Qantas Unveils A380 Seat Details

[simongr]

Ok JohnK - I'll bite. I know you don't care about the premium cabins and I understand that. But if the A380 is similarly priced to the existing tickets (big if I know) - why wouldn't you want to fly the A380.

In a simple comparison of seats (744 3 class/A380 4 class)

F 14/14
J 50/72
Y+ 0/32
Y 315/332

As a WP you will be sat (I assume) near the front of the Y cabin on the main deck just behind the F cabin.

You have complained in the past about the sheer volume of people on board. But looking at the above, given that you will be on the main deck with just Y and F there at most could only be and extra 17 people. Somedays there might even be less people on the A380 than on the 744.

I just don't understand why you are willing to fly and LCC to avoid the A380. If you are happy with the LCC why not fly them now - the cost savings could be large right now and the number of people on board will not be significantly different between the LCC and the A380.

I am really scratching my head to understand why the fact that there is an A380 on the route makes any difference.

Another thing is that I believe that QF will be boarding the A380 right next to the F lounge so no walk through the airport.

I am obviously a big fan of the A380 - I like new shiny things and I am likely to be in the premium cabins if I am flying at all so I am obvioulsy biased in favour of the A380. But on a rational comparison of an LCC and an A380 - I don't see the A380 being a worse experience just because of the additional 17 pax.

The one thing on the volume of pax might be that they may hold back the whY pax to allow the extra 22 J pax to leave the aircraft.

 

[JohnK]

Ok JohnK - I'll bite.

I have a genuine concern not stirring the pot.

I know you don't care about the premium cabins and I understand that.

I may have not been very clear but I actually do care about premium cabins. I would prefer to fly up the front of the aircraft but I think the pricing is totally out of whack and not worth the money. In my opinion premium economy should be priced around 10-25% more than WHY and business class around 40-50% more than WHY. The current business class airfares are ludicrous costing around $4,000 to get to SE Asia and around $10,000 to get to Europe.

But if the A380 is similarly priced to the existing tickets (big if I know) - why wouldn't you want to fly the A380.

I think A380 ticket prices will be more expensive than current tickets and I also think that award redemptions will also require more points. Anyway I feel that there are too many people on the one aircraft. I don't believe QF will retain the advertised configuration with the passenger numbers mentioned. I think we will be looking at more than 500 passengers on the A380.

I just don't understand why you are willing to fly and LCC to avoid the A380.

If they were flying the right aircraft types then I that is a decision I would have to consider at sometime in the future. There are some aircraft types, and carriers, that I try to avoid if at all possible now. I am not a big fan of economy on 747s and absolutely loathe it on 777s and A340s.

If you are happy with the LCC why not fly them now

I hate LCCs but occassionally will fly with them if there is no suitable choice.

I am really scratching my head to understand why the fact that there is an A380 on the route makes any difference.

Reasons stated above.

But on a rational comparison of an LCC and an A380 - I don't see the A380 being a worse experience just because of the additional 17 pax.

That is assuming that the configuration stays the same as described right now. I don't believe that all QF A380s will end uo with the same configuration anyway. Not all routes will have First Class and Premium Economy. I think you will find that eventually the A380 will have close to 200 people more than current 747s. That is a very scary thought.

 

[NM]

That is assuming that the configuration stays the same as described right now. I don't believe that all QF A380s will end uo with the same configuration anyway. Not all routes will have First Class and Premium Economy. I think you will find that eventually the A380 will have close to 200 people more than current 747s. That is a very scary thought.

That may be the case for EK's A380s, but I very much doubt it will be the case for QF (unless they transition the A380 to JQi). QF's current 744 fleet are nowhere near maximum seating capacity for the type. And they are currently planning to operate the A380 on the LAX and LHR routes which are the only routes to offer F (ok, they do still offer to JNB on some days) and that is because they have a market for F on those routes.

I cannot see QF operating a 555 seat config on the A380 inside the next 10 years. Beyond that is anyone's guess.

But if you want to be stressed and concerned over it, please feel free to do so. Its just that I don't share your concern and would be happy to take an A380 in Y if I had to travel in Y. I would be expecting a better travel experience compared with the 744 based on improved IFE and improved Y seats.

 

[milehighclub]

The one thing on the volume of pax might be that they may hold back the whY pax to allow the extra 22 J pax to leave the aircraft.

Actually this won't be a problem!!
Door 1 will be for First Class, door 2 for Economy Class and one of the upper deck doors for Business Class and Premium Economy. And once First class has disembarked I imagine the left hand side will go out doors 2 and the right hand side out doors 1 as this is what happens now with 2 aerobridges.

So boarding and disembarking should be the same if not faster than a 747 (even with 2 doors used)

 

[simongr]

That is a concern then for those J pax that like to rush off the aircraft and be first into immigration...Holding back the whY pax gives us a little bit of a head start...

 

[trooper]

I intend to go back and read this whole thread when I get a free moment ( ) but I must say the "200 more - that's scary" comment leapt out at me..

WHY is that "scary"? Wasn't there a similar % leap when the 747 was introduced - compared to the 707?

I'm hard pressed to understand why 300+ pax on on aircraft is "OK"... when 400 or even 500 is not only "not OK" but "scary".... The aircraft is licensed to carry those numbers under the same "rules" as the 747's current loadings...each one would have a seat etc etc...

After all, even 500 is nowhere near what HAS been carried.... an El Al 747 carried 1088 on one flight during Operation Solomon... (evacuating Ethiopian Jews when that countrys government fell in 1991)... and yes, that is a bit of a cheat.. only 1086 individuals boarded.. two were born in flight...

THAT I could class as "scary"!!! As well as "remarkable", "commendable" etc

 

[NM]

The aircraft is licensed to carry those numbers under the same "rules" as the 747's current loadings...each one would have a seat etc etc...

Actually, the A380 is not certified under the same rules as the 747. The current model 747s are certified under a grandfather process from the original 747-100 that was certified in the late 1960s. A new aircraft like the A380 cannot do that and must meet all the current specifications.

One such difference is the current requirement that all passengers must have emergency exit points both forward and aft of their seats. This is not the case for the passengers in Zone A (the nose section) of the 747. However the A380 could not use a similar nose cabin as it would be in breach of that design requirement.

So I would posit that since the A380 is an all-new aircraft, it is actually safer from a passenger perspective than an aircraft design that is grandfathered from a 1960s design.

 

[trooper]

Thanks NM... I suppose I actually meant "under the appropriate approval regime" but that is very interesting information so I'm glad I was imprecise!!

Tend to agree that it should - theoretically as it must remain - be safer.

As an aside....I was MOST impressed with the video of the evacuation tests for the 380!!

 

[maninblack]

IAfter all, even 500 is nowhere near what HAS been carried.... an El Al 747 carried 1088 on one flight during Operation Solomon... (evacuating Ethiopian Jews when that countrys government fell in 1991)... and yes, that is a bit of a cheat.. only 1086 individuals boarded.. two were born in flight...

THAT I could class as "scary"!!! As well as "remarkable", "commendable" etc

Quite true but this was a rather special case and I think flown on a cargo version sardine style, and with no hand luggage!

Found this article on the net. Amazing!

"Israeli AF/El Al Ethiopian airlift smashes passenger-load record"

"In a record-breaking airlift, the Israeli Air Force, aided by El Al, brought 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa to Israel - 1,200 of them in one 747 - within 33h just days before the capital fell to rebel troops."
"Some of the flights were performed by a specially configured El Al 747, carrying 1,200 passengers. The top-secret Operation Solomon began on 24 May when an air force C-130 Hercules brought the first group of high-ranking Israeli officers and experts to Addis Ababa International Airport. The airlift was completed a few hours before the first rebel units reached the airport area."
"The group, head by deputy chief of staff Gen Amnon Shahak, set up a command post in the airport while Israeli special forces and paratroops secured the runway and airfield perimiter. An Israeli mobile air traffic control unit performed advisory control, parallel to that given by the airport's tower."
"By noon on 24 May preparations were complete and the green light was given for the first aircraft to land. In the next 24h 18 air force C-130s and eight Boeing 707s aided by nine El Al aircraft - three 747s, four 767s and two 757s - flew 14,000 Jews from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport. All El Al aircraft had their logos covered."
"An El-Al 747-200C Combi was converted to passenger configuration, with 760 seats. With the arm rests folded, these seats allowed 1,200 of the new Israeli immigrants to be crammed into the aircraft. (The previous record was 674 people in a Qantas 747 after a cyclone hit Darwin.) The 747 was on the ground at Addis Ababa for only 37min before leaving with the record number of passengers."
"The passenger-configured 747s carried 920 passengers on their 454 seats and on the floor, while the 767s carried 430 on their 224 seats and floor. The 757s carried 360 passengers on thier 197 seats and in any available space. An Ethiopian Airlines 757 made one flight to Tel Aviv as part of the airlift. The air force's 707s had their seats removed and rubber mattresses put on the cabin floors. Each 707 carried 500 passengers and 180 passengers were packed into air force C-130s."
"The Israeli authorities had notified some Arab and African countries along the Tel Aviv - Addis Ababa route about the traffic near their airspace."

 

[NM]

The previous record was held by Qantas, who used a 747-200 to evacuate survivors from Darwin after Cyclone Tracy devastated the city on Christmas Eve 1974. I think the flight was few days later (around 28th December) and carried something like 694 passengers, mostly women and children.