While I was hanging out with United Airlines at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) a while back, I was invited to go on top of the old FAA tower to get one of the best views of the airport. Words can’t really describe it, nor can photos, so I took a video.
United uses the top part of the tower to guide their aircraft from the gate to the taxi way and back.
Be sure to check the Qantas Airbus A380 parked off to the side.
Slim and light don't describe the Airbus A380, but sure do describe Qantas' carbon fiber seats on their A380.
The Airbus A380 is the largest commercial airline in the sky today. It is massive. When you think about this plane you don’t think about “light.” However there is something light about the seats on Qantas Airbus A380’s…they have carbon fiber.
What’s carbon fiber you ask? (if you don’t ask, skip this paragraph) In easy terms it is woven fiber material that is stronger and lighter than metals used in other airline seats. For a more complex answer, read this. While the carbon fiber on the seats is what got my attention about the Qantas’ seats, there are plenty of other cool things going on.
About a year ago, Mary Kirby, via her Runway Girl Blog, talked about the 2009 Australian International Design Award of the Year for their seats. Not only because of the high-tech materials used, but also the way the seats recline. Like a high-end movie theater, the bottom part of the seat moves forward when one reclines, taking away less room from the person behind you.
Qantas told me, ’œThe carbon fibre backshell on the Qantas A380 Economy seats is exclusive to Qantas and provides a unique natural element and visually stunning appearance. The material was selected for sleek design appeal and aircraft weight benefits.’
These carbon seats might be exclusive now, but I am sure we will be seeing seats like these on future flights. As carbon fiber gets cheaper and airlines are looking to cut costs and green house emissions I imagine more carbon fiber will be used. And as Kirby shows, you might be seeing this seat on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner as well.
Thanks Dan for pointing this out!
Image: Jalopnik
An Airbus A380, A340 and a few A320's hanging out at Toulouse Blagnac Airport
The Airbus A380 is big. Very big. You can even see it from space (ok with Google Maps, you can see almost anything from space). But I was messing around on and was checking out Toulouse Blagnac Airport, where Airbus and ATR aircraft are made. I found it interesting seeing the size difference of the Airbus A380 compared to an A340 and A320’s.
Here is the link to the Google maps, what other planes can you find?
View from the Airbus A380 window over Antarctica
The Airbus A380 is an amazing aircraft. Antarctica is an amazing continent. 2010 was the end to an amazing decade. Put them all together and what do you get? One amazing party.
A Qantas Airbus A380 celebrated the New Year by taking 450 lucky folks to the southern most part of the world. The A380 left Melbourne on Thursday afternoon with 24 crew members, passengers and even a jazz band and returned Friday morning, never having to fly in darkness due to being so far south.
This was the 40th Antarctica sight-seeing trip for Captain John Dennis. Previous trips have normally been done in Boeing 747’s, but this was the first time it has been done in the Airbus A380. “Every single flight we do, it’s hard to get the grin off your face. Pictures can’t do it justice. It’s so vast,” Dennis said.
The cheapest ticket was just over $900.00 USD and the most expensive was around $5500.00 USD. To the average person, it might seem silly to pay so much for a flight that goes no where, but as an aviation nerd, that sounds like a good deal. I think I just added a new thing to my “Do Before I Die” list…
You can view more photos of the party onboard via SMH.
Air Austral Boeing 777-300 (F-OSYD) with a 3-class layout
Air Austral announced at the Dubai Airshow that they plan to buy two Airbus A380 superjumbo jets and configure them with all economy class, fitting about 840 passengers aboard. The airline is planning to fly the sardine-like-airplane between Reunion, France and Paris. They are the first airline to purchase the world’s largest airline in an all economy layout. Most airlines order A380’s in a multi-class seating of about 500 total seats.
Austral Air already has a fleet of 10 aircraft, including 3 ATR-72 and 2 Boeing 737’s that are all economy. However, they also have 5 Boeing 777’s with three class layouts.
It is bad enough waiting for an entire all economy Boeing 737 with about 125 seats in it to empty. I couldn’t imagine the chaos of 840 passengers trying to board, store their carry-ons, sit, and then de-board. No thanks!
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Source: Today in the Sky Image: Paulo974