Airline to fly 800-seat all-economy superjumbo

[tuapekastar]

Airline to fly 800-seat all-economy superjumbo

From The Age:

Air Austral, based in France's La Reunion, will become the first airline to fly planes carrying over 800 people after confirming an order for two Airbus A380 superjumbos earlier this week, industry sources said.

I think said airline already operates some sardine cans France-Reunion-Australia?

 

[straitman]

Airline to fly 800-seat all-economy superjumbo

From The Age:

Air Austral, based in France's La Reunion, will become the first airline to fly planes carrying over 800 people after confirming an order for two Airbus A380 superjumbos earlier this week, industry sources said.

I think said airline already operates some sardine cans France-Reunion-Australia?

Gee that sounds like lots of fun :!:

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Airline to fly 800-seat all-economy superjumbo

From The Age:

Air Austral, based in France's La Reunion, will become the first airline to fly planes carrying over 800 people after confirming an order for two Airbus A380 superjumbos earlier this week, industry sources said.

I think said airline already operates some sardine cans France-Reunion-Australia?

It operates the B772ER with 364 pax. however there is no First class, and only 14 biz, the rest is y+ and y, seat pitch is standard 32 inch in economy, they do put 10 abreast (like EK and soon to be EY) though which gives them the big numbers

 

[medhead]

Thanks for the report.

Yes they do fly france to Oz via Reunion

It does feel like old news. I thought I already knew this.

 

[samh004]

Thanks for the report.

Yes they do fly france to Oz via Reunion

It does feel like old news. I thought I already knew this.

Indeed, it was noted in January. At that time they said it was going to be 840-pax. The order was expected to be “firmed” later in the year, and that’s what The Age was reporting on.

Airbus claims that, with 840 seats, the A380 would burn less than 2 litres of fuel per passenger per 100km.

Attractive from a price perspective, and then not so from a sardine perspective

 

[chrizzz14]

Boarding a 777 or 747 is bad enough with 300ish PAX.... waiting in a que with 800ish PAX.... hell on earth! Given the tkt prices will be cheaper - youd be opting to pay more to get advanced bording... and then fall asleep for 3 hrs while they board the other 800 PAX!
I seriously cant think of anything worse than being stuck in big metal tube for 12-18 hrs breathing the same air with 800 others (300 is bad enough)

eww

 

[JerseyVics]

my cousin flew Air Austral from Paris, France to Noumea, New Caledonia.

He is nearly 7 feet tall and had no complaints, was traveling with a 2 year old baby and no complaints from her either. He flew via Sydney... so for anyone booking AirCalin from Australia to New Caledonia the flight is actually operated by either Air Austral or Qantas besides AirCalin...

May be interesting once the A380 starts service

 

[opusman]

Boarding a 777 or 747 is bad enough with 300ish PAX.... waiting in a que with 800ish PAX.... hell on earth! Given the tkt prices will be cheaper - youd be opting to pay more to get advanced bording... and then fall asleep for 3 hrs while they board the other 800 PAX!

Don't forget the 380 has two decks and can board them both separately (at most airports anyway).. but I agree with your sentiments

 

[Flying Fox]

I hope that they have a quite a few toilets on-board....

 

[brett-au]

My biggest concern is not the space as the A380 is a pretty large plane, its the much larger odds of a medical emergency on one of these aircraft. Any diversion would completely kill the on time performance and probably add huge amounts of the cost of flying such full aircraft.

It may be cheaper to have a medic on board.

 

[equus]

My biggest concern is not the space as the A380 is a pretty large plane, its the much larger odds of a medical emergency on one of these aircraft. Any diversion would completely kill the on time performance and probably add huge amounts of the cost of flying such full aircraft.

It may be cheaper to have a medic on board.

You would want to have some pretty comprehensive travel insurance. Imagine if you caused it, and the airline was forced to find hotel rooms for 800 pax due to inablity to get out of the diversion port in a timely fashion - and decided to bill you :shock:

 

[kamchatsky]

Too bad Air Austral is not part of any alliance (ie no award redemptions). It is an interesting way to go to Europe.

Looking at Zuji, their airfare from Sydney to South Africa and Indian Ocean islands are already pretty cheap comparing to anything else. All other airlines seems very expensive.

 

[JohnK]

This does not sound like fun at all. It is bad enough being on a 747 with 350-450 passengers on board.

Perhaps they would need to employ some doctors (or aenesthetists) and give you the option to be sedated (free of charge) for the duration of the flight....

 

[Shane76]

It does seem to bold, highlight and underscore the term "cattle class"

 

[Cyclogenesis]

Cattle???
The Cattle have been butchered and vac packed..

I think this new class should be called cold storage class... With no hope of upgrades once you have been butchered there is no way back

 

[2muchplastic]

800 all economy? You'd be wanting to check yourself in as baggage and let your suitcase ride in the main cabin!