BIG DAY FOR BIG AIRLINE AS FIRST BIG BIRD GETS DELIVERED
(Posted 18th September 2014)
Qatar Airways yesterday took delivery of the airline’s first ever Airbus A380, number one of ten such big birds on order. Three more such aircraft will join the fleet before the end of the year.
Passengers from QR’s East Africa destinations Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam will from October onwards be able to fly with the A380 to London, as one of the five daily frequencies from Doha will begin using the giant aircraft, followed by Paris which will be Qatar Airway’s second A380 destination.
(Qatar Airways CEO Mr. Akbar Al Baker and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO, at the handover ceremony for the airline’s first Airbus A380 in Hamburg – Picture courtesy of Qatar Airways)
Mr. Al Baker, whose comments were keenly awaited by the press corps after the airline had earlier in the year rejected several aspects of the aircraft interior and delayed delivery, had this to say on the occasion: ‘This has been a moment more than a decade in the making and we are so delighted to unveil a new passenger experience for our travellers. The A380 that we are introducing is not just any A380. We have completely designed every element, giving it a signature touch that has never been seen before on board. Additionally, the newly opened Hamad International Airport, the airline’s hub in Doha, has been specifically created with the A380 in mind, with five contact gates dedicated only for this aircraft, making the experience smooth and effortless for passengers. At Qatar Airways we pay careful consideration to all elements of the passenger experience and are regularly introducing innovations that make a travel experience what it should be – enjoyable and something to look forward to’.
The 517-seat aircraft is spread across the twin decks in a three class configuration of 8 seats in First Class, 48 seats in Business Class and 461 in Economy Class. The First Class seats feature a 90-inch pitch with a fully flat bed. Business Class seats feature a pitch of 52 inches which also recline to fully flat beds. Economy Class passengers benefit from the most spacious A380 arrangement presently flying in the skies, with a pitch of 32 inches spread in a 10-seats-across layout of 3 x 4 x 3, giving Economy Class passengers a much more spacious environment than on any other A380 presently flying
The airline currently operates a mixed fleet of the Airbus family of aircraft, a large contingent being the single-aisle A320s and also a mixed range of A330s and A340s.
In the last quarter of this year will the airline become the global launch customer for Airbus’s brand new A350XWB, an aircraft type set to rival the Boeing B787 Dreamliner in terms of flight economics, range and uplift capacity for passengers and cargo. Again will Qatar Airways passengers from East Africa be the first to fly this latest aircraft when connecting in Doha to their final destination served by this aircraft type. Watch this space for breaking and regular aviation news.
