New QF A380 reconfiguration!!!

[yohy?!]

dumb as bricks to take out toilets upstairs - they already didn't have enough for J pax as it was

 

[ozmille]

I agree, loss of loos upstairs is dreadful. I'm really hoping our A380 in March remains old configuration (which it currently shows as in EF).

My flights for AUG and DEC are still showing old config as well, when I look for 1 day later in AUG it is operated by a new config, dodged a bullet there as I was planning to fly a day later originally

 

[anabolism]

dumb as bricks to take out toilets upstairs - they already didn't have enough for J pax as it was

I'm sure it looks good on paper: yank out facilities and put in more seats. More seats means more revenue.

AA did this on in their J cabin on the 777s. Passengers don't like it, but how many will choose a different airline because of it? (One problem is that even when things like this do cause a negative experience, it's hard for the airline to connect the dots.)

 

[lovestotravel]

Issues aside, QF now has more seats in the plane (and the right mix) and that is all that matters!

/Case closed

 

[docjames]

Having booked Y+ for travel to the US, and chosen the 380 flight ex-SYD (vs 744), "knowing" of the rear mini-cabin and the exit row seats, which I had then selected, I wasnt impressed to see one of my two flights subbed to the new config. It is also not allowing me to select row 24 (vs it will allow a row 38 selection in the "old" config"). THe reduction in toilets etc is certainly concerning. I can say if I had known of the config change prior to booking, I wouldnt have booked QF (and chosen VA in most likelihood). At the time I booked, QF was on sale and had the original config.

I'm awaiting this trip to see what the new config is like. If it's lousy, unless there are no viable options, I wont book QF again on the 380. This is what the new config has done.

 

[jb747]

Something that I'm surprised hasn't been really commented upon is the move forward of the Y+ cabin. I thought the previous position was both the noisy and cold, both things that should improve with it forward a bit.

 

[redslert]

Never found it to be cold at the back.
Quite comfortable.

 

[JessicaTam]

I had never found it to be cold or noisy either. However having never sat forward of Y+ in the 380, I can't really compare until I do.

 

[yohy?!]

i liked the PE cabin being at the rear too, quieter and never a queue for the loos (except the for occasional J interlopers)

 

[anabolism]

I wasnt impressed to see one of my two flights subbed to the new config.

Which route?

 

[Natalie_B]

Which route?

My SIN-SYD flight in August is on the reconfig plane. My SYD-SIN flight in late July is still showing the original config.

 

[Platinum A332]

With no aircraft heading up to Manila since OGD was reconfigured....is QF perhaps rethinking this layout?

In my opinion, a better reconfiguration could have been the following;
- Replace the J Snack Bar with a Bathroom. Remove one of the bathrooms in the middle of the J cabin, and allow 2 J seats to be added. Perhaps the area at the front near to the bathroom could also become a change room to, negating the need for customers to use a lavatory to change into PJs.
- Replace the last row of J with two rows of W, given the proportion of W on the 380 compared to the 747 is quite low. The cabin also seems to be heavily booked relative to other cabins, and is quite a popular product.
- Relocate two of the bathrooms on the sides of the Economy cabin downstairs to the centre of the cabin, allowing 6 seats to be added.
- Keep the Row 48/49 arrangement (if extra seats are really needed).

New configuration would then be 14F/68J/46W/344Y - extra 12Y and 14W seats at the expense of 4J seats. No loss of bathrooms to annoy J customers.

 

[jetlagger]

With no aircraft heading up to Manila since OGD was reconfigured....is QF perhaps rethinking this layout?

In my opinion, a better reconfiguration could have been the following;
- Replace the J Snack Bar with a Bathroom. Remove one of the bathrooms in the middle of the J cabin, and allow 2 J seats to be added. Perhaps the area at the front near to the bathroom could also become a change room to, negating the need for customers to use a lavatory to change into PJs.
- Replace the last row of J with two rows of W, given the proportion of W on the 380 compared to the 747 is quite low. The cabin also seems to be heavily booked relative to other cabins, and is quite a popular product.
- Relocate two of the bathrooms on the sides of the Economy cabin downstairs to the centre of the cabin, allowing 6 seats to be added.
- Keep the Row 48/49 arrangement (if extra seats are really needed).

New configuration would then be 14F/68J/46W/344Y - extra 12Y and 14W seats at the expense of 4J seats. No loss of bathrooms to annoy J customers.

Perhaps you could flick this idea over to QF- though they never really have been good listeners.. :!:

 

[Platinum A332]

For those interested;

- VH-OQE is currently getting reconfigured in Manila.
- VH-OQD so far as been confined to SYD-LAX and SYD-HKG (only operating a one-off MEL-LAX flight)
- From what I understand, QF is not responding to customer dissatisfaction and proceeding with the reconfiguration program.

......now if only Red Roo would reply to this thread....

 

[Per_Travels]

I guess the beancounters answer to the toilet queue will be to "enhance" the PJs. No more PJs = smaller toilet queue = fewer toilets required = maybe we can squeeze a few more seats in . Can't wait.

 

[docjames]

Has anyone looked at seat:toilet ratio on LH/AF/MH/EK/SQ A380s? Or for that matter how it compares on QF 744 and A330?

 

[cdinoz]

My first post here..... howdy all!

I have my first A380 flight for the year in Sept, heading to LAX. I travel PE - so will hope I get the old config. 38K has been mine for several trips over the past couple of years (sadly my recent return to HKG was on a 744). Can't believe the oiks are now going to have a few rows upstairs now. And they have stolen a toilet or two - yikes.

Looking at the new seat map - looks like 24K will replace 38k as the best in PE?

 

[moa999]

I guess the beancounters answer to the toilet queue will be to "enhance" to PJs. No more PJs = smaller toilet queue = fewer toilets required = maybe we can squeeze a few more seats in . Can't wait.

The PJ toilet queue should be better on this configuration - 8 less J seats, still 4 toilets. Now in flight sure another 30 PE pax, but still a sub 25:1 ratio.

 

[anat0l]

Has anyone looked at seat:toilet ratio on LH/AF/MH/EK/SQ A380s? Or for that matter how it compares on QF 744 and A330?

In between waiting for sims to finish and drafts to come back to me with comments, I managed to scratch up these figures (using seatguru.com except for QF where I used the QF website; sorry if the numbers are a bit off).

[U][B]Aircraft            Pax Y  Pax W  Pax J  Pax F   WC Y  WC W  WC J  WC F   P:W Y  P:W W  P:W J  P:W F   Remarks                    [/B][/U]
QF 388 (old)          332     32     72     14      8     2     4     2   41.50  16.00  18.00   7.00
QF 388 (new)          371     35     64     14    7.5*    1*  3.5*    2   49.47  35.00  18.29   7.00   * W = 1 share UD Y + 1 share J 
QF 333                267      -     30      -      7     -     2     -   38.14      -  15.00      -
QF 763 (Intl)         204      -     25      -      5     -     2     -   40.80      -  12.50      -
QF 744 (4 cl)         255     32     52     14      7     1*    4     2   36.43  32.00  13.00   7.00   * 2 Y toilets shared with W
QF 744 (new 3 cl)     270     36     58      -      6     1     3     -   45.00  36.00  19.33      -
VA 773                288     40     35      -      7     2     3     -   41.14  20.00  11.67      -
NZ 773 (new)          244     44     44      -      6     2     3     -   40.67  22.00  14.67      -
MH 388                420      -     66      8     11     -     4     3   38.18      -  16.50   2.67
SQ 388 (old)          399      -     60     12      8     -     3     2   49.88      -  20.00   6.00
SQ 388 (new)          311      -     86     12      7     -     6     2   44.43      -  14.33   6.00
LH 388                420      -     98      8     11     -     5     2   38.18      -  19.60   4.00
LH 748                262      -     92      8      8     -     5     2   32.75      -  18.40   4.00
AF 388 (3 cl)         449      -     80      9      8     -     4     2   56.13      -  20.00   4.50
AF 388 (4 cl)         449     38     62      9     10     1*    4     1   44.90  38.00  15.50   9.00   * UD Y toilets shared with W
CZ 388                428      -     70      8     10     -     5     1   42.80      -  14.00   8.00
EK 388 (ULH)          399      -     76     14      9     -     5     2   44.33      -  15.20   7.00
EK 388 (LH)           427      -     76     14      7     -     5     2   61.00      -  15.20   7.00

 

[Andyzx]

- From what I understand, QF is not responding to customer dissatisfaction and proceeding with the reconfiguration program.

......now if only Red Roo would reply to this thread....

As RR is the marketing spiel of QF, I don’t think you will get a comment from QF or RR. As you said they are not responding to customers:-|