The A380 super jumbo is simply the best

A report in The Age says that Qantas is about to give itself the sort of problem that most airlines dream about…………a new product aboard a new aeroplane, the new Airbus A380 double-decker superjumbo, that makes all its other aeroplanes, if not obsolete, then second-rate, as far as its customers are concerned.

The question is who will want to fly on a Qantas 747 jumbo again after flying on one of its Airbus A380 super-jumbos from next year?

In terms of comfort and in-flight facilities, the A380 unveiled by Qantas this week is likely to cause a mini-revolution. Up and down the cabin, from economy to first class, it will be a better offering than anything that has gone before it.

Qantas has decided to eat up some of the superior economics of the A380, compared with the 747, to create more space for passengers. The super-jumbo has a standard three-class configuration for 550 passengers but the Qantas version will have only 450 (compared with 341 to 450 in the various versions of the 747).

Alas, there’s no more legroom – technically – for economy-class passengers but Qantas got in ergonomic experts to design a new economy chair that does manage to create extra space.

The seat has “a sliding base that moves with the seat back to create a more comfortable, ergonomically correct position to aid sleep and eliminate pressure points”.

Better still, each seat has a “foot net” (even more useful than a footrest, by the sound of it) that stops you sliding forward during sleep.

The economy cabin will have four self-service food and beverage bars you can raid at any time in the flight, in addition to the normal meal service. (Free food! Now that’s a treat, after the no-frills invasion of the past few years.)

After many years on the back foot waiting to see if it was all really worth it, Qantas is going all-out to upgrade in-flight entertainment and information systems using every bit of technology available on the A380.

Every seat will have a widescreen monitor that can dial up hundreds of video, TV and audio programs, as well as games, destination guides, language tutorials and even business courses.

Every seat will also have wireless internet/email access, though there’s no word yet on what that will cost. Going on established rates for international in-flight phones ($11 or more a minute), it won’t be super-cheap.

Incidentally, in the Qantas announcement of the A380, there was not a single mention of the word “phone”. That’s because passengers basically don’t use them where they’re fitted and resent them being used in-flight by others as an unnecessary annoyance.

It’s odd that in an era where we have the ability to talk to anyone anywhere by mobile phone, including calls from the stratosphere, the technology is being shunned.  It may well be the twilight of airborne phones as we know them.

At the front of the plane, business and first-class passengers will have space to burn, with a 21st century bottom-line – private suites in first, lie-flat beds in business – has been preserved but there will be spacious lounges for passengers in both classes for the first time.

So, who would travel on a daggy old 747 if you had the choice for the same price?

It may well be that Qantas introduces a price differential: you want to fly the best, you pay a little more.

On that subject, Qantas has decided for the first time to introduce a premium economy class, where you basically get what used to be called a business-class seat (seven abreast instead of eight on the A380 – basically the same seating as Jetstar’s international Star class) with extra legroom.

Prices are yet to be announced but expect it to sell for 20 to 30 per cent more than an economy ticket.

There’s a ready demand for premium economy among regular leisure flyers (and business flyers on a budget), who’ve had it with the sardine-can style seating down the back and are prepared to pay a little more for comfort.

If you can’t sleep the A380 has other diversions:

** Wide-screen monitors in all cabins with digital picture and sound quality;

** Audio and video on demand with more than 100 on-demand movies, 350 television selections, 500 audio CDs, 30 PC style games, as well as a selection of audio books and radio channels;

** Language tutorials;

** Deloitte Leadership Academy;

** Online duty free shopping;

** Moving maps, text news and weather;

** An intuitive graphics system allowing users to navigate through entertainment options or in-seat communications easily;

** Wireless connectivity throughout the aircraft;

** In-seat access to email and the internet, telephone and SMS;

** USB and RJ45 ports as well as PC power for all seats, and;

** An external camera giving a pilot’s eye view of take-off, landing and cruising.

Report by The Mole