The premium cabin of Qatar’s Airbus A380 is quite impressive – Photo: David Flynn | Australian Business Traveller
Our friend David Flynn with Australian Business Traveller recently had the opportunity to check out Qatar’s impressive Airbus A380 product. Here is an snippet with a link to the full story on ABT.
Step inside Qatar Airways’ Airbus A380 for a look at the Gulf carrier’s new first class and business class cabin, the inflight bar and even the bathrooms.
Qatar’s first A380 will begin flights to London and Paris in October, but Australian Business Traveller enjoyed a first-hand look of the Gulf carrier’s superjumbo during its official delivery from Airbus.
The premium lounge on the upper deck of the Qatar Airbus A380 – Photo: David Flynn – Australian Business Traveller
The configuration is relatively standard: first class, business class and a lounge/bar on the top deck, along with a small economy cabin to the very rear, while the entire lower deck is given over to economy.
If you thought the new Southwest livery was bold and radical, it has nothing on this taxi-like black and yellow design of the new Spirit look. You should have no problem spotting these Airbus aircraft from a distance.
Notice the “Bare Fare” on the engine nacel – Photo: Spirit Airlines
The first aircraft, in new livery, started services today from Atlantic City (ACY) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL). The airline plans to introduce six more aircraft in the new livery over the next few months. Any new planes delivered will sport the yellow livery, but the rest of the fleet will be updated during their regularly scheduled painting timeframe.
’œThis new livery perfectly matches Spirit Airlines,’ said Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s President and CEO. ’œIt’s radically different from other airlines, and it’s fun, just like we are. When you see this plane in the air ’“ or on the ground – there will be no question that this is a Spirit plane.’
The different uniform choices in the TAM uniform shop
One large task of an airline is to make sure that all their employees are dressed properly. Typically, each position within an airline will have a different dress code. From the fancy outfits that flight attendants often wear to the more mundane look of those who work behind the scenes and away from passengers. They each have their purpose and it is quite the feat to make sure that every employee has a proper uniform.
The uniform shop is a three-story facility with an employee lounge on the first floor
TAM Airlines has a specialty uniform shop, located in Sao Paulo, where all 22,000 employees can go and pick up their uniforms. The process is quite the task.
The facility is unique in that not only do employees come in person, but the airline wants the uniform process to be a part of their culture. I was excited to see what it was all about — I had never seen a shop quite like it.
If Southwest wanted to keep their full low-fare personality, I think I could get behind the new livery a bit more. But with going after more business travelers, the design says more “party,” than “all business.”
Although I do have to say that I am quite fond of their new heart logo — one might even say that I LUV it (it seems like Southwest is a fan too).
Maybe the excitement will come when I see on of these newly painted birds in person. Has it started growing on you?
Throughout the past 35 years, there have been several high-profile cases of aircraft crashes due to cabin depressurization, with one of these being an airliner. Aircraft pressurization is actually a pretty simple process on modern aircraft, and is almost always computer-controlled. Aircraft are pressurized through the use of compressed air that is either supplied by bleed air tapped off of the engines, or, as in the case of smaller piston engine aircraft and the Boeing 787, by a compressor on board the aircraft.
This pressurized air is regulated through the means of outflow valves that help to maintain cabin pressure to the design limits of the airframe. Most commercial aircraft are pressurized to an altitude of 8,000 feet, with the main exception being the 787, which is pressurized to 6,000 feet. In very rare cases, however, things go wrong, as was experienced in the tragic loss of a Socata TBM 900 off the coast of Jamaica on September 5th.
The Boeing 787 is designed to be pressurized at 6,000 feet
At roughly 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, TBM 900 N900KN, the first of its type to be delivered, was last heard from by ATC as it made its way from Rochester, NY to Naples, FL. Approximately 40 minutes later, two F-16s from McEntire Joint National Guard Base in South Carolina intercepted the aircraft and found all of its windows frosted over, and according to audio from the fighters, they could see the pilot slumped over in the pilot’s seat, and reportedly he could “see pilot’s chest moving, hopes he regains consciousness as unresponsive plane descends.”
It is not known at this time what exactly happened, but the frosted windows are one indication of a rapid depressurization of the cabin. The aircraft continued on the last heading programmed into its autopilot for roughly 1,200 miles before finally running out of fuel. Tragic as it is, this type of incident is not unheard of, as it has happened before with very similar results.
