Qantas To Reconfigure International Aircraft
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TBar when the 744ERs were introduced they had fuel system problems and water system problems. If I remember correctly,everytime the first few landed in LAX Boeing were there to upload new software to get the fuel system runnung as designed.
As for the potable water system,well it has never really been fixed and is running on what seem an open dated Engineering Authority.
And yes Airbus has a working party to do mods and stuff like that aren't part of normal service and rectification work.
I guess it is just like taking your car to the dealer for warranty work except that the dealer has sent a few technicians to do the work on site.
I don't think they will be here forever,but they are learning from the defects that have come up on the QF 380s first hand. Which can't be a bad thing as at times explanations can be lost in translation.
As for the potable water system,well it has never really been fixed and is running on what seem an open dated Engineering Authority.
And yes Airbus has a working party to do mods and stuff like that aren't part of normal service and rectification work.
I guess it is just like taking your car to the dealer for warranty work except that the dealer has sent a few technicians to do the work on site.
I don't think they will be here forever,but they are learning from the defects that have come up on the QF 380s first hand. Which can't be a bad thing as at times explanations can be lost in translation.
According to comments from operators late last year the A380 was still ahead of the 747-400 in terms of dispatch reliability for similar service time.
Boeing also regularly sends teams of engineers overseas to assist customers in lifting their reliability. Lufthansa was a prominent case where Boeing sent engineers over to lift the dispatch reliability of their 747 by 2%. It makes sense for a manufacturer to back its product up with technical support and staff if available. I doubt Boeing would have just dumped their 747 on Qantas without backup, just because you didn't see the tech guys there doesn't mean a thing.
Boeing also regularly sends teams of engineers overseas to assist customers in lifting their reliability. Lufthansa was a prominent case where Boeing sent engineers over to lift the dispatch reliability of their 747 by 2%. It makes sense for a manufacturer to back its product up with technical support and staff if available. I doubt Boeing would have just dumped their 747 on Qantas without backup, just because you didn't see the tech guys there doesn't mean a thing.
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Today's article from ATW below by Geoffrey Thomas addresses the A380 v’s B747-400 ‘efficiency’ discussions and their respective dispatch reliability records in the first year of operation. Of course it represents the views of the A380 Director-Product Marketing . . . (my bolding).
Singapore Airlines A380s stealing market share, Airbus claims
The A380 is proving a winner on medium-range routes and is lifting passenger loads by up to 8%, Airbus claims. Speaking exclusively to ATWOnline in Singapore, Director-Product Marketing-A380 Richard Carcaillet said Singapore Airlines is delighted with the aircraft's performance on the medium-range Singapore-Hong Kong and Singapore-Tokyo Narita routes.
On the Narita service, SIA, the dominant carrier on the route, has lifted its passenger count by 8% after introducing the A380 while all other airlines have experienced declines, according to Sabre booking data analyzed by Airbus and supplied to this website. ANA dropped 13%, JAL 19%, United Airlines 22% and Delta Air Lines 7%.
While some of the decrease can be attributed to the economic downturn, these figures, which heretofore have been confidential, cover the period of May-December 2008 before the full impact of the downturn was felt. SIA and Qantas are averaging an 83% load factor across their A380 flights, Airbus says.
Carcaillet also told this website that SIA's A380s are achieving a 20% reduction in fuel burn over the 747-400. He said this supports Airbus figures that show the A380 with 525 seats has an 8% fuel burn advantage over the yet-to-fly 405-seat 747-8. Airbus has adjusted its seating figures to reflect the new business class flat beds, while Boeing claims there is just a 100-seat difference between the two jets.
On reliability, Carcaillet said the A380 had a 97% technical dispatch record in the first year, which compares favorably with the 777 at around 98% and is well ahead of the 747-400, which swung between 89% and 93% when it entered commercial operations. Airbus is targeting 98% reliability for the A380 this year. The first major batch of software upgrades was introduced on Ship 33, the first for Air France, and these are "making a difference," he said. The upgrade is being refitted to the other 26 aircraft in service. The A380 has generated approximately 100,000 revenue flight hr. on 10,000 flights.
On the production front, Carcaillet said Airbus will deliver 20 aircraft this year, including three that were supposed to have been delivered in 2009. "We are at 1.5 aircraft a month and moving up to two a month by year end," he noted.
by Geoffrey Thomas
The A380 is proving a winner on medium-range routes and is lifting passenger loads by up to 8%, Airbus claims. Speaking exclusively to ATWOnline in Singapore, Director-Product Marketing-A380 Richard Carcaillet said Singapore Airlines is delighted with the aircraft's performance on the medium-range Singapore-Hong Kong and Singapore-Tokyo Narita routes.
On the Narita service, SIA, the dominant carrier on the route, has lifted its passenger count by 8% after introducing the A380 while all other airlines have experienced declines, according to Sabre booking data analyzed by Airbus and supplied to this website. ANA dropped 13%, JAL 19%, United Airlines 22% and Delta Air Lines 7%.
While some of the decrease can be attributed to the economic downturn, these figures, which heretofore have been confidential, cover the period of May-December 2008 before the full impact of the downturn was felt. SIA and Qantas are averaging an 83% load factor across their A380 flights, Airbus says.
Carcaillet also told this website that SIA's A380s are achieving a 20% reduction in fuel burn over the 747-400. He said this supports Airbus figures that show the A380 with 525 seats has an 8% fuel burn advantage over the yet-to-fly 405-seat 747-8. Airbus has adjusted its seating figures to reflect the new business class flat beds, while Boeing claims there is just a 100-seat difference between the two jets.
On reliability, Carcaillet said the A380 had a 97% technical dispatch record in the first year, which compares favorably with the 777 at around 98% and is well ahead of the 747-400, which swung between 89% and 93% when it entered commercial operations. Airbus is targeting 98% reliability for the A380 this year. The first major batch of software upgrades was introduced on Ship 33, the first for Air France, and these are "making a difference," he said. The upgrade is being refitted to the other 26 aircraft in service. The A380 has generated approximately 100,000 revenue flight hr. on 10,000 flights.
On the production front, Carcaillet said Airbus will deliver 20 aircraft this year, including three that were supposed to have been delivered in 2009. "We are at 1.5 aircraft a month and moving up to two a month by year end," he noted.
by Geoffrey Thomas
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Here we go
About Qantas - Media Room - Media Releases
About Qantas - Media Room - Media Releases
Details of the changes:
B747-400
* nine B747-400 will be upgraded and fitted with Qantas' A380 standard seats and inflight product, including a fully flat Skybed sleeper seat in Business, an award-winning Marc Newson designed and Recaro manufactured seat in Economy and state-of-the-art on-demand Panasonic inflight entertainment in all classes
* First class cabins will be removed and Business seats installed in their place
* the three-class configuration will offer 359 seats (58 Business, 36 Premium Economy and 265 Economy), an increase of 52 seats overall
A380
* 12 A380s will continue to fly with a four-class configuration, including First class, but be refitted to reduce Business seating and increase Premium Economy and Economy seating
* the remaining eight aircraft will be delivered from 2012 in a three-class configuration and with no First cabin
* A380 seat numbers are to be confirmed subject to discussions with Airbus and suppliers
The upgrade and reconfiguration program will commence at the end of 2011 and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013. It will be funded through the combination of operating cash flows and pre-existing debt facilities. The majority of capital expenditure will take place in 2012.
Further details of the program, including where work will be undertaken, will be confirmed once contractual arrangements are finalised.
B747-400
* nine B747-400 will be upgraded and fitted with Qantas' A380 standard seats and inflight product, including a fully flat Skybed sleeper seat in Business, an award-winning Marc Newson designed and Recaro manufactured seat in Economy and state-of-the-art on-demand Panasonic inflight entertainment in all classes
* First class cabins will be removed and Business seats installed in their place
* the three-class configuration will offer 359 seats (58 Business, 36 Premium Economy and 265 Economy), an increase of 52 seats overall
A380
* 12 A380s will continue to fly with a four-class configuration, including First class, but be refitted to reduce Business seating and increase Premium Economy and Economy seating
* the remaining eight aircraft will be delivered from 2012 in a three-class configuration and with no First cabin
* A380 seat numbers are to be confirmed subject to discussions with Airbus and suppliers
The upgrade and reconfiguration program will commence at the end of 2011 and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013. It will be funded through the combination of operating cash flows and pre-existing debt facilities. The majority of capital expenditure will take place in 2012.
Further details of the program, including where work will be undertaken, will be confirmed once contractual arrangements are finalised.
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Only 9x B744s will remain in the fleet and they will be the ones getting the upgraded cabins.
Looks like they will not bother to reconfig all the other B744s which by the looks of it will all be gone in the next 2 years.
Looks like they will not bother to reconfig all the other B744s which by the looks of it will all be gone in the next 2 years.
tehehehe.....
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Only 9x B744s will remain in the fleet and they will be the ones getting the upgraded cabins.
Looks like they will not bother to reconfig all the other B744s which by the looks of it will all be gone in the next 2 years.
Looks like they will not bother to reconfig all the other B744s which by the looks of it will all be gone in the next 2 years.
The upgrade and reconfiguration program will commence at the end of 2011 and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013.
Also, the article states that 9 744s will be reconfigured, indicating that that 9 will be the ones staying in the fleet; however there will probably be some stragglers which won't get reconfig'ed, but will roll off beyond that time as their D's come up. So, any 744 getting a D between now & when this work starts (the better part of 2 years) will probably be allowed to soldier on (unless it's one of the 9 youngsters).
That said, it wouldn't surprise to see one-for-one replacement at some stage, but I'd suspect the current A380 delivery schedule is not sufficiently ambitious as to allow for 1:1 replacement of 16 airframes (27 currently in service less the 9 being kept) within 2 years.
the article states that 9 744s will be reconfigured, indicating that that 9 will be the ones staying in the fleet
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SMH 19 Feb
Qantas to pack up to 100 more on its A380s MATT O'SULLIVAN
February 19, 2010
THE A380 superjumbo's reputation for luxury and extra room has given way to commercial reality at Qantas.
It will increase the number of seats on its flagship aircraft by as many as 100 because of a long-term trend of passengers preferring to fly closer to the back.
When the A380 was unveiled in France five years ago, airlines trumpeted that the super-jumbo would offer passengers bigger seats, inflight lounges, double beds and even showers.
But Qantas's decision to squeeze more passengers on its A380s confirms the long-held suspicions that the early euphoria about the flying cruise liners would eventually give way to the bottom-line.
Qantas will have eight of the A380s it has on order with European manufacturer Airbus fitted with 550 seats, instead of its previous plans for fewer than 500. It will also have 12 of the double-deckers - half of which are in service and the rest on the production line in France - retro-fitted to carry 40 more seats. The renovations will result in 50 to 100 more economy-class seats.
In the changes flagged late last year, Qantas will spend $400 million reconfiguring the A380s, as well as on replacing first-class seats on nine 747-400 aircraft with business-class ones. It will also install a new entertainment system on the jumbos. The 747 refits will increase the number of seats from 307 to 359.
The reconfigurations will begin at end of next year and take until late 2013, adding the equivalent of more than three 747-400s to Qantas's fleet.
''It is a very efficient way of getting additional capacity and helps the economics of our operations by between 10 and 15 per cent because there is no more crew required,'' said Qantas's chief executive, Alan Joyce.
He said most European airlines had 550 seats on their A380s.
Demand for first-class seats has been declining over the last 10 years, and was exacerbated by the global financial crisis. The changes will leave Qantas flying aircraft with first-class cabins on only the London and Los Angeles routes. Last year it dropped the first-class product from flights to Buenos Aires and San Francisco. The next services to go without will be to Hong Kong and Johannesburg flights.
However, Qantas's plans pale in comparison to the Reunion Island-based Air Austral, which flies between Sydney and Paris. It will become the world's first airline to have only economy class on its A380s after last year ordering two of the superjumbos that will seat about 840 passengers.
Yesterday nearly 200 passengers on a Shanghai-bound Qantas plane had to circle above the Tasman Sea for three hours and turn back to Sydney airport because of a landing-gear fault.
February 19, 2010
THE A380 superjumbo's reputation for luxury and extra room has given way to commercial reality at Qantas.
It will increase the number of seats on its flagship aircraft by as many as 100 because of a long-term trend of passengers preferring to fly closer to the back.
When the A380 was unveiled in France five years ago, airlines trumpeted that the super-jumbo would offer passengers bigger seats, inflight lounges, double beds and even showers.
But Qantas's decision to squeeze more passengers on its A380s confirms the long-held suspicions that the early euphoria about the flying cruise liners would eventually give way to the bottom-line.
Qantas will have eight of the A380s it has on order with European manufacturer Airbus fitted with 550 seats, instead of its previous plans for fewer than 500. It will also have 12 of the double-deckers - half of which are in service and the rest on the production line in France - retro-fitted to carry 40 more seats. The renovations will result in 50 to 100 more economy-class seats.
In the changes flagged late last year, Qantas will spend $400 million reconfiguring the A380s, as well as on replacing first-class seats on nine 747-400 aircraft with business-class ones. It will also install a new entertainment system on the jumbos. The 747 refits will increase the number of seats from 307 to 359.
The reconfigurations will begin at end of next year and take until late 2013, adding the equivalent of more than three 747-400s to Qantas's fleet.
''It is a very efficient way of getting additional capacity and helps the economics of our operations by between 10 and 15 per cent because there is no more crew required,'' said Qantas's chief executive, Alan Joyce.
He said most European airlines had 550 seats on their A380s.
Demand for first-class seats has been declining over the last 10 years, and was exacerbated by the global financial crisis. The changes will leave Qantas flying aircraft with first-class cabins on only the London and Los Angeles routes. Last year it dropped the first-class product from flights to Buenos Aires and San Francisco. The next services to go without will be to Hong Kong and Johannesburg flights.
However, Qantas's plans pale in comparison to the Reunion Island-based Air Austral, which flies between Sydney and Paris. It will become the world's first airline to have only economy class on its A380s after last year ordering two of the superjumbos that will seat about 840 passengers.
Yesterday nearly 200 passengers on a Shanghai-bound Qantas plane had to circle above the Tasman Sea for three hours and turn back to Sydney airport because of a landing-gear fault.
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the number of seats will increase from 307 to 359 on a 744?
kangaroo config currently 14/56/32/256=358.
only 1 more seat?????
i am confused. anyone help out here?
kangaroo config currently 14/56/32/256=358.
only 1 more seat?????
i am confused. anyone help out here?
It's a sensible business decision, why fly an empty first class seat around when you can have three economy ones in it's place. Even if only one is occupied the income will be better than nothing.
Leave the premium passengers to the airlines which have a premium product and concentrate on the mass market instead. Knackered B767s with surly old boilers in the cabin won't cut it against the likes of SQ and CX so why bother trying ?
QF have been in decline for years and now at last realise where they stand.
Leave the premium passengers to the airlines which have a premium product and concentrate on the mass market instead. Knackered B767s with surly old boilers in the cabin won't cut it against the likes of SQ and CX so why bother trying ?
QF have been in decline for years and now at last realise where they stand.
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Thats not what the
gods in QF think. lets look at it. The prmium airline continues to be a mix of very un premium products.
A380 will get more Y/c seats
B747 will have evantually 9 reconfidured and many Not reconfigured J/C W/C and Y/C products
767's international/domestic continue to provide a 70's J/C /Y/C product
A330's will continue to have the less then flat bed, a lousy IFE system and no premium economy.
domestic A330's have different J/C seats,IFE ext
domestic 737-400/800 old and new version different J/c products,IFE etc
Nothing like consistancy
A380 will get more Y/c seats
B747 will have evantually 9 reconfidured and many Not reconfigured J/C W/C and Y/C products
767's international/domestic continue to provide a 70's J/C /Y/C product
A330's will continue to have the less then flat bed, a lousy IFE system and no premium economy.
domestic A330's have different J/C seats,IFE ext
domestic 737-400/800 old and new version different J/c products,IFE etc
Nothing like consistancy
cart_elevator
Perhaps they are sitting on their hands until the end of next year and see how the market is progressing. If things have picked up sufficiently they may put the project on the back burner and keep the first class seats, who knows.
Am I missing something?
So the re-config's are starting at the END of next year? Is that a timely reaction? What will the market be like at the end of next year?
So the re-config's are starting at the END of next year? Is that a timely reaction? What will the market be like at the end of next year?
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Any truth to the news that an A330 mini cabin refresh which will begin shortly?
Intl A333/A332s will receive the new Panasonic IFE system and have the new (red) Y class seat covers (already on Intl A332s) plus the new A380 style carpet and curtains installed?
Intl A333/A332s will receive the new Panasonic IFE system and have the new (red) Y class seat covers (already on Intl A332s) plus the new A380 style carpet and curtains installed?
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Hello to you chaps at QANTAS,
could you put in row of deck chairs around row 50 for me and the wife. And dont forget the mini bar fridge underneath where the life vest usually goes.
could you put in row of deck chairs around row 50 for me and the wife. And dont forget the mini bar fridge underneath where the life vest usually goes.
It must be a bugger when an aircraft change is required with so many config versions of each plane. Oh ,and a comment about cathays service. Its not that crash hot down in pondlife on a 777 from hkg-mel. For a start you cant get both legs under the seat in front
with the IFE box occupying the space , and its like the mary celeste after the meal service is over l can tell you, and no point in fingering the stewardess call bell either. They are as surly as the rest only younger and a lot less fat!
with the IFE box occupying the space , and its like the mary celeste after the meal service is over l can tell you, and no point in fingering the stewardess call bell either. They are as surly as the rest only younger and a lot less fat!