NYT: A380 joys and woes

[turtlemichael]

Interesting New York Times read on the A380. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/b...column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

 

[RooFlyer]

Can't read it without a log in, apparently.

 

[serfty]

Try this link ...

http://flightaware.com/squawks/link/1/24_hours/new/43486/Oversize_Expectations_for_the_Airbus_A380

 

[Boris spatsky]

Well written article. It will be interesting to see what happens when Emirates starts rolling over it's oldest A380s in a few years.

 

[drron]

Original link works for me.You are allowed to read a few free articles per month.
Certainly it suggests that QF made a mistake with the A380.
Would be great to see 787's in QF livery to SIN,BKK,China etc.

 

[oz74]

Interesting article. Thanks for posting.

 

[dmitri]

Have Qantas ever considered putting in a bar in their A380 like emirates. it's definitely a selling point

 

[RooFlyer]

Try this link ...

http://flightaware.com/squawks/link/1/24_hours/new/43486/Oversize_Expectations_for_the_Airbus_A380

Thanks Serfty ... it also wanted a cookie, then I took away the cookie block for New York Times and it was OK

 

[RooFlyer]

Have Qantas ever considered putting in a bar in their A380 like emirates. it's definitely a selling point

Quelle horreur! Fewer seats and more booze drunk. Go stand in the corner.

 

[Ansett]

Having just enjoyed the EK bar again I think that QF should remove the upper economy and put in a bar this would then justify the higher prices that QF regularly charge and provide a true premium carrier experience IMHO.

 

[ReLoad]

Original link works for me.You are allowed to read a few free articles per month.
Certainly it suggests that QF made a mistake with the A380.
Would be great to see 787's in QF livery to SIN,BKK,China etc.

I'm going to disagree with you a bit, I think the A380 makes a lot of sense to QF. AU to the USA to example.

You are spot On with routes to Asia they certainly not suitable for it, even SQ are taking them away from AU.

I don't think it's the lumbering dinosaur that it's portrayed out to be in the article, but it certainly was overhyped as the "way of the future"

From a pax perspective (having never flown a 787) it's great to fly in and I love getting aboard every time.

(Especially when a bunch if AFFers convince the CSM I should be in F)

 

[straitman]

I'm going to disagree with you a bit, I think the A380 makes a lot of sense to QF. AU to the USA to example.

You are spot On with routes to Asia they certainly not suitable for it, even SQ are taking them away from AU.

I don't think it's the lumbering dinosaur that it's portrayed out to be in the article, but it certainly was overhyped as the "way of the future"

I have posted previously (several times) some stats from a test pilot friend of mine that actually disagree with your idea of the A380 being efficient on the very long haul routes. On those routes you actually lose efficiency and start carrying extra fuel just so you can burn it.

 

[seanpodge]

Having flown both (SQ 380/LO 787), I think that the A380 is still the better plane as a passenger and is one that I would choose first if available on my route. The 787 is mainly competing on being able to economically provide non stop service to second tier airports where larger planes can't be reliably filled.

I think that the NY Times article goes a bit heavy at Airbus and glosses over some of the issues with Boeing (e.g. only LH buying 748s), especially with the development problems and delays with the 787, especially since it brings up the comparatively minor wing rib issues with the 380s.

It is a little strange that no American airline has used a 380 or that it wasn't more widely taken up, especially since the 747s are very quickly disappearing from the skies and passenger numbers overall have been climbing in many parts of the world.

 

[dajop]

Always going to better for capacity over frequency, but not so good when frequency is desired. Two examples - firstly SQ switching them out of Australia (from MEL and SYD where they provide 4 daily flights ) and into India where they used to have two flights running within a couple of hours of each other, using smaller planes. Second - LAX to Australia where frequency is not important, in fact probably an ideal route for the A380 as the market doesn't seem to want frequent flights just one timing a day, with all of the 9 or 10 services a day between the North American continent and Australia departing in the evening/late night with morning arrivals into Australia.

And I guess then there's EK blowing my above theory out of the water, using them for capacity and frequency on some routes!

 

[markis10]

It is a little strange that no American airline has used a 380 or that it wasn't more widely taken up, especially since the 747s are very quickly disappearing from the skies and passenger numbers overall have been climbing in many parts of the world.

Parochialism is not strange, just well practiced in this case.

 

[kelvedon]

Parochialism is not strange, just well practiced in this case.

I Agree, a similar article in Le Monde would offer a different view.

 

[Alanslegal]

Would be great to see 787's in QF livery to SIN,BKK,China etc.

I will probably fly a Scoot 787 to SIN before Qantas' ever gets its act together Scoot picks up some 787 later this year, Scoot Selects Pratt & Whitney AeroPower for 787 Auxiliary Power Unit Maintenance Support - MarketWatch

Have Qantas ever considered putting in a bar in their A380 like emirates. it's definitely a selling point

Having just enjoyed the EK bar again I think that QF should remove the upper economy and put in a bar this would then justify the higher prices that QF regularly charge and provide a true premium carrier experience IMHO.

Agreed on both points. Similarly, Korean Airlines A380 have the Celestial Bar, which is not as glossy as the EK's, is fun to hang out for a bit whilst being mixed coughtails. KE even has a duty free shop at the rear of the bottom level QF's A380 lounge area upfront is quite useless IMO and that should be converted to an oversized bathroom eg. like TG's bathroom & powder room on their 380's.