The A380 superjumbo’s reputation for luxury and extra room has given way to commercial reality at Qantas.
It will increase the number of seats on its flagship aircraft by as many as 100 because of a long-term trend of passengers preferring to fly closer to the back.
When the A380 was unveiled in France five years ago, airlines trumpeted that the super-jumbo would offer passengers bigger seats, inflight lounges, double beds and even showers.
But Qantas’s decision to squeeze more passengers on its A380s confirms the long-held suspicions that the early euphoria about the flying cruise liners would eventually give way to the bottom-line.
Qantas will have eight of the A380s it has on order with European manufacturer Airbus fitted with 550 seats, instead of its previous plans for fewer than 500. It will also have 12 of the double-deckers – half of which are in service and the rest on the production line in France – retro-fitted to carry 40 more seats. The renovations will result in 50 to 100 more economy-class seats.
In the changes flagged late last year, Qantas will spend $400 million reconfiguring the A380s, as well as on replacing first-class seats on nine 747-400 aircraft with business-class ones. It will also install a new entertainment system on the jumbos. The 747 refits will increase the number of seats from 307 to 359.
The reconfigurations will begin at end of next year and take until late 2013, adding the equivalent of more than three 747-400s to Qantas’s fleet.
”It is a very efficient way of getting additional capacity and helps the economics of our operations by between 10 and 15 per cent because there is no more crew required,” said Qantas’s chief executive, Alan Joyce.
He said most European airlines had 550 seats on their A380s.
Demand for first-class seats has been declining over the last 10 years, and was exacerbated by the global financial crisis. The changes will leave Qantas flying aircraft with first-class cabins on only the London and Los Angeles routes. Last year it dropped the first-class product from flights to Buenos Aires and San Francisco. The next services to go without will be to Hong Kong and Johannesburg flights.
However, Qantas’s plans pale in comparison to the Reunion Island-based Air Austral, which flies between Sydney and Paris. It will become the world’s first airline to have only economy class on its A380s after last year ordering two of the superjumbos that will seat about 840 passengers.
Yesterday nearly 200 passengers on a Shanghai-bound Qantas plane had to circle above the Tasman Sea for three hours and turn back to Sydney airport because of a landing-gear fault.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
By: steve rowell - 23rd February 2010 at 03:17
Luckily, it’s a service I’ll never use.:D
Sounds like my idea of Hell…a packed plane on a very long flight.:eek::eek::eek:
You and me both!!..i only travel business class or i don’t travel these days..i could think of nothing worse than being cramped up for about 30 hours ..it’d be pure hell :(:)
By: Hand87_5 - 21st February 2010 at 18:00
I never flew the A380. Actually my first choice would go to the 777.
I always pick the smallest airplane when it’s possible.
By: chornedsnorkack - 21st February 2010 at 17:34
In 2014, what would be your preferred plane to Reunion?
777-300ER?
Air France. 472 seats.
Or 747-400, Corsair. 582 seats.
Or A380-800, Outre Mer 380. 840 seats.
AF 777-300ER carries 14 Affaires seats and 36 Alize seats. And Corsair 747 also has 24 business class seats.
Somewhere in the front end far, far away in either case.
The cattle class seats are 10 seats abreast in each case.
A380 is wider than B747. And B747 is wider than B777.
So, will you prefer to sit with 471 seatmates, or with 839?
By: Hand87_5 - 21st February 2010 at 17:03
One present airliner has quite well succeeded in mincing 505 passengers together with the 15 crew, as per Mount Takamagahara. It is just a coincidence that Corsair has not crashed yet, and 747 still is the plane with most seats.
Actually I flew a couple of times on Corsair B744 and I have to admit that it is not that bad.
The first time was ORY to Morocco back in 2001 and then to La Guadeloupe a couple of years ago.
since I don’t have any specific bad memories …. it was certainly good;
As for the A380 packed to full capacity, thanks but no thanks, it is not my idea of flying…
but maybe I’m wrong
By: Grey Area - 20th February 2010 at 13:05
Moderator Message
Perhaps we should all bear in mind that English is not chornedsnorkack’s first language?
I’m sure we all value his contribution to this forum, and disregard his occasional slight lack of clarity.
GA
By: chornedsnorkack - 20th February 2010 at 11:12
If Ryanair can fill A380 holds then they can also fill A330 or B767 holds. They have the same headroom, roughly 170 cm.
what do you mean not crashed yet?
Answering, but as requested not quoting the previous post:
It takes two of the present large A/c to mince 550 pax though, as per Tenerife.
My point is, a single present Corsair aircraft can do it quite well.
By: MSR777 - 20th February 2010 at 10:39
The mind boggles as to how many RYR could cram into one of those things! Just imagine it, with minimum hold baggage capacity required and the other holds full of seats their A380s could be the worlds first triple decker…….tailor made for those proposed transatlantic ops 😮
By: Bmused55 - 20th February 2010 at 10:34
what do you mean not crashed yet? Sounds like you’re expecting it!
By: chornedsnorkack - 20th February 2010 at 07:48
One present airliner has quite well succeeded in mincing 505 passengers together with the 15 crew, as per Mount Takamagahara. It is just a coincidence that Corsair has not crashed yet, and 747 still is the plane with most seats.
By: old shape - 20th February 2010 at 00:22
Indeed they do.
It takes two of the present large A/c to mince 550 pax though, as per Tenerife.
Mind you, statistically the A380 is a safe bet. It will be very very lucky if it breaks 150 sales, all on very long haul routes, which tend to have better checks at each end. Some short hauls turn round with no more than a tyre kick.
By: J Boyle - 20th February 2010 at 00:14
Of course, they say that about every new, larger airliner made.
By: old shape - 20th February 2010 at 00:09
When one goes in like a dart, it’s gonna hurt.
By: Runway06 - 19th February 2010 at 21:31
Well its always been about bums on seats $$$
By: J Boyle - 19th February 2010 at 20:36
No thanks to either.
I’m still in traction from flying to Nice on Easyjet. At least it was a short flight.
By: chornedsnorkack - 19th February 2010 at 19:46
What do you prefer to fly to Reunion? Corsair?
582 seats. On a 747.
By: J Boyle - 19th February 2010 at 18:21
…Air Austral, which flies between Sydney and Paris. It will become the world’s first airline to have only economy class on its A380s after last year ordering two of the superjumbos that will seat about 840 passengers.
Luckily, it’s a service I’ll never use.:D
Sounds like my idea of Hell…a packed plane on a very long flight.:eek::eek::eek:
By: KabirT - 19th February 2010 at 15:12
The second A380 for Air France was finally delivered yesterday February 10th.
Msn 040, registered F-HPJB, landed at CDG late in the afternoon on Wednesday.
The first commercial flight is scheduled on February 17th, AF990 CDG-JNB.
This second aircraft will also enable AF to operate AF006/AF007 CDG-JFK-CDG DAILY instead of 6 x Weekly (on Wednesdays, AF006/AF007 is operated by a B77W).
from a.net. 🙂
By: Hand87_5 - 19th February 2010 at 13:53
Only one AFAIK
By: KabirT - 19th February 2010 at 10:31
AF is operating two 380s now right? With the new JNB service?
By: Hand87_5 - 19th February 2010 at 08:54
He said most European airlines had 550 seats on their A380s.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
That’s good journalism!! As far as I know there is only one european airline operating only one A380 at this point.
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February 19, 2010 at 5:55 am