Emirates eyes upgraded A380 interiors; still mulling 11-abreast seating
Almasalla Arab Travel Portal News – Emirates is planning to refine and upgrade its Airbus A380 interiors and is still considering a move to an 11-abreast layout in economy class.
Speaking following the airline’s latest A380 order announcement at the Dubai Air Show, Emirates Airline president Tim Clark outlined his plans for the type.
“The A380s that we have on order will basically be the same as today, but we will refine our premium and economy products to absorb as much innovation as they can. When we have done that, we will see whether we want to modify our existing aircraft, although these are already well-respected and are still quite new,” Clark said.
At the end of October, Emirates launched its first two-class A380 with 617 seats. The carrier’s standard A380 configuration is 517 seats in a three-class layout, but Clark said the airline is now considering further capacity increases.
“We have looked at 11-abreast and we continue to look at 11-abreast, but we have to match what we are doing today. Our current seat width is 19 inches. If we do that [switch to 11-abreast], we will not fall below 18 inches. Can we fit 11-abreast in? Yes, the guys are working quite hard to get 11-abreast in using all sorts of smoke and mirrors.”
Clark conceded the seats would be “smaller overall,” but the 18-inch minimum width would remain. “If we choose to do that, it would be a 3-5-3 layout. The middle seat of the five would be a difficult one to have. We are working on how to deal with that,” he said.
Emirates’ A380s are currently configured with a 3-4-3 layout in economy class.
Source : ATW
