First Airbus A380 Delivered to Qantas

It was at midnight in France on the 19th of September that a new era in Australian aviation began when VH-OQA—the first of the 20 A380s ordered by Qantas—departed Toulouse for its new home on the other side of the world. Twenty-five hours later, the white and red “green” giant touched down gently, exactly on time at 9:00 a.m. in Sydney on Sunday the 21st of September.

The significance of the occasion was obvious from the throngs of people waving and applauding as they lined the perimeter of Sydney Airport, and every doorway, stairwell and rooftop that faced the apron was lined with airport staff as the new arrival taxied slowly to Qantas’s Hangar-96 for its official reception.

There, around 3,000 people—Qantas staff and their families—waited patiently in the giant building. After an emotional rendition by a children’s choir of Qantas’s theme “I Still Call Australia Home”, Qantas’s chief executive general manager, John Borghetti, welcomed the aircraft and its crew home. Mr Borghetti expressed in words what the huge public turnout had already demonstrated, that, “We are witnessing an exciting new era for Qantas but also for Australian aviation.”

Mr Borghetti’s words echoed those of Qantas’s two CEOs (Geoff Dixon, the outgoing CEO, and CEO-Designate Alan Joyce), who had both been present in Toulouse for the aircraft’s official handover ceremony on the 19th.

The official handover ceremony took place at Airbus’s dedicated Toulouse “Delivery Centre” in the morning with speeches followed by questions from the assembled press from around the world. One would have thought Messrs Dixon and Joyce were film stars or sports heroes from the way European photographers and journalists jostled and fought each other for the opportunity to capture the pair’s attention. Meanwhile, the Aussies and Kiwis simply waited for the chaos to subside, and quietly asked their questions and took their photographs after the battle-scarred Euro-journos wore themselves out and gradually drifted off to lick their wounds amid arguments about who got in whose way.

There was a strong sense of pride from Tom Enders, Airbus’s CEO, when he spoke about the A380 and his company’s relationship with Qantas. Mr Enders was also quick to refute claims made earlier in the week by a European journalist that there would be further delays to the A380 programme. He insisted that Airbus would have delivered 12 A380s by the end of 2008—three of which will be Qantas aircraft—and he jokingly bet a magnum of champagne to that effect with the assembled reporters. Mr Dixon quickly quipped, “I hope I’m not going to hear of another delay today, or this ceremony is going to be halted abruptly.” (Had Airbus not experienced delays to the original programme, Qantas would already have been operating nine A380s by now).

Mr Dixon fielded several questions from journalists about the much publicised “maintenance” issues that had plagued Qantas recently. He responded that the airline’s policy had always been, and always would be, safety before service. He added that the number of “turnbacks” the airline experienced was extremely low and pointed out—for the benefit of non-aviation media—that turnbacks indicated successful and correctly functioning safety systems rather than issues of concern. He admitted that unfortunately, opinion polls suggested the sensationalisation of the issue had unfairly tarnished the airline’s reputation recently. He was undoubtedly hoping that the A380’s introduction would give the media something positive to latch on to.

In his morning speech at Toulouse, Mr Dixon described the A380 as “the most innovative, most functional and most intelligent aircraft in the sky.” He said that Qantas had recognised the operational and economic advantages that the A380 could deliver long before they were rather dramatically illustrated by the escalating cost of fuel. He also described the aircraft as “the perfect fit for our operations”.

He made it clear that the airline was genuinely excited and enthusiastic about the A380 for Qantas. “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,” he said. “Everything we have seen since our initial order has reinforced this view". Qantas initially ordered 12 A380s in November 2000—at that time, the airline’s first ever order for Airbus aircraft. It later increased its order for A380s to 20, making it the second largest customer for the aircraft after Emirates. The Qantas group—including its subsidiary Jetstar—has since ordered a total of 110 Airbus aircraft of various types. Mr Dixon said that having followed the A380’s progress closely in Singapore Airlines and Emirates service, even before its own first aircraft had been delivered, Qantas had already been negotiating with Airbus for additional orders—although he wouldn’t confirm how many additional aircraft were being considered.

At a time when many of the world’s airlines are struggling, there was a definite air of quiet confidence from both Dixon and Joyce that Qantas was in a sound financial position. Both see the A380 as a pivotal component of the airline’s future because in addition to what they consider to be the ideal passenger configuration for their operations and routes, it offers significantly greater fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance requirements than current generation aircraft, resulting in overall seat-mile costs around 20% less than those of the Boeing 747.

The two CEOs also fielded questions about other potential future aircraft orders for Qantas. Without committing to any firm plans, they made it clear that any new aircraft ordered would have to demonstrate similar efficiency improvements (20–25%) to the A380 to even be considered. They were both looking forward to receiving the Boeing 787 into the fleet and admitted they are also looking at the A350.

With the morning’s delivery ceremony over, visitors and guests had a choice of either touring the A380 final assembly line, or making a brief visit to central Toulouse before the evening’s celebrations and the aircraft’s departure for Sydney.

Later, as the sun left the sky, the Delivery Centre’s semi-circular glass frontage provided an outstanding vantage point for an incredible laser light show featuring the soon-to-depart A380. Dazzling colours and patterns, and high quality video footage were projected onto the side of the massive movie screen-like fuselage in a quarter-hour display. Images of Qantas destinations and wonderful Australian scenery played amongst some brilliantly coordinated sequences and designs. In one sequence, an image of a painter on a scaffold appeared and he began to paint the darkened fuselage white. It was as if, with one quick sweep of his spray-gun, he began a magical painting process that applied the entire paint scheme with a single stroke—very clever! In another stunning video sequence, a full-sized Qantas A380 gradually flew along the darkened fuselage of VH-OQA until, as it reached the front, it was as if the “real” aircraft suddenly came to life in full colour.

The display was truly spectacular and would have been well worth paying to see. At its conclusion, guests were seated for a sumptuous gourmet meal. As the night drew to a close, the fortunate guests who were to accompany the aircraft to Sydney boarded the erstwhile “movie screen” for its historic delivery flight as QF 6008. The facts, figures and statistics for the Airbus 380 have been published at length before. The aircraft’s service with Singapore Airlines and Emirates appear to be bearing out Airbus’s claims for the aircraft’s efficiency and reliability thus far—clearly referred to by Mr Dixon—but not too many of the world’s travellers have yet had the opportunity to fly in A380 style.

The writer was one of the 86 privileged passengers aboard the Qantas aircraft for its delivery flight from Toulouse to Sydney. To be one of 86 passengers in an aircraft that, from the outside, appears to be approximately the size of Greenland, made for an unparalleled experience of memorable comfort and pleasure. The 20-odd hours in the air also provided plenty of opportunity for a thorough look around the interior.

Before the first interior had been completed, there was significant negative media comment in Australia about the aircraft’s interior styling. Much was made about the green colour used in (part of) the economy section. However, having seen the finished product the writer considers the interior to be the most pleasant overall of any airliner he has travelled in. “That green” is nothing at all like had been portrayed in the negative reports and in fact, with a black fabric interwoven through it in a subtle checked pattern, it works exceptionally well with the very modern looking carbon-fibre seat backs, and charcoal coloured armrests and carpets against the lighter colour of the cabin walls and overhead bins.

The economy cabin is divided into sections and only one section features “that green” (which the writer actually prefers), while the others utilise red and orange fabrics—also interwoven with black. Overall, the look of the entire economy section is simultaneously modern, stylish and inviting. While the seats are unmistakeably “economy” seats, there is slightly more leg room than in Qantas’s other aircraft and even with the seat in front reclined, the writer did not experience the “knee amputation” sensation so painfully familiar to economy class passengers the world over.

The interior is cleverly divided into sections that entirely eliminate any sense of travelling in such a massive fuselage. The dividing walls between the economy sections (10 abreast in 3-4-3 configuration) create an atmosphere more akin to a wide lounge than the standard “endless tube of misery” feeling that prevails in the economy sections of most long-haul wide-body aircraft (Airbus and Boeing alike).

Fortunately, with such a small number of passengers aboard for the delivery flight, everyone was able to enjoy a business or first-class seat throughout the flight and only experienced the economy seats for the purposes of research! Regardless of where one sits in the aircraft, the significantly lower interior noise level compared to existing types is very noticeable.

The aircraft is undoubtedly a dream aircraft for passengers. Much quieter, roomier and with a higher cabin pressure, the A380 guarantees a far more comfortable and less stressful journey with fewer “jet lag” effects than current types. For the first time ever in the writer’s experience, the end of a 25-hour journey arrived far too quickly.

Qantas has deliberately focused upon the business-class section of its A380 to compete against its Emirates and Singapore rivals for this highly competitive market segment. Thus, its 72 business-class seats take up almost the entire upper deck with just 32 “Premium-Economy” seats completing the divided rear section of the upper deck. Both premium-economy and business-class seats are finished in more conservative dusky pink fabrics than those used on the economy seats downstairs.

The business-class seats proved extremely comfortable, and with only six seats (2-2-2 configuration) across the width of the giant fuselage, there is a comfortable sense of space for all. Thankfully, these seats recline fully to provide a lie-flat surface—unlike many other so-called “lie-flat” business-class seats that inevitably result in “sleep creep”, that insidious slide into a dishevelled and uncomfortable pile at the base of an almost-flat (but still slightly sloping) seat after an hour or two of semi-consciousness.

A partition between each pair of business seats (retractable if one is seated next to a partner) provides a remarkable degree of privacy as soon as one’s seat is reclined. The retractable entertainment screens in the centre of each pair of seats are properly adjustable to provide ideal viewing regardless of the angle of one’s seat. Many regular business travellers will undoubtedly appreciate the IFE’s facility for email communication in flight.

If one is obliged to spend 20 hours flying across the world, Qantas’s A380 business-class is a wonderful environment in which to do so.

For those with more money than sense, the 14 compartments in the first-class cabin at the front of the lower deck offer even more space and considerably more privacy than business-class.

Qantas has opted for space throughout the entire aircraft rather than focusing heavily on first-class and installing things like Emirates’ “shower” or Singapore’s completely partitioned first-class “cabins”. Alan Joyce believes the Australian public will prefer the space overall and said, “We thought Aussies would rather have a lounge and a few beers and chat away than just have little gimmicks.”

Despite the fact that the A380 can be configured for as many as 853 passengers in high-density arrangements and will typically be configured for around 525 passengers, Qantas’s aircraft will be configured for only 450 passengers (14 First, 72 Business, 32 Premium Economy and 332 Economy-class).

This first Qantas A380 is to be officially named after Australia’s famous Nancy Bird-Walton, who, in 1934, was the youngest female in Australia to achieve a commercial pilot’s licence. By the time this issue is published, Nancy, who is now 92, will have attended the official naming ceremony in her honour on the 30th of September.

The A380 is due to begin commercial service with Qantas on the 20th of October. Its first flight will be from Melbourne to Los Angeles, followed by a first Sydney–Los Angeles flight four days later. The airline will begin regular A380 Sydney–London flights in February.

It was great to see Qantas treat the delivery and arrival of this new aircraft as such an occasion, because it really is something special. The Airbus A380 is the first of the new generation of enviro-friendly aircraft that will soon equip all of the world’s major airlines. Aircraft like the A380, the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 are visible signs of the aviation industry’s constant quest for progress and improvement. Airlines like Qantas that have ordered new generation aircraft are to be congratulated for their foresight. If the automotive world were to have achieved the same improvements in efficiency as aviation—the fuel efficiency of jet engines has improved by 70 percent since the introduction of the first jet—the world’s fuel consumption would be half what it is today.

Qantas had hoped to demonstrate its new flagship to all of Sydney upon its homecoming, and deliberately ensured that the aircraft arrived over the city well ahead of its scheduled touchdown time. Having obtained special clearance to overfly the city and harbour, Captain Peter Probert (whose father brought the first Boeing 747 to Australia in 1971) must have been frustrated to find much of the city obscured by pesky patches of cloud. Nevertheless, he carried out several passes over breaks in the cloud to give as many people as possible a view of “their” magnificent new aircraft. It was an experience of a lifetime to experience a VFR scenic in such an enormous aircraft. This was made obvious by the excitement of delighted flight attendants who, cameras in hand, joined the rest of the passengers at the numerous windows in the unpopulated cabins for the duration of the “city tour”. Captain Probert described the flight to Sydney as one of the greatest experiences of his life

Regretfully, the delivery flight eventually had to end. It had been far more than a simple journey from Toulouse to Sydney—it had been a historic experience and truly felt like it. Pacific Wings would like to thank Qantas and Airbus for the opportunity to be part of history in our part of the world; thank you, congratulations and best wishes to Qantas for its new era in commercial air travel.