Musings of The Global Traveller
Thoughts, advice and travel news from around the world by a seasoned frequent flyer.
The post outlining all A380 routes and airlines has been updated with many changes including the first China Southern A380 routes and the planned first route for Malaysia Airlines (between Kuala Lumpur and London Heathrow in 2012).
As the number of A380 routes continues to grow the maps have been split into smaller regions.
The post outlining all A380 routes and airlines has been updated with many changes. Apologies for the delay in posting the recent A380 route additions and deletions, including a new airline (Korean).
As there are now more routes and airlines than can easily be shown on a single map, there are now 5 maps covering routes in broad geographic zones.
In the last few months there have been several changes in routes flown by A380 aircraft. The all A380 routes post has been updated.
Air France and Emirates have both had short flights scheduled on A380 (Paris to London and Dubai to Jeddah respectively), and now it is Lufthansa’s turn with some A380 flights between Frankfurt and Mallorca. It remains to be seen if the route will stay in the schedule for long (my guess is no).
I’ve written about A380 a few times (A380 tag link), and there seems to be a lot of interest in how to fly A380 cheaply, especially in first and business class. This post summarises all the currently operating regularly scheduled A380 services, which I’ll update from time to time [last updated 12 December 2011].
There are currently 7 airlines flying A380:
The next airline to operate A380 is Malaysia Airlines which is scheduled to commence July 2012, initially on Kuala Lumpur to London Heathrow route.
Singapore Airlines A380 routes
Emirates A380 routes
Qantas A380 routes
Air France A380 routes
Lufthansa A380 routes
Korean A380 routes
China Southern A380 routes
A380 destinations in the Americas
A380 destinations in Europe
A380 destinations in Middle East and Africa
A380 destinations in Asia
A380 destinations in the Pacific
Maps from gcmap.
As posted by the Wandering Aramean, Air France are flying A380 for a few days a week between Paris CDG and London Heathrow during (northern) summer. Air France also has promotional fares (eg London to Paris return £80 for economy and £280 for business class). Be quick – many seats have already gone at these sale fares.
These short hops on longhaul aircraft often happen when an airline introduces a new aircraft type. They are an easy way for the airline to train up lots of flight and cabin crew in a short period of time (of course there is also training before they fly the aircraft!). I’m waiting for Air New Zealand’s 77W to arrive to take one such flight across the Tasman as a cheap way to try out their new longhaul seats in economy, premium economy and business class.
The first Lufthansa A380 destination is Tokyo from 11 June 2010. Beijing commences 25 August 2010, and Johannesburg 25 October 2010.
A reminder there is only 8 first class seats and reportedly Lufthansa is blocking these from awards and upgrades. So, do the same “trick” as for Singapore – book the award before a flight switches from 747 to A380 aircraft type.
I’ve been fortunate enough to fly in business class on A380 on all the airlines which operate it excluding Air France. I think it may be useful having a comparison between the three products.
In each case, the A380 business class is the best business class offering of the relevant airline. Singapore Airlines even has restricted bookings in this class to require a surcharge on paid fares on many routes, double mileage cost in their Kris Flyer program and no awards for other Star Alliance frequent flyer programs (other than Lufthansa Miles and More).
Emirates between Auckland and Sydney
source: Emirates
Qantas between Sydney and Singapore
source: Qantas
Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Tokyo Narita for example.
source: Singapore Airlines
On the ground
On the ground treatment of A380 business class passengers is standard fare (for business class). The only stand-out is Emirates which offers airport limo transfers at both ends for business class (and first class) passengers on most routes (including trans-Tasman).
Qantas in Sydney and Melbourne, and Emirates in Sydney, also have a priority security queue for first class, business class and frequent flyer elite passengers. At Singapore security is processed at the gate, and the gates used by A380 do not have a priority lane.
In air amenities
The treatment in the air is also standard for each airline’s business class. So pre-depature bubbles or water, nice food & drink, hot towels. Qantas offers pajamas on some longhaul flights. Qantas and Emirates have a full amenity kit while Singapore Airlines has socks and eyeshades (with other amenities in the bathroom). Note due to the short flight duration, my Emirates flights did not offer pajamas or the normal amenity kit.
On all three airlines noise cancelling headphones are used. Qantas hands out the headphones after take-off and also doesn’t switch on the IFE (except for the tail camera) until well after take-off, Emirates hands out the headphones before departure so you can start watching movies straight away, whilst Singapore Airlines doesn’t hand out headphones until after departure but the IFE is available to watch once the safety video has finished.
The seats
Emirates business class A380 seats are partially enclosed and in staggered layout. I found them claustrophobic (despite not having problems with the fully enclosed first class suites on a number of airlines) and also there is a tight squeeze for the table since it is not very adjustable. The side table provides plenty of space. The seats are fully flat. Emirates has a business class bar where you can meet fellow passengers in some comfort while drinking or nibbling.
Qantas business class A380 seats are a slightly modified version of their skybed seats found on their other longhaul aircraft. The main difference is this version is fully lie flat whereas the other version (which will be phased out during 2011) is not. This means the seat in front is also further away. As an added extra, Qantas has a small business class lounge (which doubles as an emergency bed) with large screen, some magazines and a comfy couch.
Singapore Airlines business class A380 seats are very similar to the “new” business class seats found on their 77W and A345 aircraft. The differences are trivial width and length differences. For those unfamiliar, the seat is rather wide for business class but with short pitch. The fully flat bed operates by bringing up a flat surface to the seat in front, with a cubby hole to put your feet in – the length of the bed is thus diagonal along the seat. There are cubby holes to put things and the tray table has generous dimensions. The monitor is very large for business class, but some people find it too close (due to the shorter pitch).
How can you experience A380 business class for low cost?
Emirates flies A380 between Auckland and Sydney with business class fares under US$500 return when on sale. iscounted fare and award availability for business class is good on Emirates A380.
Qantas longhaul business class fares are rarely cheap. Look for British Airways Club World sales on the kangaroo route – thanks to the joint services agreement these fares are also valid on Qantas flights (on the BA codeshare). Mileage redemptions generally require booking well in advance 330-360 days ahead of travel, or close to departure.
Singapore Airlines heavily restricts A380 business class from awards. Best option is to book the A380 flights between Singapore and Hong Kong on a paid fare.
Summary
I was very disappointed with the Emirates A380 business class (see also my trip report), but both Qantas and Singapore Airlines have great products.
There’s an active discussion on Flyer Talk about a HON Circle mileage run by private jet, thanks to a promotion offering 50k miles including award, status and HON Circle miles per international segment on LH Private Jet until early June. If you can organise a full load in a private jet the costs are not too bad.
HON Circle is the top elite frequent flyer status of Miles & More and requires 600,000 HON Circle miles within 2 consecutive calendar years. Flights must be on certain airlines to count as HON Circle miles (the home airlines of Miles & More). HON Circle status perks include access to the fabulous Lufthansa First Class Terminal and Lounges, Senator status for partner, 6 upgrade e-vouchers, frequent op-ups, guaranteed seat availability and improved award availability (eg additional award seats on Lufthansa and Swiss plus all Miles & More customers can benefit from premium cabin awards on Singapore Airlines 77W and A380 aircraft) which will come in handy given the number of miles HON runners will have accumulated.
Perhaps the most attractive feature for some Flyer Talkers is that qualifying now for HON Circle status gives HON Circle status until February 2013 and Senator status until February 2015.
This sure beats taking hundreds of flights in economy to qualify for elite frequent flyer status.
Qantas has advised of planned configuration changes to A380 and 747 aircraft between late 2011 and late 2013. Currently all their A380 and 747 aircraft have 4 cabins (first, business, premium economy and economy), except for 7 747 aircraft with 2 classes of service. There are 3 different 747 configurations. Ultimately there will be 2 A380 configurations and 1 747 configuration.
Some A380 to keep first class, some configured with 3 class seating
The existing 6 A380, plus the next 6 to be delivered, will continue to have all four classes of service. However there will be less business class seats and more premium economy and economy class seats. Exact configuration is yet to be disclosed. These 12 aircraft will operate exclusively on the following routes:
The extra 8 A380 will have no first class cabin. The new seating configuration is yet to be disclosed.
All 747s to be 3 class
The current fleet will eventually be reduced to 9 aircraft, all of which will have no first class cabin.
Other changes include a switch to the new version of business class seats (same as those already installed on A380) to be fully lie flat instead of the current flat on an angle, upgrade to inflight entertainment system (presumably to the same software as is on the A380), and changes in the number of seats. There will be a reduction of 8 business class seats, an extra 4 premium economy seats, and an extra 78 economy class seats. The changes in seat numbers are all relative to the current 747-400ER seating configuration since these are 6 of the 9 aircraft which will remain in the fleet.
Routes that lose Qantas first class service
The following routes either currently have first class service and will lose it some time in 2011, 2012 or 2013; or used to have first class but with a current suspension:
Significant reduction in premium seating
Premium cabin (first and business class) awards and points upgrades on Qantas flights will be tougher. Operational upgrades should also be less likely.
The changes will see the end of the current practice whereby on certain routes seating is in a higher cabin but with the service for the cabin you pay for. Eg some passengers seated in premium economy seats with economy service, others seated in business class seats with premium economy service, and others seated in first class seats with business class service.
Positive aspects
The news is not all bad for frequent flyers.
Business class will be lie flat on 747. IFE improvements are always welcome. More premium economy and economy class seats means potentially better fares and more sales to keep them filled.
There may be some opportunities during the transition period to improve your seating, at least if you have Oneworld elite status. This is because first class will have to be discontinued for sale ahead of when the seats are removed in order to avoid costly disappointment for passengers paying many thousands of dollars for first class travel.
