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Emirates’ A380 heads to Perth

Stephen Scourfield admires a special plane about to touch down in Perth for the first time.

The first Emirates A380 is due to land at Perth Airport on Friday, in a significant moment for WA travellers.

The big double-decker A380 is noticeably quiet and has a fuel efficiency that can help keep fares down and reduce emissions.

Each airline designs and configures the interior of its planes differently and the Emirates A380s’ upper deck has 14 first-class private suites and 76 business-class mini-pods, in a staggered formation for privacy. Passengers from both can use a rear lounge, which has sofas and a bar with a top cut from a single piece of onyx, side-lit so that the stone radiates light.

There are 400 economy passenger seats on the lower deck and, last Sunday morning at Emirates’ group headquarters in Dubai, it was these Terry Daly, divisional senior vice-president service delivery, talked about first.

Terry Daly, Emirates’ divisional senior vice-president service delivery. Picture: Stephen Scourfield

“We’re proud of the economy-class cabin,” he says. “If you look at the curvature of the body of the aircraft, it is ‘on the way out’.” That is, rows of 10 economy seats are across the widest part of the plane. The space for them, Mr Daly says, “is very generous”. The A380 is renowned for its spacious cabins.

“And we have chosen not to have one mass of seats but break up economy class into four cabins. It doesn’t feel like you are on a 500-seat aircraft. It feels . . . intimate.”

It also gives more options for seats, with bassinets and for extra leg room. And, on the subject of leg room, Mr Daly points out triumphantly “the box under your feet has gone”.

That box under the seat in front, for its entertainment system, has been the bane of many travellers. “It’s gone partly due to technical advancements but also from pushing suppliers,” he says.

The Emirates A380 is equipped with wi-fi. Picture: Supplied

The plane has nearly 2000 channels on Emirates’ ICE (information, communication, entertainment) system and wi-fi. Most Emirates A380 aircraft give 10MB of free wi-fi data, then $US1 ($1.30) is charged per 500MB.

Along with a feeling of spaciousness, the quietness of the cabin is a significant feature — by comparison, for example, an A380 has only half the cabin noise of a 747-400. “Even when the engines have started . . . well, sometimes you wonder when they will'''' start, they are that quiet,” Mr Daly says.

Emirates has just ordered $11.5 billion worth of Rolls-Royce engines for 50 A380 aircraft. It is Rolls-Royce’s biggest order and Emirates was impressed by the company’s commitment to continuing development of the Trent 900 engine.

A passenger enjoying a first-class suite on board an Emirates A380. Picture: Supplied

Capt. Alan Stealey, Emirates divisional senior vice-president flight operations, says that development is crucial because efficiency improvements and reduction in emissions will be incremental. Economies will not come from more engine thrust, he says, but reducing weight. Each engine has a dry weight of more than 6.2 tonnes and there are four on an A380.

The Emirates plane will fly to a dedicated A380 gate at Perth Airport, with passengers in economy class boarding from two air bridges, with a separate one to the upper deck.

The A380 (EK421) will leave Perth daily at 10.10pm and arrive in Dubai at 5.25am. It leaves Dubai (EK420) at 2.55am and arrives in Perth at 5.35pm.

Stephen Scourfield flew to Dubai as a guest of Emirates.

FACT FILE

For planning and booking, visit emirates.com/au or travel agents. Or call the Perth booking office on 9324 7600, or visit the booking office during business hours at Level 2, 181 St George’s Terrace, Perth.