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Emirates showcases densest A380 ever

16 Nov 2015 by Clement Huang

Emirates recently showcased its first two-class configured A380 at the Dubai Airshow. 

Having just been delivered to the Gulf carrier, the A380 will soon enter service to Copenhagen on December 1. As previously reported (see here), the two-class superjumbo is configured with 58 seats in business and 557 in economy.

No other A380 customer offers a two-class configuration, making Emirates the first airline to operate a superjumbo without first class. With a total of 615 seats, it is also the densest A380 by far, outpacing fellow Gulf competitors Etihad and Qatar Airways by 120 and 98 seats on their superjumbos respectively.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines, which operates the world’s least dense A380 has only 379 seats, split across four class and 236 fewer than Emirates.

Emirates' A380

Despite the 615 seats being the densest ever for an A380 operator, it should be noted that the superjumbo is certified to carry a maximum of 644 passengers in a two-class configuration, while an all-economy layout would fit up to 853 seats. Of course, these figures are based on an 11-across seating arrangement – a configuration that no airline has entertained thus far.

Currently, the industry standard for economy seats on the A380 is a width of between 18 to 19 inches, and a pitch of about 32 to 34 inches. Should the pitch be reduced to 30-inches, this would enable airlines to fit in even more rows and increase overall seat count, particularly with an 11-across configuration.

Emirates’ two-class A380 will soon be making its introduction in the Asian market, as the Gulf carrier will deploy it on the Dubai–Kuala Lumpur route from January 1, 2016.    

For more information, visit emirates.com

Clement Huang

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