Any idea about this??..sorry if already posted. -iam

A380 operators hint at cabin, IFE/comms plans

January 19, 2005 - IT’S the biggest aircraft in the world, and the early indications are that it’s also going to be the biggest IFE/communications story in years.

Examples of the giant Airbus A380 - “revealed” yesterday to press and politicians gathered in Toulouse – will fly within the next 12 months equipped with two of the most advanced IFE systems in the world. And three early operators have hinted at plans for extraordinary new interiors to exploit the extra volume available inside the huge double-decker fuselage.

Flight-test aircraft MSN002, due to take to the air seven months after the A380 first flight this March, will be dedicated to shaking down cabin systems: air distribution and temperature control, lighting, public address, water and waste management, and inflight entertainment. It will be fitted with Thales Avionics’ TopSeries i-5000, providing AVOD and optional passenger connectivity.

The first “passengers” to settle down in front of the in-seat screens will in fact be heated dummies, carried to support assessments of the cabin environment. Real human beings could sample the system for the first time about a month into MSN002 flight tests, when Airbus staff volunteers will come aboard for the two-week early long flight (ELF) programme. This will comprise four flights with maximum passenger loads over sectors ranging in duration from four hours to the maximum 15 hours.

Aircraft MSN007, due to fly around the end of the year and also dedicated to cabin development, will incorporate improvements indicated by MSN002’s ELF work. It will be equipped with the other IFE system so far offerable on the A380, Matsushita’s eX2.

A380 launch customer Singapore Airlines – it has ten on firm order and another 15 on option - aims to put the aircraft into revenue service on London-Singapore-Sydney in the second quarter of next year.

”We are committed to setting new standards of premium air travel and putting the romance back into air travel,” SIA UK general manager Raja Segran said yesterday. “The A380 cabin is about 50 per cent bigger than that of the 747s currently used on London-Singapore, offering us many intriguing opportunities to improve on what is available to our passengers.” Extra space will be one of the enhancements: while the A380 can accommodate 555 seats in a standard three-class configuration, SIA plans to have less than 500 seats in a three-class layout.

Without revealing any details, SIA says that the first and business-class compartments will feature accommodation very different from today’s first-class SkySuites and business-class SpaceBeds. To develop the yet to be unveiled offerings the airline held customer workshops in London, New York and Singapore in 2002. Groups of randomly selected frequent travellers were invited to brainstorming sessions and encouraged to put aside their preconceptions of an aircraft interior and imagine instead the type of environment they would like to travel in.

Feedback was presented to designers from fashion houses, specialist aviation companies and luxury car manufacturers, who are now working on cabin concepts that should get their first public showing a little over 12 months from now. The new cabins are certain to incorporate advanced provision for IFE and passenger communications. SIA recently contracted with Connexion by Boeing for passenger Internet access services and plans to introduce live television from the middle of this year.

Typically, Virgin Atlantic is being much less circumspect about its A380 passenger service plans. The British carrier has ordered six of the aircraft, with options on a further six.

“Our A380s are going to have bigger and better cabins for all our passengers,” chairman Sir Richard Branson said yesterday. “For both business and economy travellers we will be introducing a range of new features. Our innovations will ensure a better travel experience for everyone by using the space we have to play with to give our passengers more to play with too.”

Virgin Atlantic plans to take delivery of its A380s from May 2008, with the final aircraft being delivered in February 2010. They will be operated on the carrier’s routes from London to New York, Hong Kong, Sydney, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo and will have over 500 seats divided among Virgin’s Upper, Premium Economy and Economy classes.

“We have been waiting for some new technologies which are now on the cusp of commercial application so that we can make our A380s the most radically different in the sky,” Branson said. Innovations announced yesterday include a gym, a casino and a total of 35 double beds per aircraft.

Qantas beat the A380 drum yesterday by announcing that it would operate the longest 500-passenger service in the world. Chief executive Geoff Dixon said the airline would deploy the first four of 12 aircraft on order on Melbourne-Los Angeles (12,749km) and Sydney-Los Angeles (12,052km), fitting them with 501 seats each.

Dixon said its interior design would include lounge areas in the first, business and economy sections, facilities for business meetings and presentations, and Matsushita-supplied audio/video-on-demand, Internet capability and larger IFE screens in all seats. Industry sources suggest that Qantas could shortly become the first major carrier to opt for the Inmarsat-based SwiftBroadband Internet access solution.

Cabin design work is being co-ordinated by Paris-based Australian Marc Newson, responsible for the airline’s Skybed business-class sleeper seat. Design of the first-class cabin has been finalised, with work on business and economy nearing completion.

Dixon said that the first-class cabin would give passengers more space, comfort and privacy. The business class would feature an enhanced version of Skybed, and economy would have substantial improvements in space, entertainment and seating.

The first-class seats and Skybeds are being manufactured by B/E Aerospace in the USA, the economy-class seats by Germany’s Recaro.