Singapore Airlines has confirmed the imminent arrival of a new series of Airbus A380s with an extended business class cabin running the entire length of the upper deck, as first tipped by Australian Business Travellerin December last year.
The carrier has listed its second-gen A380 on the new Singapore Airlines website unveilled today and released a seatmap for the new-look superjumbo which shows the upper deck will be exclusive to business class passengers, with 86 seats spread over 22 rows.
This is sub-divided into four cabin areas, including the oddity of a single row cabin (row 96) with just four seats – with the rearmost exit in front and the toilet, galley and stairs to the lower deck below.
The seatplan also confirms the lower deck will retain the 12 first-class suites and 311 economy seats.
To see or download the seatplan for your self, click tohttp://www.singaporeair.com/pdf/seatmaps/airbus380.pdf. (Tip of the hat to AusBT reader pungpui for spotting this one.)
There's still no official word on when the new A380 will take to the skies, although as we reported last week (see below) airline booking systems are showing the first of these eight superjumbos will be introduced on the Sydney-Singapore SQ221/212 service on June 20th (out of Singapore).
Singapore Airlines looks set to add a second tranche of Airbus A380s to its fleet next month with an extended business class cabin running the entire length of the upper deck.
The long-rumoured change appeared in global airline booking systems today, according to booking resource AirlineRoute, although Singapore Airlines has yet to officially announce the new layout.
AirlineRoute also reports that booking systems show the first of the new A380s will be introduced on the Sydney-Singapore SQ221/212 service on June 20th (out of Singapore).
Eight new superjumbos ordered by the Singapore flag-carrier are said to sport the new 'high-density' business class configuration, which will add 24 more of Singapore's generous business class seats to increase overall business class capacity by 40% and removing less-profitable economy seats.
SQ's current A380 layout splits the upper deck between 60 business class seats and 88 economy seats.
The revised A380 seating chart sees the economy seating removed in favour of six more rows of lie-flat business class seating for a total of 86 business class seats.
Economy will be pared back to the downstairs-only allocation of 311 seats. The front of the lower deck will still house SQ's twelve luxurious first-class suites, the middle four of which can be converted into a pair of double suites.
The new seating plan is a vote of confidence in the resurgent business travel market, with Singapore Airlines clearly expecting to boost ticket sales and put more business class bums on seats.
Alas, it's a loss for savvy economy class passengers who know the upstairs section has a quieter and more cosy feel than the packed lower deck, as well as that great double-decker view.
The upper-deck economy cabin also permits easier aisle access due to the use of a 2-4-2 seating configuration, whereas downstairs it’s a 3-4-3 rack.
Singapore Airlines will however keep the existing layout and upstairs economy cabin on its current A380 fleet rather than retrofit these to the new design.
The carrier has listed its second-gen A380 on the new Singapore Airlines website unveilled today and released a seatmap for the new-look superjumbo which shows the upper deck will be exclusive to business class passengers, with 86 seats spread over 22 rows.
This is sub-divided into four cabin areas, including the oddity of a single row cabin (row 96) with just four seats – with the rearmost exit in front and the toilet, galley and stairs to the lower deck below.
The seatplan also confirms the lower deck will retain the 12 first-class suites and 311 economy seats.
To see or download the seatplan for your self, click tohttp://www.singaporeair.com/pdf/seatmaps/airbus380.pdf. (Tip of the hat to AusBT reader pungpui for spotting this one.)
There's still no official word on when the new A380 will take to the skies, although as we reported last week (see below) airline booking systems are showing the first of these eight superjumbos will be introduced on the Sydney-Singapore SQ221/212 service on June 20th (out of Singapore).
Singapore Airlines looks set to add a second tranche of Airbus A380s to its fleet next month with an extended business class cabin running the entire length of the upper deck.
The long-rumoured change appeared in global airline booking systems today, according to booking resource AirlineRoute, although Singapore Airlines has yet to officially announce the new layout.
AirlineRoute also reports that booking systems show the first of the new A380s will be introduced on the Sydney-Singapore SQ221/212 service on June 20th (out of Singapore).
Eight new superjumbos ordered by the Singapore flag-carrier are said to sport the new 'high-density' business class configuration, which will add 24 more of Singapore's generous business class seats to increase overall business class capacity by 40% and removing less-profitable economy seats.
SQ's current A380 layout splits the upper deck between 60 business class seats and 88 economy seats.
The revised A380 seating chart sees the economy seating removed in favour of six more rows of lie-flat business class seating for a total of 86 business class seats.
The new seating plan is a vote of confidence in the resurgent business travel market, with Singapore Airlines clearly expecting to boost ticket sales and put more business class bums on seats.
Alas, it's a loss for savvy economy class passengers who know the upstairs section has a quieter and more cosy feel than the packed lower deck, as well as that great double-decker view.
The upper-deck economy cabin also permits easier aisle access due to the use of a 2-4-2 seating configuration, whereas downstairs it’s a 3-4-3 rack.
Singapore Airlines will however keep the existing layout and upstairs economy cabin on its current A380 fleet rather than retrofit these to the new design.
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