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Singapore's next batch of A380 aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2008 and plans are to introduce the super jumbo on one of three daily flights between Singapore and London's Heathrow Airport.
While the first A380 takes to the skies ahead of its maiden commercial flight, riding on the aircraft will not just be the new standards in aviation that will be set.
While the wider bodied A380 will offer extra leg room and an overall better ride for passengers on Singapore Airlines especially in the economy class, the question being asked is, will all the extras translate to many more extra dollars in ticket fares?
SIA which is looking at a basic bill of US$5.7 billion for the new fleet of 19 super jumbos is only saying for now that it is taking things one step at a time. "With all businesses, we have to recover our cost to stay in business for the longer term, and a lot of our expenditure today is on jet fuel. But with the A380, the unit cost will come down and hopefully, that will translate into more competitive pricing."
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, SIA's CEO, Chew Choon Seng said "we've placed orders for 19, they will take over from remaining 19 747-400s that we presently operate and we'll move on ahead."
Airbus is also hoping to move ahead with the A380 now that it has delivered the new generation aircraft, albeit with delays and grey clouds over the horizon with a lingering insider trading scandal at Airbus' parent company EADS.
One of the hopes is that the hype will generate into cold hard cash in terms of orders.
"You have those who want to see the aircraft really take to the skies and how it operates and come in the second wave" Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus told Channel NewsAsia.
While the company has received orders for some 189 A380s so far, 165 firm and 24 on option, that's below the 420 it previously said it needed to break even. All this with recurring talk that later deliveries of the A380 will be stalled.
Enders will only say,"obviously there is (a) huge challenge still ahead of us and nobody should be surprised because delivering one aircraft, delivering 13 aircraft next year and then steeply ramping up production is presenting a lot of challenges."
Part of the challenge will be to overcome the same troubles that beset the group in delivering the first A380. The lack of cooperation between different groups of workers has since led to a restructuring plan with 10,000 job cuts.
Components for the newly delivered A380 were built in plants around the world before being finally assembled in Toulouse, France while the painting of the livery and installation of the aircraft cabin took place in Hamburg, Germany.
The first few A380s will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines which generate 72,000 lbs thrust each. Said Sir John Rose, CEO of Rolls-Royce "it's the quietest and cleanest engine for the A380, with emissions levels well within the requirements of all current and future legislation."
The Rolls Royce engines greatly contribute to the A380's environmental friendliness with fuel efficiency of less than three litres per passenger per 100 kilometres. This means the environmental impact of flying with emissions per passengers are the lowest of any aircraft.
The A380's noise emissions will also prove that big aircraft are not necessarily noisier. Thanks to new technology, new design, airframe construction and engines, the A380 will be the quietest large passenger jet ever built. Onboard, the cabin also offers significantly lower cabin noise throughout.
Since the order was announced, the challenge for Singapore Airlines has been to re-engineer operations, from catering to cargo and baggage handling, engineering and passenger movement, as well as customer service on board.
Based on a consultation exercise with frequent travellers which began as far back as 2001, new cabin products were unveiled, including a class beyond first class where travellers can enjoy their own suites on board.
According to SIA's CEO, all this will help the airline stay ahead of competition. "More importantly, it enables us to bring back the romance of travel... the piece de resistance of this airplane will be our new premier front section, which will have suite cabins that have not only a fully-adjustable seat, but a full-sized real bed that will enable customers who are looking for no compromise between sitting and sleeping on board a commercial airline" said Chew.
The Singapore Airlines A380 is configured with 471 seats in three classes:
Economy, Business and Singapore Airlines Suites. -CNA/sf
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