Qantas doesn't plan to let V Australia steal away its customers when Richard Branson's newest airline takes flight December 15. So the old-line Aussie carrier is hyping some great fares on its A380 flights between LA and both Melbourne and Sydney.
Qantas says it's selling tickets for as little as $380 round-trip on flights departing between November 2 and December 8. But as far as we can tell, those super-cheap tickets are already gone.
We did find an LAX-Melbourne round trip in November for $1,215. Not less than 400 bucks, but that's certainly not bad! If you're willing to spend a bit more, A380 service between the US and Oz starts on October 20.
The A380 is finally coming to America! Emirates will run flights between New York and Dubai, starting August 1.
The massive aircraft won't be making all the runs between the two cities, but it will be the first time the A380 flies into the US in commercial service. Elsewhere, you can ride it between Singapore and both Sydney and London on Singapore Airlines.
The newest airline to become the proud owner of some A380s looks to be Qantas, with its first 20 super-jumbos currently being fitted out in Hamburg. They're getting one now and two more by December, with the others to follow "soon."
The surprise is that the Flying Kangaroo is planning to use the new plane on the Melbourne to Los Angeles route--everybody was expecting it would be used to fly to London. Qantas has apparently decided otherwise.
A non-stop Melbourne-LAX flight will make the Qantas route look a lot more enticing than main rival United, or at least that's the plan. We're wondering how the giant jet will stack up against V Australia's 777 service from Sydney.
If there was just one special luxury we could wish for on a long-haul flight, it would be the ability to have a shower shortly before landing. Washing away the dirt and grime of bad sleep, screaming babies and depressing in-flight movies would make a world of difference on arrival.
So we are quite excited to hear that Emirates are planning to provide showers for their first-class passengers when they get their first A380 in August this year. The facility will require one ton of freshwater to be carried on board, and the showers will be cleaned after every use.
Sure, we're not talking environmentally-friendly here, and being in first class will put these showers out of our reach anyway. But the idea of landing refreshed after twenty or thirty hours of long-haul travel is really, well, refreshing.
The thought of a two-hour "flightseeing" trip over southern California doesn't seem too pleasant: Santa Ana and Malibu wildfires and struggling to squint through LA's layer cake-like layers of pollution. But when it's a trip taken on the Airbus A380, even a gray view might be enjoyable.
Blogger CrankyFlier certainly thought so and posted a review of his recent trip on the super-jumbo. Offered to 150 people, the trip--which was reportedly "true dork bliss"--began at LAX, looped around southern California, went out over the Pacific and returned to LA. The planes, designed for a quieter, greener and more-comfortable experience, lived up to expectations, according to CF.
The upstairs cabin is a more humane 2-4-2 in coach. The slope in the walls is noticeable, and like on the 747's upper deck, there is a nice little compartment between the window seat and the window...That's a great feature, and I think it's clear that unless you're traveling in a group of three, upper deck seating if the way to go, if you have the choice.
Other bonus features include a super-sized lavatory on the lower level, a sizable crew cabin and, as CF notes, a "massive, heaving wing." Are we jealous that he got the tour? Uh, that'd be a 380-sized yes.
Singapore Airlines, one of the UK's most popular carriers, announced Saturday that it plans to offer routes from London Heathrow to the US in the near future. The new route will make Singapore the first non-EU or US carrier to serve the newly open skies. The announcement comes without an official launch date because, according to Singapore Airlines, a shortage of take-off spots in Heathrow has created difficulty in scheduling.
We're interested to see how this will affect Delta, Air France and US Airways, who all have recently announced plans for transatlantic service. Singapore Airlines comes with a reputation for excellent customer service: Readers of British paper The Telegraph have consistently voted Singapore Airlines their favorite carrier in its yearly Travel Awards.
In addition to praise from fliers, the airline also comes with a reputation for aviation innovation: Singapore was the first to use the double-decker Airbus A380 on flights to Sydney. The super-jumbo will serve London from Singapore starting in February 2008. It's worth noting that an A380 test flight touched down at JFK in March of this year.
Airbus is tooling around North America in another of its publicity-loving A380s. And everyone from die-hard plane-spotter to curious soccer dad is out to catch a glimpse of the bird.
After flying into MCO--an airport that won't likely see another A380 anytime soon--the super-jumbo is headed back to France after a stop in Montreal. But don't despair, Minnesota! Your date with the Airbus starts the night of October 26 and goes until the next morning. Just remember: No fooling around!
The new Airbus A380 proudly flown by Singapore Airlines last week is a huge aircraft with plenty of room for all kinds of activities. Except one: sex.
If you're thinking of booking the world's first flying double bed, you'll first need a lot of money. And second of all, no desire to have sex. Singapore Airlines has said that if couples using the double suites "engage in inappropriate activity," they'll be politely asked to stop. One of the first couples to fly in the suite thought this seemed a bit unfair since the flight attendants kept bringing champagne.
We agree that it doesn't seem fair, but at the same time, we don't want those kind of noises added to screaming engines and wailing children to make our long-haul flight experience even more painful.
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