Working for an agency that focuses on transatlantic clients, anything that’s new in how I cross “the pond” is always of interest. A slight change in the service – good or bad – stands out a mile. I was truly awestruck then, to watch a video of the construction of the forthcoming Airbus A380. Watching this massive machine being built, its size truly becomes apparent. There’s no doubt about it, this beast is going to change the face of flying.
(Click here to see the video on Google Video. Whatever your opinion on the A380, you’d have to agree that it’s a marvel of engineering. It’s also a rare but impressive statement of the power of European cooperation.)
Just how the A380 will change flying is open to debate. The hype has been as big as the aircraft itself. With 50% more floor space than Boeing’s 747-400, some airlines talk about the tantalising prospect of an airborne hotel. Virgin Atlantic says it plans to fit its A380s with gyms, shops and stand-up bars and may even install double beds and cabins for business-class couples. Of course, the more prosaic alternative is row upon row of extra seats.
It appears as though the market is working in both of these directions already. The phenomenal rise of the no-frills carriers has seen prices plummet on short and medium haul journeys. The transatlantic route has added luxury choices with the introduction of all premium class flights, first from Lufthansa in 2002 and last year from newcomers Eos and MAXjet. The crucial difference is that these services all use much smaller aircraft that the A380. When Airbus announced its plans, its American archrival rejected the need for anything larger than the 747, which has had the market for very large commercial jets entirely to itself for 35 years. With the A380 only able to operate between major international hubs, Boeing saw the future in smaller, point-to-point aircraft and focused on developing the 787 Dreamliner, which has around 250 seats.
With interest in the A380 looking strong, Boeing was forced to reconsider. It announced a stretched version of the 747 – the 747-8 – in November last year. Yet the European company also conceded that Boeing’s original vision was valid, confirming plans to develop the A350 – similar in size to the 787 – only weeks before. Neither firm seems willing to bet its future on whether the point-to-point or hubs model of intercontinental air travel will win out. Indeed, the number of point-to-point airlines has grown alongside the prevailing hub models of the major flag carriers.
How different airlines will configure their routes and individual aircraft remains to be seen, but cheaper travel due to economies of scale at bottom end, and hitherto unseen luxury at the upper end, are both realistic prospects – whether on separate or the same aircraft. What does seem certain is that an industry that had been experiencing a radical shake up will continue to be in a state of transition for several years to come.
