Major airlines go for comfort over numbers on A380

The Australian

As airlines sacrifice seat numbers for passenger comfort on Airbus’s new A380, airports may not see quite the strategic benefits they had hoped for from the double-decker jetliner.

ThE A380 was sold as a plane able to seat 555 passengers, but early customers such as Singapore Airlines and Qantas Airways are planning to carry way below this level as they look to maximise space for big-spending, premium-class passengers.

That’s not ideal for hub airports such as London’s Heathrow and New York’s John F. Kennedy. They, and others, have invested huge sums into accommodating the A380, based on the assumption it will help them expand passenger traffic without adding to congestion or breaching limits on aircraft movements.

Initial A380 commercial flights – which are due to start late this year – won’t be carrying the 35-40 per cent more passengers than Boeing 747 aircraft – as Airbus had envisaged.

That’s important, because the charges airports levy on airlines are normally based on the number of passengers being flown in or out on each aircraft.

And, the more people there are waiting for flights, the more potential purchasers there are of tax-free goods, food and drinks. “Airports can justifiably feel disappointed,” said Doug McVitie, managing director of France-based aerospace consultancy Arran Aerospace. “To get the payback on that investment they need the passengers.”

And airport operations may be slowed down each time an A380 lands, because of regulations designed to protect following aircraft from getting caught in hazardous turbulence known as wake vortex.

Large jets will need a separation of an additional two nautical miles when trailing an A380, compared with rules for existing large planes such as the 747.

This rises to an additional four nautical mile spacing for light aircraft. This means airports won’t be able to squeeze in as many flights in the minutes after an A380 lands as they do with a 747. Airbus recently cut its formal design seat count for the A380 to 525 from 555, based on three cabin classes. This change was designed to reflect more realistically the layouts being adopted by aircraft buyers, according to a company spokesman.

There have long been expectations that some carriers might look to squeeze in as many as 800 economy class passengers on shorter high-density routes, particularly in Asia.

Although having more seats cuts an airline’s overall operating costs for each passenger per flight, carriers are increasingly looking to accommodate as many first or business-class passengers as possible.

These premium fliers generate much of the profits for big carriers such as British Airways, so A380 operators are offering a range of goodies such as private suites, flat beds, armchairs, self-service bars, sofas and entertainment systems.

Airbus’ A380 program has been plagued by technical problems with electrical wiring systems, meaning the first delivery to Singapore Airlines this October is about 18 months late.

These problems have also put some buyers off, meaning Airbus to date has sold just 165 A380s, although the company projects a potential market of more than 1600 for these very large passenger planes over the next two decades. By comparison, there are about 800 passenger 747s in service, according to Boeing.

Singapore Airlines plans to have 471 seats on its A380s, with the first service due to start late this year between Sydney and Singapore and a London service beginning next spring.

Qantas, meanwhile, expects to have 450 seats on the A380s that are due for delivery from next August, including 14 seats in first class, 72 in business class, 32 in premium economy and 332 in economy. Dubai’s Emirates Airline, the biggest A380 buyer with 47 on order, plans to have 489 seats on its low-density, long-range, three-class A380s, rising to 517 for medium-range routes.

Boeing’s planned new version of the 747 – known as the 747-8 Intercontinental – features a longer fuselage and will be able to carry about 50 additional seats.

Airbus forecasts that the average size of aircraft, including regional jets, will increase by 20 per cent through to 2025, in part because of efforts to ease airport congestion.

Boeing, meanwhile, expects average aircraft sizes to remain roughly flat over the next two decades after declining slightly since 1986.

Although it’s developing the larger 747, the company sees stronger demand for point-to-point travel on smaller aircraft that avoid congested major hubs.

Its strong-selling 787 Dreamliner, due to go into service next year, is designed to tap this demand.

Variants of the 787 will carry between 210 and 330 people.

If one airport should benefit from the A380, it is London’s Heathrow: its two runways operate at 98.5 per cent of permitted capacity.

The airport is restricted to 480,000 aircraft movements each year, but there is no such limitation on passenger numbers.

Heathrow airport operator BAA has spent about pound stg. 450 million ($1.095 billion) on upgrading Heathrow’s facilities to handle the A380.

This includes the new pound stg. 105 million Pier 6 at Terminal 3, which has four stands able to serve one A380 or two aircraft up to the single-aisle Airbus A320 in size. Terminal 5, which is due to open next March, will also have stands for the A380.

Elsewhere, New York’s JFK Airport has invested $US179 million ($214 million) to prepare for the double-decker, while Singapore’s Changi Airport is spending $S60 million ($47.3 million) – to modify Terminals 1 and 2.