Tag Archives for airbus a380.
A program might charter a flight or four, but not enough capacity to really give members choice. Still, it’s a great stunt to highlight the efforts a program is going to for members. And with limited capacity these flights can prove popular.
What’s more, the economics can even work. These flights can be profitable.
Australia kept the virus at bay through much of the pandemic, but is seeing more spread than at any time in the past 18 months. They’re in lockdown, and behind most of the West in vaccinations. Australians can’t leave the country, and few residents can even enter. The A380 wasn’t supposed to fly again until mid-2023 ‘at the earliest.’
So who had the Qantas A380 returning to Los Angeles in July on their pandemic aviation bingo card?
I’ve flown Etihad’s First Apartment almost as much as Cathay Pacific first class over the years. It’s been my favorite use of American AAdvantage miles, and of course Etihad is both an American Express and Citibank transfer partner.
It’s been my go-to for trips to the Maldives (5 of my last 6 were on Etihad). I’ve visited the Mideast many times, alternating between Etihad and Emirates. And I’ve even chosen Middle East stops enroute to Australia because First Apartment redemptions for both long haul segments made the journey so easy. So the end of this spectacular product really hits home.
The Airbus A380 was on the the way out even before the pandemic. Now it’s original purpose no longer exists.
In fact an A380 is now worth so little that the value of the plane may be literally less than the sum of its parts.
Emirates has 115 Airbus A380s. Those offer a lot of capacity when flying is at such low levels. And Emirates is an international airline, they aren’t flying domestic routes which have fewer restrictions around the world. Their on board bars are designed precisely not to social distance. And showers, while in normal times cleaned between each use, are both an expensive amenity (carrying all that water means burning fuel) and represents use of the same space by multiple passengers.
To bring the A380 and its amenities back means air travel recovers, and social distancing is no longer required to fly.
Since people aren’t flying, aircraft are parked all over the world. Many of those passenger planes also carried cargo. While the worldwide economic slowdown has limited the amount of cargo being shipped as well, there’s tremendous demand for things like food and personal protective equipment. The reduction in cargo capacity has been greater than the reduction in cargo demand.
That’s created an opportunity to convert passenger aircraft to cargo.
At the Dubai Air Show Emirates placed a firm order for 50 Airbus A350-900s “at $16 billion in list prices. Deliveries will start in May 2023 and run until 2028.”
Great news for Airbus? No, not really.
Star Alliance member Asiana is great for award availability. I’ve always had good luck with space on the West Coast – Seoul flights in business class, and beyond to Southeast Asia and first class availability — on the limited routes where it’s offered — is generally good too.
Right now New York JFK – Seoul is served by a Boeing 777-200LR with no first class. However the Airbus A380 returns to New York at the end of March. The A380 is available Frankfurt – Seoul as well.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
