It’s Big, But How Big?

So what was the flight like? From my vantage point of seat 17J, a ‘Skybed’ business class sleeper seat on the upper deck, it was certainly agreeable. The Qantas interior perhaps lacks some of the wow factor of Emirates’s A380 interior in particular (with its first class shower and business class bar), but there’s no doubt the Qantas interior is smart, with a clean, modern aesthetic. I didn’t get the chance to try out first class – nothing new there! – but premium economy looks a fantastic product, a great mid-point between economy and business, while the economy class cabins, which make up most of the main deck, look quite pleasant enough – for economy. And yes, the green economy class cabin looks much better in the flesh.

The flight was also a great opportunity to talk to pilots and technical staff about the aircraft and to gain a deeper appreciation of what has gone on behind the scenes to bring the aircraft to Australia. The cabin crew onboard were terrific, and yes, there were some expensive bottles of wine being served up.

So I am acutely aware that just about every reader of this magazine would have swapped places in an instant to be on that flight. The interest in the aviation enthusiast community in the aircraft’s arrival and subsequent training and marketing flights around Australia has been unprecedented.

But of course the A380’s significance extends much further than an aeroplane nerd’s interest in it. For Qantas it is very much a tool of the trade, and based on Singapore Airlines’s experience with the A380 so far and the effectiveness of the Qantas interior, it should prove a very sharp tool indeed. The A380’s combination of significantly improved operating economics and the yield premium airlines can charge for A380 seats should really enhance the bottom lines of those airlines that operate it.

Of course, like all specialised tools, the A380 is best suited to a particular job – long haul flying between major hubs, so it’s certainly not for every airline or route. But for those markets where it does work, it should work very well indeed.

Now that the A380 is here it’s hard not to be impressed by its size, the Qantas product, and its revenue generating potential. But there’s just a lingering doubt that the times may not quite suit the A380. The delivery of Qantas’s first took place just days after the collapse of US investment bank Lehmann Brothers, the trigger to the current sharemarket contagion that has destroyed billions of dollars of shareholder value in companies good and bad, and increased the likelihood of economic recession, certainly in the US but possibly in Australia too. Even a mild downturn seems likely to have some effect on business travel in particular, while the collapse in the Australian dollar will mean the airlines carry fewer outbound travellers, and economic weakness in key markets such as the US and Europe likely means fewer inbound tourists.

So is this time to be introducing the world’s largest airliner, recalling the historical parallels of the 747 entering service just ahead of the 1970s oil shock? That remains to be seen, and hopefully the world avoids a serious recession.

Certainly the A380’s operating economics provide a useful hedge against weaker passenger demand, but what if the credit crisis worsens and airlines begin to struggle to raise the finance to fund their A380 purchases? At the least, it wouldn’t be surprising if Qantas puts in some more premium economy seats for cost cutting business travellers at the expense of Skybeds, or looks to begin retiring older 747-400s as the A380s arrive.

However, longer term, world economies will pick up again, and the A380 will undoubtedly come into its own.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our 24 pages of A380 coverage this issue, and if you’re online have a peep at Australian Aviation’s first YouTube clip, a look at our photography of the historic arrival into Sydney – www. youtube. com/watch?v=VaWWqrTpuhQ.

Bigger Too

By now you’ll have noticed we have increased the size of Australian Aviation to A4. We hope you enjoy the revised layouts and the extra space the new size affords for pictures and text. Unfortunately cost pressures have necessitated a modest price rise, our first in over three years, but we aim to continue raising the bar and keeping AA great value