After the launch of Singapore Airlines A380 in October 2007, Emirates were the second Airline put into service an Airbus A380, and since my first Singapore Airlines A380 review and subsequent Qantas A380 Premium economy flight review you can imagine my eagerness to experience the Emirates A380 first hand.

 

21 May 2009 was the date for my Emirates A380 Business Class flight, and having flowing Emirates business class in the past (not the A380) and having read most of what other sites have had to say about their A380 I kind of half knew the treat I would be in for!

 

Limo Pickup from home

When you fly Business or First Class on Emirates the experience doesn’t begin when you arrive at the airport it begins at your house, with a Limo pickup at your current location (home, office, and hotel) the same goes after landing at your destination.

 

With my Limo pickup booked in several days prior to departure, I received a follow up call, the morning prior to my flight and again the night before from my Chauffer confirming my pickup address and pickup time. My flight EK 412 was scheduled to depart at 7:50am so I booking in a 5:15am pickup. Spot on 5:15am I had a call from my Emirates chauffer Stephen saying he was waiting downstairs, ready to take me to the airport.

 

I have to say the whole experience with Emirates Chauffer Company Brunel Worldwide Chauffer Drive was exceptional, making the lead up to my flight both worry and hassle free.

 

Emirates Check-in

Just less than 30 minutes after leaving home on Sydney’s north shore I arrive at  Kingsford Smith International Airport (Terminal 1) and make my way to the check-in counter.  Using the Business Class checking lane I am checked in within no time at all, and given an eExpress ticket that allowed me to beat the crowds and utilize the eExpress customs queue.  

 

The Emirates Lounge

The Emirates Lounge in Sydney is located on the arrivals level (level 1) near the transfer security check point, Note you need follow the signs to the lounge then come down an elevator to level 1

 

 

Picture 1: The Emirates Lounge in Sydney

 

The first thing I noted when entering was how quite and spacious the lounge was! Being an early morning flight the lounge catered a full breakfast, with the food you would expect from a good quality hotel, which beats many other airlines airline lounges I have been in over the past few years.

 

The Emirates Lounge at Sydney is a combined First Class, Business Class and elite Skywards members lounge, which is great for those travelling Business as The Emirates Lounge is a true First Class lounge in every aspect.

 

Boarding Emirates A380

At the Emirates gate, as you would normally expect there was a dedicated lane for Business, First Class and Skyward elite members, so we cleared the boarding gate fairly quickly and routed to an aerobridge that took us to first and business class on the upper deck.

 

 

Emirates A380 Business Class Cabin & Seat

For this flight I was allocated seat 23K which is a window seat in the last business section before the end of the aircraft and the Business Class Lounge & Bar.

 

My first impressions of the Emirates Business seat was wow impressive, even though I was in business and not first I felt I had my own personal space, a space which looks like it was designed for both work or rest. As you might remember from previous flight reviews that I have posted here on The Business Travel Guru leg room is a big deal for me and Emirates did not disappoint in this area, in that leg room wouldn’t even be an issue for someone 7ft tall.

 

Not long after getting seated a flight attendant came past offering pre-take off drinks Möet & Chandon Champagne, Orange Juice or Apple Juice. As I was flying in style I could not pass on the Möet and Chandon.

 

Emirates Business Class Cabin is configured with 76 full lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration

 

 

Picture 2: The Business Class Seat on the Emirates A380 Aircraft

 

Emirates new Business Class seats are very comfortable and include the following features/specifications:

 

• Lie-flat for a comfy sleep
• 47 cm (18.5 Inch) wide
• 99-122 inch seat pitch
• Up to 200 cm (79 in) Long when in lie-flat configuration
• Side desk/bar area
• Each row configured in an off-set configuration (see picture below)
• Built-in programmable massage function

 

 

Picture 3: The Business Class Cabin on my Emirates A380 Flight

 

If you are allocated a window seat, between your seat and the window you will find a stowage compartment, mine had additional blankets and another pillow in it.

 

Apart from the full-lie flat feature my next favourite feature was the massage function, it was running nearly the entire flight.

 

As I mentioned above what I loved about Emirates Business Class seat on their A380 was the scene of person space, which is great for working, for example you are working away and dinner is served, in Emirates new Business Class seat you no longer need to shutdown your laptop and pack your work away, simply move you work from the try table to the side table and start dining, when you dining is finished move you work back.

 

 

Emirates A380 Business Class In-flight Entertainment System ICE

Emirates In-flight entertainment and information system is called ICE, (short for Information Communication & Entertainment) all the stats I had read about ICE prior to this trip were impressive, over 1200 programming options, which included everything from TV Sitcoms to the latest block buster movies, along with a large selection of CDs

 

The Information area of ICE included the latest headlines from the BBC, flight information that displayed the current flight path, flight cams (Nose, Tail and ground view of the sky, sea and land outside of the aircraft)

 

Linked to the ICE system in Business Class on Emirates A380 is a huge 17 inch LCD Screen that displays a very high quality picture, and is the largest LCD screed I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing on a business class flight, this in addition to ICE made my relativity short flight that much better, fortunately or unfortunately depending on the way you look at it I had the opportunity to watch an entire movie on my return flight, no Bar/lounge because of turbulence.

 

 

Picture 4: The 17 Inch LCD Screen in Business Class

 

 The screen and ICE system can be controlled by the following 3 means:

 

• Touch Screen
• The IFE/Phone Handset
• Wireless remote console

 

A little later in the journey I had a chat with the Customer Service Manager and he pointed out that I could save my seat and In-flight entertainment system preferences to a memory stick, so that when I take another Emirates flight my seat setting can be uploaded into the ICE system and my seat is configured to my originally saved personal preferences. Not having a memory stick on this flight I did not get the opportunity to try this feature.

 

Another unique feature of Business Class on Emirates A380 aircraft is its wireless remote control that can be used as another method to control the ICE system and also to activate the seats massage feature.

 

Emirates A380 Business Class Dining & Wine List

The menu & wine list for both my flight over to Auckland and back was quite extensive.

 

The following selection was on the menu for the flight for Brunch (Sydney to Auckland)

 

Fresh Fruit

Fresh Seasonal Fruit

 

Main Course

Cheese and chives scrambled eggs

Mushroom Ravioli

Tuna Nicoise

Cheese Selection

 

Dessert

Lemon curd Tart

 

Bread

Bread Basket

 

Beverages

Tea Coffee and Chocolates

 

 

 Picture 5: A Glass of Moet& Chandon

Business Class First Class Bar & Lounge

The combined First & Business Class lounge on board is a real draw card which you don’t really get the feel for and appreciate until it has been experienced. I would have to say after the service the Lounge Bar area was the highlight of the flight.

 

The lounge seats around 8 to 10 people and is equipped with an impressive 42 inch LCD screen, the bar premium wines spirits and liqueurs, and is also the place to go to pick up a quick snack.

 

During the flight over to Auckland a lucky guys from Economy Class was invited up as it was his birthday, and to top that the Flight attendants had a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to him. It was truly a unique experience, one that not too many airlines would even contemplate doing!    

 

Picture 6: The Combined Business/First Class Lounge 

 

Picture 6: A wider shot of the Combined First/Business Class bar

 

 

Picture 7: The massive 42 inch LCD Screen in the First/Business Class Lounge

 

 

Picture 8: It was this lucky guys birthday, flight attendants sang Happy Birthday

 

Final Verdict

When I reflect back on my Emirates A380 flight what comes to mind first is service with a capital S, it was top notch and spot on. So much so that you really feel that the crew always had my best interests as their first priory, they actually went out of their way to for fill l all of my requests.

 

The next thing that comes to mind was the aircraft and the business class cabin implemented on their A380. The seat was extremely comfortable, especially when converted into the lie flat bed configuration. A long haul on Emirates A380 would be a breeze.

 

Brief overview of highlights of flight and Emirates A380 Business Class:

• Flight Attendants - Great service very friendly
• Business Class Seat –Comfy,  great personal space &  outstanding for working in-flight
• Business Class Lounge Bar – Guys this is a big draw card, a great social area
• LCD Screen and In-flight entertainment System ICE
• The Emirates Lounge in Sydney & Auckland

 

 

I would defiantly fly Emirates again, especially if it’s their A380, the entire Emirates A380 Business Class experience was number 1

 

 

For this flight I was a guest of Emirates Airlines flying from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand, Return

 

Yesterday Emirates made aviation history by becoming the first airline to begin commercial services to Toronto Canada; the following video is of EK 372 Emirates A380 flight landing in Toronto Canada.

 

 

 

 

EK 372 wasn’t the only Emirates flight making history also yesterday, EK 241 an A380 flight from Dubai to Bangkok became the first commercial A380 Bangkok bound service.

 

On Thursday 11 February I had the opportunity to fly Premium Economy on Qantas’s brand spanking new Airbus A380 from Singapore to Sydney and just like the Singapore Airlines A380 aircraft which I experienced more than a year earlier this aircraft promised to deliver much more in the areas of space, comfort, in-flight entertainment and most importantly service.

 

To begin I won’t be shy in pointing out that I absolutely love reporting on any Airbus A380, not just because it’s an ultra modern aircraft but also because of the modern features and amenities which airlines are implementing, and are a true generational step up from the upgrades airlines have previously put in place in the last decade.

 

 

 

So how does the Qantas A380 and Qantas Premium Economy cut it against Singapore Airlines A380 and other premium economy services?

Our day started off as a normal day in the air, we got to Singapore’s Changi International Airport well in advance of boarding, so I could catch up with the latest world news, do some work and chill out for a while prior to the flight.

Check-in at the Qantas Club/Business Class check-in counter was fairly straightforward as usual no problems with the excess baggage we had from Shopping in Saigon and Singapore.

 

Next part of the morning prior to boarding was at Changi’s joint Qantas/BA Business Class lounge, now this lounge has never been my favourite airline lounges in the world but it is adequate to get work/emails and/or rest before an onward flight. Every time I have visited this lounge it has always been extremely quite which is a pleasant change from Qantas’s domestic lounges here in Australia. Staff has always been friendly and professional. The only complain from fellow lounge dwellers was the lack of orange juice.

 

Qantas A380 Boarding Time

Boarding time was near so we headed down to our gate, and as we got closer I could not help but notice the size of the A380, it’s a massive aircraft dwarfing a nearby Boeing 747-400, a real mammoth piece of engineering excellence

 

Not long after clearing the security check point at our gate and taking some snaps for this review, our flight was called for boarding. Passengers in need of assistance or with young children were asked to board first followed by First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy and Oneworld Emerald/Ruby Frequent Flyers.

 

Since Premium Economy is located on the upper deck behind Business Class I was not surprised when Premium Economy was called to board with the First and Business Class Passengers, and not at the same time as Economy.

 

Qantas A380 Business Class

On the very long walk down to Premium Economy we pass by Business Class, the seats even though the same as in the Qantas media shots which I published earlier on this site, that received such a bad rap by the general public look so much nicer when you are walking past one, I am sure they would be even nicer to sit in for a long flight from Sydney to LAX.

 

On observation Qantas’s A380 Business Class seats don’t look quite as wide as Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class seats, but they look as comfortable, and out do SIA in terms of leg room, if you are a very tall person and cant fork out the dosh for First Class a Business Seat on the Qantas A380 would be more than adequate.

 

 

Qantas A380 Premium Economy

Finally we are at Premium Economy, the first thing that impresses me most about Premium again like Business is leg room. There is more room than what I would have expected in Premium Economy which was a great relief. Whenever I cannot fly Business Class domestically or internationally, Lack of Leg Room has been my biggest enemy. Having that extra leg room made the entire journey so much enjoyable.

 

Overhead locker space is more than ample, also window seats are equipped with stowage compartment between the seat and the window similar to what you will find in Business and First Class on Qantas’s 747 aircraft.

 

 

 

Prior to take off we were offered pre-take off drinks (Australian Sparkling wine, Orange Juice or water) A short time later it was take off time, looking out at the wings as our A380 taxied to the runway, I could not get over the wingspan of this massive aircraft nearly as wide as the runway!

 

The Qantas A380 Premium Economy Cabin is configured in a 2-3-2 seat configuration with 32 seats in total, in my opinion the best seats in this cabin are window seats on the front row (34) or 38 J/K.

 

38 J/K has the best legroom because it is an exit row, however a word of warning there is no under seat stowage and it is in close proximity to the Galley and Self Service Bar (May be an advantage depending, if you like a short walk to the chips and drinks)

 

Unfortunately the self service bar does not include alcohol; you still need to request this from a flight attendant.  

 

What about Premium Economy Flight attendants? There were at least to for our small 32 seat cabin and they were fabulous, very quick, able to help with all of my requests and very knowledgeable about the Qantas A380 aircraft, I spoke with one of them for 20 minutes or so about the aircraft and its features.

 

Qantas Premium Economy In-Flight Entertainment System

Just after the aircraft had taken then levelled off, flight attendants offered passengers hot refresher towels, I then decided to check out the A380s In-flight entertainment system. Qantas Premium Economy is equipped with a 26.9cm (10.6in) touch screen unit, its picture quality is outstanding beating the picture seen on most in-flight entertainment screens prior, I am sure this is because it using a digital as opposed to an analogue system, which provides a static free image.

 

 

 

The in-flight entertainment system is easy to operate but I found on some screen selections you need to double tap the item as the first tap highlights the item (Providing more information) then the second tap activates or plays that item.

 

The range of entertainment options was huge, everything from movies, TV series, music, documentaries, games and even business and language learning programs, Qantas claims to have over 1,000 audio and video on demand options, and I was not doubting them or taking the time to verify.

 

Noise cancelling headphones similar to ones found on other regular Qantas Business Class and Jetstar Star Class services were provided. They did a reasonable job of cancelling out unwanted noise but did not match the noise cancellation of either my Sennheiser PXC-250 or PXC-450 sets, so I quickly changed back to my PXC-450 set.

 

After playing with the in-flight entertainment system, it was time to catch up on some work, take notes for this review, and test out the laptop power.

 

Plugging my laptop into the in-seat power then attempting to power up my laptop, the first thing I noticed was the power light on my laptop power cable failed to light up laptop. From previous experience this generally happens if your laptop during start up draws more power than the outlet can supply, a laptop will generally draw 10Ampers or more at start-up. The trick here is to power your laptop up first, and then plug into the in-seat power outlet. After doing this the power light on my laptop’s transformer/brick lit up and I was in Business.

 

There has been much mentioned about Qantas’s cached and very limited internet service, but not having an network cable I could not test this out. This is something I will check and report on when I next get a flight on a Qantas A380 aircraft, hopefully by then Qantas will be offering a full internet service.

 

Qantas A380 Premium Economy Dining

Our Lunch option for the flight back to Sydney was Lamb curry with rice or Asian style chicken with noodles, served with bread roll, green bean salad, and a wide selection of wine, spirits, beer and soft drinks, in all honesty I found lamb curry to be a little bland, the stir fry chicken which my wife had was much better.

 

During the flight our flight attendants regular came thru asking if we wanted desert, drinks and/or snacks even though the mini-bar was not far away.

 

Qantas A380 Premium Economy trip Summary and Rating

If I am every in a situation where I cannot fly Business Qantas Premium Economy is a great option, the service was great, the aircraft fabulous, the seat and in-flight entertainment system far better and than I expected and I always have high expectations. Put simply I would be happy to fly Qantas A380 Premium Economy on any trip, and highly recommend for anyone who wants more than what standard economy offers, without having to pay for a Business Class fare.  I rate the experience better than both British Airway’s and Virgin Atlantic’s Premium Economy product. Full marks to Qantas and Airbus for making this flight a memorable experience.

 

 

 

My Score for the Qantas A380 Premium Economy Experience

Service	4/5
Seat	4.5/5
Dining	3.5/5
In-flight entertainment	4/5

 

Have you flown on Qantas's A380 in either Premium Economy, Business Class, First Class or Economy? How was your experience, we want to hear about your experience. Why not leave a comment below or post your review to the Business Travel Guru Airline Forum

Emirates pilots and cabin crews have been complaining that their new Airbus A380 planes are far too quite. Most passengers including myself would consider a quieter aircraft to be a plus, but it seems a quieter aircraft creates other noise issues.

 

The Blog FlightGlobal has reported pilots as saying:

 

” the lack of engine noise in the A380's cabin compared with other long-haul airliners means they are constantly disturbed by sounds created by passengers, such as crying babies, flushing vacuum toilets and call bells. Passengers also mistake the rest area for a lavatory, and pull the door handle.” “The Dubai-based carrier has asked Airbus for a solution that does not involve substantially adding weight, which rules out insulating the walls of the rest area, situated at the rear of the all-economy main deck”, says Emirates senior vice-president, fleet, Capt Ed Davidson. "We are expecting to hear back from them by the middle of the month," says Davidson, who admits that the airframer has "overdelivered" on its noise promises on the airline's Engine Alliance GP7200-powered A380s. One option could be installing lightweight generators to create ambient noise.”

 

 

You see low frequency plane noise (usually wind and engine noise) actually cuts out or makes the higher frequency internal cabin noise (people talking/kids screaming) seem less audible.

 

 

Have you flown on a Emirates, Singapore Airlines or Qantas A380, how was the internal cabin noise? Leave a comment below 

 

Today Emirates started flying Dubai to Heathrow with their new Airbus A380, this 489 seat aircraft will fly on flight numbers EK001 Dubai to London and EK002 for the return flight.

 

 

 

"We are delighted to bring our customers state-of-the-art comforts which are unmatched anywhere else in the world," says Emirates Airline president Tim Clark.

 

"Despite today's challenging economic environment, they have responded by booking every seat on our inbound and outbound flights."

 

"Owing to its environmentally-friendly performance, the Emirates A380s will make a huge contribution to Heathrow's efforts to reduce its overall emissions," says Clark.

 

This Airbus A380 is Emirates third; their first two A380 aircraft currently service Emirates Dubai to New York route

 

If you had to chose a name for each of the 20 future Airbus A380 aircraft that Qantas was about to put into service, what names would you chose and what criteria would you use for choosing?

Qantas has just completed its Qantas A380 naming program, where it asked members of the Australian public and aviation experts to help with the naming for all 20 of its future A380 fleet.

As you can imagine its no surprise that the list released today by Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce contained and honoured Australian Aviation Pioneers:

• Nancy-Bird Walton – the first woman to fly a commercial aviation service in Australia.
• Hudson Fysh – one of the founders of Qantas and the airline’s first Managing Director.
• Paul McGinness – one of the founders of Qantas.
• Fergus McMaster – one of the founders of Qantas and the first Chairman of the Company.
• Lawrence Hargrave – inventor of the box kite, linking four of these together in 1894 to fly 16 feet.
• Charles Kingsford Smith – Australia’s most famous aviator, who made the first trans-Pacific flight from the USA to Australia in 1928, and founded Australian National Airways Limited.
• Charles Ulm – Co-pilot, on Kingsford Smith’s record-breaking trans-Pacific flight between the USA and Australia in 1928 and co-founder of Australian National Airways Limited.
• Reginald Ansett – Founder of Ansett Airways Pty Ltd.
• David Warren – Inventor of the Black Box Flight Recorder.
• Bert Hinkler – Pilot of first solo flight from Britain to Australia in 1928.
• John and Reginald Duigan – First Australians to design, construct and fly a powered aircraft, in 1910.
• Phyllis Arnott – First Australian woman to gain a commercial pilot’s license.
• Keith McPherson Smith and Ross McPherson Smith – winners of the famous ‘Air Race’ between London and Australia in 1919.
• Lester Brain – Piloted one of the first Qantas routes in 1925 and ferried the first wartime Catalina Flying Boat delivered by Qantas Empire Airways in 1941. Later appointed General Manager of Trans-Australia Airlines in 1946.
• Lores Bonney – First woman to fly solo around Australia in 1932 and the first woman to fly solo from Australia to England, in 1933.
• Norman Brearley – Founder of Western Australian Airways Limited, which operated Australia’s first scheduled air service on 5 December 1921.
• P G Taylor – Navigator and co-pilot alongside Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm on many record-breaking flights between Australia and the United States and England and Australia. Taylor was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal in 1937 for one of the most revered acts of bravery in the history of aviation.
• Scotty Allan – Co-pilot alongside Charles Ulm and P G Taylor on the 1933 record-breaking flight from England to Australia and later joined Qantas and flew DH86 aircraft on the Brisbane-Singapore route.
• John Flynn – Founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
• Gaby Kennard – First Australian woman to fly solo around the world in 1989.

HTC Touch Pro Launch - Last week I had the opportunity to attend the HTC Touch Pro PDA  launch in Sydney Australia, and Wow what a device, the applications and functionality for the Business User are simply superb.

 

 

 

 

The stand out features on the Touch Pro that should appeal to most business travellers:

 

• 6 Input methods including a Slide out QWERTY keyboard including on-screen keyboard with autocorrect, write to text, compact QWERTY keyboard


• Flip to voice mail Send incoming calls to Voice Mail simply by flipping the phone (Great for meetings)


• TV out that’s right before entering a meeting copy your presentation to your HTC Touch Pro and you can leave your Laptop in the hotel or office.


• VGA Video (640 X 480) Resolution


• Opera Web browser (yes same as the iPhone 3G) giving you true full page web browsing, with the ability to zoom in and out by tapping on an area of the webpage.


• FM Radio for when you want to listen to local radio stations

With only a limited play of the HTC Touch Pro I can see this device may be Ultimate Business Travellers Phone/PDA. I will literally be getting my hands and fingers on a review device in the next few weeks so drop back to the our gadget and Luggage review area soon to get the full story.

 

 

Judy Grimes the Travel Writer does just kidding on Saturday Night live, with tips on how travel hassle free, a bit of a laugh for the end of your travel week.

 

 

Following in the theme of yesterday I have also found a YouTube Video of the preparation & painting of Qantas’ A380, quiet interesting for all Qantas, Plane and A380 enthusiasts.

 

 

Today Qantas welcomed the arrival into Sydney of its first out of a total order of 20 Airbus A380s double-decker superjumbo aircraft. Its arrival in Australia dead on 9am on Sunday 21 September 2008, was delivered two years late due to engineering issues at Airbus.

 

Qantas’s first A380 will be officially named Nancy-Bird Walton at a naming ceremony in Sydney on Tuesday September 30, and will then be involved in pilot training and promotional flights around Australia in early October, before her first commercial flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles on 20 October 2008 and then a Sydney to Los Angeles flight on 24 October 2008.

 

Qantas also today launched a new TV Commercial featuring its new Airbus A380, the YouTube version of the video can be watched below:

 

Qantas has taken delivery of its first Airbus A380 at an official handover ceremony in Toulouse France. The Aircraft is Qantas’ first airbus out of an order of 20, and will be put into operation from 20 October 2008 with its first commercial flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles, followed by its second flight from Sydney to Los Angeles on 24 October 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Aircraft will leave for Australia tonight with a stopover in Singapore before landing in Sydney at 9:00 am on Sunday 21 September 2008.

 

Qantas’ A380 is to be the first Airbus A380 with on board in-flight internet access, which was originally planned to be a live service, but in recent days Qantas have pegged back the service to cached only access of Qantas website, but with live access to Email and Chat services. Qantas say technical and regulatory issues with their carrier have prevented them from providing the full live service, they previously promised; Qantas plans to offer a full live internet service from by the end of 2009.

 

Qantas have stated they are considering increasing their order of Airbus A380 aircraft, no details yet.

 

The Airbus press release can be read below:

 

Australia’s flagship airline, Qantas, has received the first of 20 Airbus A380s on order, at a ceremony in Toulouse, France. The Rolls-Royce powered aircraft was handed over to Qantas Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Dixon and Qantas CEO-Designate, Alan Joyce by Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO and John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers.

 

Geoff Dixon said: “When we ordered our A380 in 2000, we said that in addition to giving us the opportunity to reinvent our product, this revolutionary new aircraft offered capacity and operating savings, as well as environmental improvements. Everything we have seen since our initial order has reinforced this view.”

 

Qantas’ A380 cabin was created by internationally renowned designer Marc Newson. Typically the A380 seats 525 passengers in three-classes, however Qantas’ cabin is extra spacious with 450 seats (14 First, 72 Business, 32 Premium Economy and 332 Economy).

 

“The A380 sets the standards for the 21st century, “ said Tom Enders. “More than 380 patents on board underline the aircraft’s leadership in eco-efficiency and innovation and will allow Qantas to continue to grow whilst reducing its impact on the environment. We appreciate Australia’s iconic airline sharing the A380 vision with us from the very beginning.”

 

Qantas was the first customer to conclude the signing of a contract for the A380. In November 2000, it ordered 12 A380s, marking the first time in the airline’s long history it had ordered Airbus aircraft. Qantas later increased its order for A380s to 20, and is now the second largest customer for the world’s most modern aircraft.

 

The four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines will each deliver up to 72,000 lbs of thrust, contributing to the aircraft’s overall fuel efficiency of less than three litres of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometres.

 

Rolls-Royce Chairman Simon Robertson said: “We appreciate the opportunity once again to be an integral player in shaping the future success of Qantas, Australia’s iconic carrier and one of the world’s leading airlines. This occasion marks another milestone for the Trent 900, the market leading engine for the A380.”

 

The aircraft’s efficiency and advanced technologies result in higher operational flexibility and outstanding economics, with a range of more than 15,000 km and seat-mile costs 20 per cent lower than its closest competitor. The A380 also provides vital extra passenger capacity without increasing the number of flights.

 

Qantas’ A380 will stop-over in Singapore before arriving in Sydney on September 21^st. Qantas’ first commercial A380 services will be launched on October 20^th from Melbourne to Los Angeles, and on October 24^th from Sydney to Los Angeles. Later Qantas will also fly the A380 to Singapore and London. Currently the Qantas group, including low-cost subsidiary Jetstar, has ordered a total of 110 aircraft directly from Airbus.

 

Qantas today announced that original plans for a full in-flight internet service on its soon to be launched Qantas A380 have been pegged back; instead the airline will launch a cached only internet service with only a limited number of sites.

 

 

 

Qantas would not reveal the type of number of sites their A380s cached in-flight internet service would provide, or the cost or the service.

 

 

A Qantas spokeswoman said the internet plans had been paired back due to "logistical and regulatory issues" encountered by its connectivity provider, OnAir. The airline said the full internet service was now scheduled to be available "later in 2009".

 

 

Qantas will begin operations of its Airbus A380 on 20 October 2008 from Melbourne to Los Angeles return with the second flight on the 24 October 2008 to be flown from Sydney to Los Angeles.

 

 

Last month American Airlines got into a sticky situation when numerous Flight Attendants and Passengers complained of passengers surfing for Porn.

 

 

The US Association of Professional Flight Attendants has called for content filtering to be put in place, which the airline has decided against preferring to give passengers a full internet experience like one they would have at home or in the office, but with the duty of monitoring inappropriate service use laying in the hands of Flight Attendants.

 

The introduction of in-flight internet across most of American Airlines domestic fleet last month has opened a proverbial can of worms the Airline, porn surfing.

  

 

Since the introduction a flood complaints have surfaced from both passengers and flight attendants complaining that some passengers are using the US$12.95 in-flight internet service to surf for porn, while in-flight.

   

 

In response to the in-flight internet err porn issue; The US Association of Professional Flight Attendants has requested the airline install internet filtering software to block any inappropriate websites.

  

 

American Airlines have since stated a preference toward an unfiltered internet experience such as what someone would have at their home of office, with the onus being on flight attendants to monitor and take appropriate action if any passenger was caught surfing porn.

  

 

I can only say it should not have been a surprise that a minority of passengers would surf inappropriate sites, and I am sure American Airlines would have thought thru and had great discussions including how flight attendants should deal with such issues.

  

 

As yet American Airlines have not officially stated what would happen if a passenger was caught surfing inappropriate content, personally I believe the users internet access should be blocked for the remainder of the journey.

 

 

  American Airlines issues have arisen in the same week in which Qantas have announced they will not be offering a full live in-flight internet instead switching plans to a cached only service to a limited number of websites.  There has been some speculation that Qantas’s decision to change tact was in-response to the issues now being experienced by American Airlines issues, but in reality it’s a coincidence with  Qantas stating the reason is because of Logistical and regulatory issues with its carrier On-air

 

 

United Airlines today denied a news article by the Florida Sun Sentinel that the company had filed for bankruptcy. In what seems like a case of reporting on the sinking of the Titanic six years after it happened, the Florida Sun Sentential foolishly & mistakenly referred from and basing their article on a six year old press release of the airlines 2002 filing.

   

United Airlines has called for the Florida Sun Sentential to retract their article which the paper is yet to do.

  

In a press release from United Airlines they quote the following, “United continues to execute it previously announced businesses plans to successfully navigate thru an environment marked by volatile fuel prices and continues to have a strong liquidity”

   

United Airlines is America’s second largest airline and recently came under fire after announcing and then quietly dropping plans to charge all economy class passengers on transatlantic flights for on board meals. After huge opposition and from passengers along with other airlines not following suite, United quietly dropped their buy on board meal plans.

 

 

With so much hype around the iPhone 3G and its new Exchange Sync features I decided to pick one up ditching my Windows Mobile device for a week to give the IPhone 3G Exchange client an aggressive test drive.

 

Now I rely heavily on my mobile device to keep in touch while on the run, using email, contacts, calendar, and of course my phone heavily, so if the iPhone 3G’s Exchange client has any issues I will sure find them. The first thing you notice when you pickup an iPhone 3G for the first time is its sexy menu system, which is great, but I want and need is the ultimate mobile email and scheduling device.

 

 

 

The iPhone 3G Email Setup

 

Delving into my iPhone’s email settings menu, the menu allow you to configure your Exchange mailbox account which I know is what you want, along with several other email services and systems including Yahoo Mail, Gmail, mobileMe, AOL, POP3 and  IMAP4, etc, which covers most of the major email servers and services.

 

After configuring my device for my corporate Exchange mailbox along with my personal IMAP4 mailbox, and then going into the iPhones email client I am given the choice of which of my mailboxes I want to open. Selecting my exchange mailbox I am presented with all of my corporate emails, entering into a messages it’s more evident how great the iPhones email client is, showing a full page email, including html emails.

 

Scheduling and calendaring is looks great but in reality there is one major flaw, and this is the ability to change/update a current calendar item or even the ability to propose a new meeting time, this is a feature that should have been made available, who knows why it was left out?

 

Contacts in Apples iPhone are great mainly due to the full screen format, placing all the information you want right in front of you, with also the ability to associate a picture or ring tone with a particular contact, all round contacts in the iPhone 3G are great.

 

To be truthful at the surface after my initial play with the email interface I so much wanted to give this device a glowing review, but after delving deeper I found many of the core features and functions that are found by default on a Windows Mobile device are missing all together, perhaps these will be included in a future incremental iPhone software upgrade or the future IPhone 3G 2, who knows?

 

Features missing from IPhone 3G’s Exchange/Email along with other general devices features which are missing:

 

Exchange, Email Client & SMS

 

• Copy and Paste between within the IPhone 3G’s email client and other applications – This should have been a core feature on the iPhone 3G, considering Apple’s main aim with this release was corporate/business users, for me its feature I most want and hope it wi