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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 19, 2010 22:18:56 GMT 12
Qantas to pack more on its A380sThe Sydney Morning Herald | 9:57AM - Friday, 19 February 2010 SUPER JUMBO: A Qantas A380 arrives at its gate at Kingsford Smith International airport in Sydney. — REUTERS.The A380 superjumbo's reputation for luxury and extra room has given way to commercial reality at Qantas.
It will increase the number of seats on its flagship aircraft by as many as 100 because of a long-term trend of passengers preferring to fly closer to the back.
When the A380 was unveiled in France five years ago, airlines trumpeted that the super-jumbo would offer passengers bigger seats, inflight lounges, double beds and even showers.
But Qantas's decision to squeeze more passengers on its A380s confirms the long-held suspicions that the early euphoria about the flying cruise liners would eventually give way to the bottom-line.
Qantas will have eight of the A380s it has on order with European manufacturer Airbus fitted with 550 seats, instead of its previous plans for fewer than 500. It will also have 12 of the double-deckers - half of which are in service and the rest on the production line in France — retro-fitted to carry 40 more seats. The renovations will result in 50 to 100 more economy-class seats.
In the changes flagged late last year, Qantas will spend $400 million reconfiguring the A380s, as well as on replacing first-class seats on nine 747-400 aircraft with business-class ones. It will also install a new entertainment system on the jumbos. The 747 refits will increase the number of seats from 307 to 359.
The reconfigurations will begin at end of next year and take until late 2013, adding the equivalent of more than three 747-400s to Qantas's fleet.
"It is a very efficient way of getting additional capacity and helps the economics of our operations by between 10 and 15 per cent because there is no more crew required," said Qantas's chief executive, Alan Joyce.
He said most European airlines had 550 seats on their A380s.
Demand for first-class seats has been declining over the last 10 years, and was exacerbated by the global financial crisis. The changes will leave Qantas flying aircraft with first-class cabins on only the London and Los Angeles routes. Last year it dropped the first-class product from flights to Buenos Aires and San Francisco. The next services to go without will be to Hong Kong and Johannesburg flights.
However, Qantas's plans pale in comparison to the Reunion Island-based Air Austral, which flies between Sydney and Paris. It will become the world's first airline to have only economy class on its A380s after last year ordering two of the superjumbos that will seat about 840 passengers.
Yesterday nearly 200 passengers on a Shanghai-bound Qantas plane had to circle above the Tasman Sea for three hours and turn back to Sydney airport because of a landing-gear fault.www.stuff.co.nz/travel/3348339/Qantas-to-pack-more-on-its-A380s
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Post by corsair67 on Feb 20, 2010 14:39:00 GMT 12
KTJ, I'm starting to gain the impression that you don't like QANTAS very much!  As the article says, commercial realities are coming into play here - first class just isn't as popular anymore, and is a waste of space on these aircraft. Anyway, jamming more economy passengers in helps modern travellers gain a feel for what it was like 200+ years ago to travel from England to the far reaches of the empire. |
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Post by oldnavy on Feb 20, 2010 14:44:13 GMT 12
How many seats in the ANZ A380s? Or hasn't the gubmint bought them yet? I am only asking!! ;D But seriously, it is a little surprising the commercial reality has hit so quickly. If you can fit 840 people, it is only a matter of time before Q will do it... |
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Post by Kereru on Feb 20, 2010 16:38:29 GMT 12
KTJ, I'm starting to gain the impression that you don't like QANTAS very much! As the article says, commercial realities are coming into play here - first class just isn't as popular anymore, and is a waste of space on these aircraft. Anyway, jamming more economy passengers in helps modern travellers gain a feel for what it was like 200+ years ago to travel from England to the far reaches of the empire. Yea and it doesn't take six months of favourable winds anymore! ;D ANZ are putting an extra seat in each row of the 777-300 when they are delivered late this year. Instead of 9 across it will be 10 across. There is of course cuddle class for those that want it. ;D Cheers |
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Post by corsair67 on Feb 21, 2010 11:33:56 GMT 12
I reckon some airlines would introduce a standing option: if they could get away with it! ;D If standing is legal on buses, why can't it bemade legal on aeroplanes?  ?  I still have a chuckle to myself about an incident that I witnessed on the first Air NZ A320 I flew on back in about 2006. A rather tall Englishman was complaining to one of the flight attendants that there wasn't much legroom with the seat he'd been allocated, and would it be possible to move to another seat? The flight attendant said she check for him, and then came back and said there was a spare seat in one of the overwing emergency exit rows. So he grabs his stuff and moves into the exit row seat, only to find that it really isn't that much better! When he points this out to the FA, she quips, "Oh sorry, I forgot that the company has added another row of seats at the back, so there's not as much legroom in the exit rows anymore!". |
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 21, 2010 20:45:33 GMT 12
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Post by corsair67 on Feb 21, 2010 20:48:53 GMT 12
Oh my God - I didn't think anyone would seriously consider that as an option! But then if anyone would try it, it'd have to be the Chinese!  |
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Post by flyjoe180 on Feb 24, 2010 10:52:18 GMT 12
That is both funny and shocking. Standing class? Next you will strap in at the terminal and be wheeled aboard in order and locked into position.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jul 3, 2010 19:10:22 GMT 12
Plan for ‘vertical seats’ on airlinesBy ROBYN GRACE - The Age | 3:03PM - Friday, 02 July 2010 FLYING HIGH: A graphic of Ryanair's proposed “vertical seating”.Travellers flying on discount airlines may one day substitute seating for savings, following plans by one European carrier to allow passengers to fly standing up.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary will announce a proposal today for "vertical seats", which will provide standing-room spots on short-haul flights for a cost of about £5 ($NZ11).
Asked today whether it would consider a similar proposal, Tiger Airways said selling cheap fares meant continually having to innovate and evolve to reduce the cost base.
"Tiger Airways doesn't rule anything out," the budget carrier's Australia commercial director, Steve Burns, said.
Mr Burns said while there were no immediate plans for vertical seating, "we continue to look at ways of making our operation more efficient so we can offer even lower fares than we do now".
"Everything we do is about offering the lowest possible fare then allowing our customers to choose what, if any, extras they wish to pay for," he said.
Mr O'Leary told ITV's How To Beat the Budget Airlines program Ryanair would convert the back 10 rows of seats into standing area.
"We are aiming at starting safety testing in about 12 months with a view to going into service with the new arrangements in about 18 months to two years' time," a spokesman told The Guardian.
"We think this would work well on our winter services so would hope to eventually introduce it for a winter timetable."
However, the newspaper reported that safety officials at the European Aviation Safety Agency said the plan was unlikely to pass the regulator's requirements.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has already rejected Ryanair's controversial plans once, but the airline says it has re-entered talks over its proposals.
Ryanair has dismissed claims it is only seeking publicity and is not serious about the proposals.
The airline said the same claims were made two years ago when it announced it would remove its check-in desks from airports. It removed the last of its check-in desks in October last year.
Ryanair has also repeatedly raised the possibility of charging passengers to use the toilets on flights lasting less than an hour.
Jetstar and Virgin Blue have been contacted for comment.www.stuff.co.nz/travel/3879467/Plan-for-vertical-seats-on-airlines
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