Late but Lavishly, A380 Makes Debut
Nicola Clark, The New York Times, 10/15/2007 (excerpted)
TOULOUSE, France, Oct. 15 — There were no Jacuzzis or bowling alleys. No casinos or gyms. But the chilled bottle of Champagne perched on an elegantly laid-out double bed said it all.
Singapore Airlines introduced the interior of its first A380 superjumbo jet in an elaborate ceremony here today, bringing an end to a decade's anticipation of what the airline has always said would mark a vast change in the level of quality and comfort in long-haul air travel.
"From today, there is a new queen of the skies for air travel," a beaming Chew Choon Seng, the Singapore Airlines chief executive, told a gathering of more than 500 international guests.
And with that, Mr. Chew introduced the singular features of his carrier's new 471-seat craft, which, in the premium-class cabin at least, sometimes resembles a luxury hotel rather than an airliner.
Twelve private "suites" created by the French yacht designer, Jean-Jacques Coste, occupy the front half of the plane's lower deck. Designed to maximize privacy, these partitioned nooks are each fitted with fully adjustable leather seats and a separate bed that folds out with a full-sized mattress, draped in crisp cream-colored linens designed by Givenchy.
A 23-inch L.C.D. video screen hangs on one wall, where passengers can view a selection of up to 100 different movies and more than 180 television channels. The same entertainment system includes a word processor and spreadsheet programs as well as multiplayer 3-D video games.
As if to enhance the already high expectations of his audience, Mr. Chew explained that four of the suites in the center of the cabin can be modified to become double beds for couples traveling together, simply by removing the privacy divider between them.
In a demure hint at the plane's honeymoon possibilities, the carrier had decked out one double bed with Champagne and scattered the duvet with red rose petals. The bed's two seat belts — in case of unexpected turbulence — were discreetly hidden below the bedding.
On the upper deck are 60 business-class seats, each almost 34 inches wide. These, too, convert into a fully flat bed and include 15-inch L.C.D. television screens, U.S.B. ports and in-seat power supplies for laptop computers.
The 399 economy-class seats spread across the back half of the upper and lower decks of the plane are designed to maximize leg and knee room. Each seat is equipped with an 11-inch video screen, a U.S.B. port and an electrical power port for laptops.
First- and business-class restrooms are roomy and feature shaving mirrors and an assortment of free toiletries. But Mr. Forshaw said the airline chose, for practical reasons, to forgo installing showers, which some rival airlines have said they would include.
"It would require us to carry too much water, which is just too heavy to be economical," he said.
Singapore Airlines will carry its first paying A380 passengers on Oct. 25 on a special flight from Singapore to Sydney. Tickets for both legs of that flight were auctioned separately over the summer on eBay, raising $1.3 million for Singapore and Australian charities.
The carrier will begin regular daily A380 service between Singapore and Sydney on Oct. 28, and tickets have already been on sale for several weeks. [Singapore Airlines spokesman Stephen] Forshaw said round-trip tickets for the suites on that route would cost around 7,500 Singapore dollars, or $5,127. Business-class seats will cost about 15 to 20 percent more than they do on other Singapore Airlines planes on comparable routes "because of the substantial amount of extra real estate" devoted to these seats, he said.
October and November are normally peak travel months on the so-called kangaroo route, which has helped to guarantee brisk ticket sales, Mr. Forshaw said.
The airline expects its second A380 to be delivered in January, and the airline plans to add daily A380 service to London by the end of the first quarter of 2008.
By March, it should be possible to fly all the way from London to Sydney on the A380 with a stop in Singapore.
With the delivery of its fourth A380 in April, Singapore Airlines plans to add daily service to Tokyo by May, and by the end of 2008, with its first six aircraft in hand, it will begin A380 service to Hong Kong and San Francisco.
