Qantas to sell A380 seats soon

Qantas hopes to start selling seats for flights between LAX and Australia on the hot new Airbus 380, the world’s biggest passenger plane, in the next couple of months for flights starting in late 2008, a Qantas executive told me. You’ll be able to choose among four cabins, including a new “premium economy.” (Details below.)

The exact dates depend on jet delivery and training schedules, Wally Mariani, Qantas senior executive vice president for the Americas and Pacific, told me before we boarded the A380 for a short flight last week. He said he expects the jet to arrive in Toulouse, France, by August 2008. Then “we’ll play around with it for a while,” he said, training crews and smoothing out any issues, before putting it into service as early as October 2008.

It probably won’t cost more to fly on the A380 except in the new, upgraded first class, he added. How much more? Mariani wouldn’t say, but he mentioned that Singapore Airlines, which started A380 service in October, charges about 20% more in first. Here’s what Qantas plans for the new A380 cabins:

Economy: 332 seats, in 3-4-3 configuration. No improvement in seat pitch (distance between seat rows) over Qantas’ current offerings, a fairly stingy 31 inches, and not much more seat width, at 18.1 inches. But you’ll get more room for your knees and shins, Qantas insists, thanks to a gliding base that moves with the seat. And with adjustable headrests and a new “foot net” that controls sliding while you (hopefully) slumber, you should be more comfortable, they say. Another plus: a bigger seatback video screen.

Premium economy: 32 seats, in 2-3-2 configuration. You get more in this new class and you’ll pay for it, about 2½ times the economy fare, Mariani said. The perks include up to 42 inches of pitch (wow!) and wider seats with a fold-out foot rest, six headrest adjustments and a laptop power outlet. You’ll be in an intimate cabin, with its own staff and self-service bar.

Business: 72 seats in 2-2-2 configuration on the upper deck. An upgraded version of the current class, it offers a private lounge with leather sofas, large video monitor and self-service bar. The Skybed sleeper seat will lie fully flat, with 80-inch pitch (versus about 60 inches now), privacy dividers, extra storage and more.

First: 14 “private suites” on the main deck. No floor-to-ceiling sliding doors or double beds, like Singapore Airlines’ much-ballyhooed A380 suites. But the Qantas version is a big enhancement of its current offerings, with privacy screens over 5 feet high and a leather guest seat and dining table for two. The seat beds, with foam mattresses, sheepskin overlays and massage functions, are 29 inches wide and extend to nearly 83 inches, fully flat. You also get a 17-inch video monitor, mood lighting and other bells and whistles.

The bottom line: Everyone on the Qantas version of the A380 will get to enjoy the quiet ride, enhanced entertainment systems, in-seat e-mail, Internet access and other perks. But it’s the big spenders, not econo-travelers, who may have the most to gain by booking the A380 — unless that new coach seat works some miracles.

— Jane Engle, Assistant Travel Editor

[Photo: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 5:58 pm by Jane Engle and is filed under Business Travel, Luxury Travel, News, Tips & Advice, Pacific & Australia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.