Singapore Airlines (SIA) today firmed details of the entry-into-service programme for the Airbus A380 aircraft and finally unveiled its long-awaited cabin configuration.

Airline CEO Chew Choon Seng said the first aircraft would be put on the Singapore-Sydney route, and as the second and third arrive in January and February 2008 they will be deployed for a daily service on Singapore-London.

A380-SIA-boarding-levels 
 © Airbus / P Masclet

The fourth aircraft, due in April, will serve Tokyo. SIA will then see two aircraft delivered to competitors before its fifth and sixth examples are deployed on its services to Hong Kong and San Francisco.

 A380-sia-boarding-levels-1
 © Airbus / P Masclet

At a spectacular ceremony at Airbus’ dedicated delivery centre in Toulouse, Chew was anxious not to dampen the relentlessly upbeat mood but, questioned about the production delays, he noted: “We were inconvenienced. I would be less than candid if I said we were not unhappy.”

However he also responded positively to a question as to whether SIA might commit to more A380 orders than its current 19. Gesturing to Airbus CEO Tom Enders and Rolls-Royce CEO Sir John Rose, he said: “A lot depends on John and Tom as to how many more we will go for.”

a380-sia-toulouse 
 © Airbus / P Masclet

Singapore Airlines has configured the aircraft with 471 seats of which 12 are premium-class suites. Another 60 are business-class seats while the remaining 399 make up the economy cabin.

Chew, Rose and Enders toured the aircraft together, watched on a giant monitor screen by the media, examining its previously-unrevealed new cabin – a double-bed configuration in the pioneering ‘beyond first class’ personal suites attracting the most attraction.

 A380-sia-cabin
 

Chew said the Singapore Airlines Suites product would be priced at 20-35% more than conventional first class.

Each suite boasts sliding doors and roller blinds for privacy; a leather chair; a bed with separate sitting and sleeping surfaces; a 23in (58cm) LCD entertainment screen; chaise longue; and personal stowage. It was designed by French yachting designer Jean-Jacques Coste with a Ferragamo amenities kit.

A380-sia-CEO 
 © Airbus / H Gousse
SIA CEO Chew Choon Seng Airbus receives Airbus' A380

SIA says its business-class seats on the A380 will be the “largest in the industry” at 34in wide and 55in pitch – also claiming the largest full-flat business class bed.

Business class is configured as 1-2-1 so all passengers have direct aisle access. It features a height-adjustable table, reading lights that do not disturb other passengers as well as conventional business-class facilities.

 A380-management rose, enders, chew
 © Airbus / S Ramadier
Left to right - SIA CEO Chew, Airbus CEO Tom Enders and Rolls-Royce CEO Sir John Rose

Economy class, as on the A380 in general, will be wider than usual at 19in with a 32in seat pitch. All passengers will have footrests, height-adjustable leather headrests with side-panels for support, the new reading light, a 10.6in LCD monitor, in-seat power, and a USB port.

 A380 sia tla
 © Airbus / H Gousse
Left to right - Rolls-Royce CEO Sir John Rose, Airbus CEO Tom Enders and SIA CEO Chew

The eX2-branded upgrade of the Krisworld in-flight entertainment (IFE) system running on Panasonic Avionics’ S3000i platform will provide 100 movies, more than 150 TV programmes, 700 audio CDs, and 22 audio programmes – all on demand.

Passengers will be able to access files on thumbdrives via the IFE by plugging the drives into at-seat USB ports and using the ‘QWERTY-thumboard’ provided to run documents, spreadsheets and presentations on a system based on Sun Microsystem’s StarOffice.

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  • More images of the cabin on Airspace

     

    • Source: FlightGlobal.com

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