World's Largest Jet Has RFID

Filed in archive Case Studies on January 20, 2005

The brand-spanking-new Airbus A380 is the world's largest jet. And it is RFID-enabled.

According to RFID Insights from InformationWeek:

"The jet is equipped with 10,000 radio-frequency identification chips and was built using Carbon Fibre Manufacturing technologies to reduce aircraft weight, ultrasonic scanning systems, and a combination of other technologies.
Airbus' A380 double-decker passenger aircraft, which seats 555 passengers, will have passive RFID chips on removable parts such as passenger seats, life vests, and brakes which will aid in maintenance of those parts, Jens Heitmann, senior manager of systems standardization, process, and methods at Airbus, told InformationWeek a few months ago.

The benefits of RFID-tagging airplane parts include reducing the time it takes to generate aircraft-inspection reports, which still require a lot of paperwork, Heitmann says. "We could use RFID to do routine checks before a flight, for example, making sure that a lifejacket is under each seat," Heitmann said."

Singapore Airlines will be the first to use the new jet, in 2006.