Glitzy Debut for First Airbus A380
By Nicola Clark
There were no Jacuzzis or bowling alleys. No casinos or gyms. But the chilled bottle of Champagne perched on an elegantly laid-out double bed said it all.
Singapore Airlines showed off the interior of its first A380 superjumbo jet in an elaborate ceremony here Monday, bringing an end to a decade of anticipation of what the airline has always said would be a step up in the level of quality and comfort in long-haul air travel.
“From today, there is a new queen of the skies for air travel,” a beaming Chew Choon Seng, the Singapore Airlines chief executive, told a gathering of more than 500 international guests. And with that, Chew introduced the unique features of his carrier’s new 471- seat craft, which, in the premium-class cabin at least, sometimes resembles a luxury hotel rather than an airliner.
Twelve private “suites” created by the French yacht designer Jean- Jacques Coste grace the front half of the plane’s lower deck. Designed to maximize privacy, these partitioned nooks are each fitted with fully adjustable leather seats and a separate bed that folds out with a full-sized mattress, draped in crisp cream-colored linens designed by Givenchy.
A 58 centimeter, or 23 inch, LCD video screen hangs on one wall, where passengers can view a selection of up to 100 movies and more than 180 television channels. The same entertainment system includes a word processor and spreadsheet programs as well as multiplayer 3D video games.
As if to enhance the already high expectations of his audience, Chew explained that four of the suites in the center of the cabin could be modified to become double beds for couples traveling together, simply by removing the privacy divider between them.
In a demure hint at the plane’s honeymoon possibilities, the carrier had decked out one double bed with champagne and scattered red rose petals on the duvet. The bed’s two seatbelts were discreetly hidden below the bedding.
Officially, of course, these beds are meant for sleeping only.
“We look forward to welcoming our premium-class guests for the purposes of travel and rest,” said Stephen Forshaw, an airline spokesman. “That is all.”
On the upper deck are 60 business-class seats, each 86 centimeters wide. These, too, convert into a fully flat bed and include 39-centimeter LCD television screens, USB ports and in-seat power supplies for laptop computers.
The 399 economy-class seats spread across the back half of the upper and lower decks of the plane are designed to maximize leg and knee room. Each seatback is equipped with a 27-centimeter video screen, USB port and electrical power port for laptops can be found in the armrests.
First- and business-class restrooms are roomy and feature shaving mirrors and an assortment of fine complimentary toiletries. But Forshaw said the airline chose, for practical reasons, to forego installing showers, which some rival airlines have said they would include. “The main reason is because it would require us to carry too much water, which is just too heavy to be economical,” he said.
As guests marveled at the opulent interiors of the plane, which makes its first passenger flight on Oct. 25, the festivities were also an occasion for the plane’s beleaguered manufacturer, Airbus, to revel in a brief moment of celebration following nearly two years of corporate upheaval linked to the A380′s highly publicized manufacturing delays that will cost Airbus nearly 5 billion, or $7.1 billion, in lost profit between 2006 and 2010.
Thomas Enders, the Airbus chief executive, seemed to welcome the opportunity to change the subject from reports of a widening insider- trading investigation that has ensnared him personally as well as 20 other current and former executives of Airbus and its parent, European Aeronautic Defense & Space. The inquiry by French stock market regulators, comes as Airbus is struggling to implement a huge corporate turnaround plan that foresees around 10,000 job cuts and the sale of as many as seven factories over the next four years.
“Today is an important milestone on a four-year recovery program,” Enders said. Already two years late and 50 percent over its initial $12 billion budget, Enders acknowledged that significant challenges remain for Airbus as it prepares to deliver the next 13 superjumbos to airline customers next year, followed by a near doubling of production to 25 craft a year in 2009. It plans to build 45 a year by the end of 2010.
Still, Enders said he was confident that Airbus would be up to the task.
“There is hard work ahead of us,” Enders conceded. “But everything we have accomplished so far gives us the confidence, the courage and the means to face the big ramp-up in 2008 and 2009.”
“The A380 remains our utmost priority,” he said.
Singapore Airlines will carry its first paying A380 passengers on a special flight next week from Singapore to Sydney. Tickets for both legs of that flight were auctioned separately over the summer on eBay, raising $1.3 million for Singapore and Australian charities.
The carrier will begin regular daily A380 service between Singapore and Sydney – a 7- to 8-hour flight – on Oct. 28 and tickets have been on sale for several weeks. Forshaw said round- trip ticket prices for the suites on that route would cost around 7,500 Singapore dollars, or $5,115. Business-class seats will cost about 15 to 20 percent more than they do on other Singapore airlines planes on comparable routes “because of the substantial amount of extra real estate” devoted to these seats, he said.
October and November are normally peak travel months on the so- called kangaroo route, which has helped to guarantee brisk sales, Forshaw said.
The airline expects its second A380 to be delivered in January and plans to add daily A380 service to London by the end of the first quarter of 2008. By March, it should be possible to fly all the way from London to Sydney on the A380, with a stop in Singapore.
With the delivery of its fourth A380 in April, Singapore Airlines plans to add daily service to Tokyo by May, and by the end of 2008, with its first six aircraft in hand, it will begin A380 service to Hong Kong and San Francisco.
The next two customers, Qantas and Emirates, are to get their first A380s in August and each should have four by the end of next year.
For many long-time Airbus employees, the ceremony Monday was an emotional milestone as well.
Jrgen Thomas, the retired head of the large aircraft division at Airbus in the late 1990s, whom some call the father of the A380, said, “It’s like giving away your first daughter.”
Recalling the many sleepless nights during the problems last year, Tom Williams, head of aircraft programs at Airbus, said he was relieved. “I’ll probably sleep pretty good tonight,” he said.
Originally published by The New York Times Media Group.
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