Singapore Airlines Receives A380 With New Cabin

Singapore Airlines Receives A380 With New Cabin

Singapore Airlines Receives A380 With New Cabin. Singapore Airlines (SIA) has received the first of the five new Airbus A380 new construction that will be equipped with the cabin recently launched by the company.

Describing the new interior as "impressive" during a delivery ceremony in Toulouse, Airbus executive director Tom Enders said SIA "would take the torch forward for the new generation of cab on the A380."

Although Enders is "hoping" that SIA will ask for additional examples of the plane, Swee Wah Mak, the operator's executive vice president, says he "has no plans to go beyond" the 19 aircraft in his current fleet plan.

SIA will carry four new Rolls-Royce Trent-powered A380s over the course of 2018, with 14 of its current fleet to be upgraded with the interior upgraded by 2020.

Configured in a four-class, 471-seat design, the two-story SIA is also the first to employ a number of "cabin enablers," depending on the fuselage, to allow more efficient use of interior space.

SIA has chosen to remove the storage compartments from the side wall of the upper platform, allowing a staggered seating arrangement in the 78-seat executive class cabin, and removing the front platform elevator to allow the use of the cargo hold. front load as crew-resting area.

In addition, the six first class suites have been relocated on the upper deck, separated by a single corridor.

Roland Naudy, director of interior aircraft marketing for the A380, says this gives more space to each passenger and makes better use of space. Each suite has a bed and a seat.

In general, the new interior accommodates 92 more seats than the less dense one of the current A380 configurations of SIA. It includes 44 premium economy seats and 343 economy class seats on the main deck.

The same enablers are part of the broader package of improvements called 'A380plus', which includes a greater maximum take-off weight and winglets, which was presented at the June air show in Paris.

No customer has so far opted for modifications to the structure of the aircraft, which remain in the stage of development study. However, Frank Vermeire, head of marketing at A380, says the company is in "mature discussions" with a number of customers about the proposed changes.

"We are still discussing with clients to see what their acceptance would be," he says.

He notes that modifications to the wing "are part of a complete package" with changes in the cab offering an improvement in the efficiency of the seat count "that is almost the same order" as that obtained from the new engines: "The complete package is what you would call A380plus, but airlines can choose and choose what they want. "

At the Paris Air Show, Airbus indicated that the A380plus package, if launched, would enter service around 2020.