Feb 22nd, 2009 at 10:00AM: With so much space in the Airbus A380, there really is no limit on what you can design and build into the aircraft. Sure, you're going to want to cram as many people as possible into Economy seating, but in Business and First Class, you can let the extravagancies seep in. Emirates' version has showers. Singapore's has double beds. Lufthansa envisions an aircraft with conference rooms and bedrooms. ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
a380 posts
Next upgrade for the A380: Bunk Beds?
Feb 22nd, 2009 at 10:00AM: With so much space in the Airbus A380, there really is no limit on what you can design and build into the aircraft. Sure, you're going to want to cram as many people as possible into Economy seating, but in Business and First Class, you can let the extravagancies seep in. Emirates' version has showers. Singapore's has double beds. Lufthansa envisions an aircraft with conference rooms and bedrooms. ...Showering at 43,000 feet
Feb 17th, 2009 at 12:00PM: When we heard that you can shower on the Emirates A380, we were fascinated. The Sydney Morning Herald just published a first-hand account of the showers. Never before has a commercial airplane bathroom been equipped with a shower, and we're okay with that. I mean, what, are we gonna share a communal shower with all the sketchy looking people in coach? With us? This isn't a hostel in Berlin! The ...Airbus A380 is a big plane and a big pain in the behind
Jan 25th, 2009 at 1:00PM: The Airbus A380 has been in service for over 16 months and a total of 13 of these monsters have been delivered to airlines around the world. One of those airlines is Qantas, who use the plane on their Sydney-Los Angeles route. Of course, a plane this big offers some major logistical challenges to designers, but the airports they visit get their fair share of hassles too. Los Angeles airport has ...Airbus A380 to become the new Air Force One?
Jan 17th, 2009 at 10:30AM: Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer and largest competitor to Boeing, is reportedly working on an offer to provide the President with their A380 super jumbo to replace the outdated fleet of VC-25's currently being used. Of course, the whole thing is probably a great way to generate some PR for Airbus, as I don't think there is a chance in hell that the United States would fly our president ...French Airline signs deal for 840 passenger A380 superjumbo
Jan 16th, 2009 at 3:00PM: Airlines placing an order for new planes is normally not really newsworthy, but a memorandum of understanding signed yesterday between French airline Air Austral and Airbus for 2 A380's is something special. Air Austral will be the first airline to order the A380 with seating designed to its fullest capacity. That means a whopping 840 passengers spread out between the double decks of this ...Airbus wins bet, makes president less of a loser
Jan 2nd, 2009 at 4:00PM: When your reputation is so bad that you have to make a bet that you'll meet production targets, as Airbus President Tom Enders did, you need to realize that your victory would be break-even for anyone else. The man with the poor track record scored a bottle of champagne by delivering the fourth of four planes to Emirates Airline on time. The total order is for 58, which means Airbus has plenty of ...Pounding weather, in New York and on the runways
Aug 11th, 2008 at 1:50PM: It's pouring here in New York, with a severe weather alert out for high winds and quarter-sized hail. It's a good thing I haven't been going outside this summer--and my apartment, with its windows facing an inner courtyard shields me away from most of nature. In honor of weird weather, here in New York, in Beijing (where it's predicted to rain for the better half of this week), and apparently on ...
Emirates A380 arrives in New York!
Aug 3rd, 2008 at 12:00PM:
Dubai's Emirates Airlines made its inaugural Airbus A380 flight into New York's John F Kennedy airport this past Friday, on what will now become America's first regularly scheduled service with the the new two story jumbo jet.
Gadling was on hand to capture some sweet photos in and around the aircraft, as well as through a press conference detailing the coming Emirates events.
The airline ...Talking travel with Emirates Airline VP Nigel Page
Aug 1st, 2008 at 9:00AM: This Friday will mark the launch of the first regular route in the world on the A380, from Dubai to New York JFK on Emirates Airline. I'm here to talk to Nigel Page, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations (Americas) about this exciting development, the airline's famed "private hotels in the sky," and why we should book a ticket to Dubai. What will be the configuration on the A380, New ...Emirates' A380 is on the way!
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Jul 18th, 2008 at 9:30AM: It's not very often that we Americans are privy to a taste of the Airbus A380, the new supermega jumbo jet that took to the skies last year. Singapore Airlines was the first customer of the aircraft and though they took a quick zip around the United States, as our friend Mr. Cranky talked about last year, most folks have barely seen or heard much about the aircraft -- after all, none of ...First regular A380 service to the US announced
Jun 10th, 2008 at 10:00AM: Emirates finally announced its delivery and route schedule for the new A380s that it's supposed to receive from Airbus later this yea, and New York is on the list of destinations. Starting on August 1st, the Dubai based airline will fly direct from JFK to Dubai three times a week, with routes to San Francisco and Los Angeles to unfurl later in the year. While this isn't the first time that the ...Get your super jumbo jet today! Airbus to raise price of A380 by $4m
Apr 23rd, 2008 at 1:00PM: Good thing I've already got my order in. EADS and Airbus just announced that they're increasing the price of the A380 because the dollar keeps tanking. While the European conglomerate still does most of their business in Euros, the problem is that their aircraft are priced in dollars. This means that when the dollar falls against the euro it cuts into their bottom line. It also makes competition ...Second A380 grounded
Mar 26th, 2008 at 11:00AM: Grant wrote about the first Airbus A380 grounded by Singapore airlines because of fuel pump problems in February.
Today, BBC reports that Singapore Airlines grounded another A380 with similar problems. The official line from Singapore Airlines is that "it is not the same problem, and not the same aircraft." Which, I suppose, is supposed to make us feel more confident in the A380?
The problem last ...Next feature for the A380? Showers!
Mar 25th, 2008 at 1:30PM: Dubai's Emirates airline just started revealing some plans for its A380 configurations. They're the second customer for Airbus's giant airship with delivery slated for later this year. And it looks like they're going to try to beat Singapore Air, the first customer, in sheer ridiculousness of their first class product. With showers. Yes, first class travelers on the new, highly-coveted Emirates ...As the A380 creeps closer to the USA, Brits wonder "why are there ash trays"?
Mar 25th, 2008 at 10:40AM: I'm sure that you've heard of the A380 by now, Airbus's super mega jumbo modern noah's-ark behemoth of an aircraft, capable of carrying ten thousand passengers, flying around the world twelve times and curing myopia. It's pretty sweet. And I mean that, it's a magnificent creature. I'll bet you that many of you haven't seen it in real life though, save for a few insiders in the industry and ...
Bad fuel pumps ground Singapore Air's A380s
Feb 20th, 2008 at 10:40AM: It looks like the commercial Airbus A380s have hit their first snag. Singapore Airlines (SQ) announced today that it had to ground it's only operational super jumbo because of an issue with the fuel pumps. Luckily the problem was detected while the aircraft was on the ground prior to departure and not sometime during transit. SQ's other A380 wasn't rotated into the schedule because it was ...Airbus A380 moves towards flying green
Feb 5th, 2008 at 9:00AM: Airplanes are not the world's most eco-friendly commodity. To make amends with their carbon emissions, some airlines offer CO2 offsets for passengers. On Friday, Airbus took an even bigger step with its much talked about A380; it became the first commercial airline to fly with alternative fuel on a test flight from Filton, UK to Toulouse, France.
The fancy-schmancy A380 needs no modifications in ...Airbus A380 Panorama Cockpit View
Jan 29th, 2008 at 2:20PM: Pilots enjoy checking out new and unfamiliar cockpits. Maybe it's because we're still flying airplanes that were developed twenty or thirty years ago. In fact, it seems like we have to wait ten years at a time to see any new technology show up in the form of a new design. So most of us have salivated over the 787 cockpit picture that hasn't changed in a few years, and waited patiently for detailed ...A380 is fit for a prince
Nov 13th, 2007 at 10:30AM: If you're looking to spend some cash on a status symbol, don't even bother with yesterday's Jaguar and Concord -- instead be the first on your block to own the new Airbus 380. Having one of these jumbo jets is on par with owning your own island, and probably about as expensive. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal spent an undisclosed amount (though companies spend more than $300 million) to be the ...Singapore Airlines asks passengers to "please refrain from sex"
Nov 1st, 2007 at 3:30PM: Jamie already covered the potential outcome of putting double beds on an airplane. But now Singapore airlines is directly addressing the situation as well.
The airline's new Airbus A380 flies with two double beds in First Class, which are made private by a screen. But the airline is hoping to quash any funny-business ideas travelers might get when booking a lover's package First Class bed. In a ...
