. Based on the German airline's experience flying seven of the jets, with eight more on order, officials expect customers to clamor to get on board.