26 July 07
Qantas unveils A380 cabins
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Qantas has become the first airline to
unveil its plans for the Airbus A380 superjumbo, including this
first-class suite. The 14 suites will each have a 17-inch touch screen
control unit and an extra-sized bed.
The aircraft will offer four classes of
cabin, with Wi-Fi and video on demand for all 450 passengers.
Qantas’s major innovation is in
business class, which will have a lounge area with leather sofas and a
self-service bar, plus a video screen with laptop connection for
presentations. The 72 business seats, in a 2-2-2 configuration, will be
fully flat with an 80-inch pitch.
The aircraft will have a premium
economy cabin on the upper deck. It will have 32 seats with a 42-inch
pitch in a 2-3-2 layout. But passengers in the 332
economy-class seats will have the same
pitch, 31 inches, as those in Qantas’s existing Boeing 747 cabin.
However, the seats, in a 3-4-3 layout,
will be up to 18.5 inches wide and have a sliding base, allowing a
better incline. The economy cabin will also include four self-service
bars.
Qantas will adopt several innovations
from the A380 for its 747 fleet, which will have a premium economy cabin
in a 2-4-2 layout from February.
The airline’s A380 is due to fly from
Heathrow from late 2008.
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