Respite for A380 as HiFly acquires jet from Germany's Doric

An Airbus A380 jet returned by SIA has found a home with Portuguese leasing firm HiFly, marking a respite for Europe's slow-selling superjumbo after the first 2 second-hand aircraft looked set to be broken up for parts. HiFly and the plane's owner Doric Aviation formalised the deal in time for this month's Farnborough Airshow, where Airbus and investors in the world's largest airliner will be striving to demonstrate that it has a future, industry sources said. Stimulating a second-hand market for the A380 is widely seen as vital to prop up ailing new sales of the aircraft, which seats 544 passengers and costs US$445m at list prices. Many airlines are nervous about investing in such large jets because of the challenges of keeping them full all year round, especially at a time when rising oil prices are inflating costs. <br/>