The Pop Culture Travel Guide

Tag: a380

Qantas Hyping Super-Cheap Transpacific Fares

Where: Australia

6/18/2008 at 10:35 AM
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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.

Related Stories:
· Qantas Strikes First in Virgin Price War [SMH]
· Fare Wars coverage [Jaunted]
· A380 coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Naddsy]

0 Comments - Add Yours by pbb

Adventures of Link: A380 Coming Stateside

6/09/2008 at 6:05 PM
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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.

Related Stories:
· If You Want to See a Really Big Airplane [Airline Biz Blog]
· Emirates to Launch First Service to US with A380 [AFP, via Google]
· Dreamliner to Fly by End of 2008 [BBC]
· Coming Soon: A380 Kangaroos [Jaunted]
· A380 coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: The Cranky Flier]

0 Comments - Add Yours by pbb

Coming Soon: A380 Kangaroos

5/19/2008 at 9:20 AM
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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.

Related Stories:
· Qantas A380 Across the Pacific [Business Traveller]
· Qantas A380 Ready for October Take-Off [news.com.au]
· Qantas coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Naddsy]

0 Comments - Add Yours by amandak

Emirates Planes Will Shower You

1/11/2008 at 9:15 AM
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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.

Related Stories:
· Mile-High Showers for A380 [news.com.au]
· Emirates Airlines: First Class Video Tour [Jaunted]
· A380 coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mr. Delgoff]

0 Comments - Add Yours by amandak

Cranky Flier Falls for the Airbus A380

12/03/2007 at 2:00 PM
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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.

Related Stories:
· Trip Report: Flying on the A380 [The Cranky Flier]
· Airbus coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: The Cranky Flier]

0 Comments - Add Yours by laurenuta

Singapore Airlines Loves Open Skies

11/26/2007 at 12:15 PM
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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.

Related Stories:
· Singapore Airlines Aiming to Go Transatlantic [Telegraph]
· Singapore Airlines coverage [Jaunted]
· A380 coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: timparkinson]

2 Comments - Add Yours by laurenuta

Where To Spot the Airbus A380

11/14/2007 at 4:45 PM
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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!

Related Stories:
· Airbus A380 Visits Orlando [Orlando Sentinel]
· Plane-spotters Jetstruck as Big Bird Flies into Town [The Gazette]
· World's Largest Passenger Jet Lands in Montreal [CTV]
· Airbus to Show Off Jet at MSP [Pioneer Press]
· A380 coverage [Jaunted]

0 Comments - Add Yours by pbb

No Sex, Please: We're on Singapore Airlines

10/30/2007 at 9:20 AM
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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.

Related Stories:
· Airbus All The Way [Jaunted]
· Qantas Kinkier Than You Thought [Jaunted]
· Singapore Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Telegraph]

3 Comments - Add Yours by amandak

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