As in SMH

IT'LL be a scene from Upstairs Downstairs on the kangaroo route from Melbourne to London after Qantas announced it will start flying the double-decker Airbus A380 on the route from next year.

But the class war takes an egalitarian twist: 14 first class passengers will be on the lower deck with 332 economy class passengers, while 72 business class travellers will enjoy the upper deck and a lounge with 32 premium economy class passengers towards the rear.

It will be a one-stop hop, with refuelling in Singapore for the Melbourne to London flight.

Qantas is adding two new A380s to the route from January 18, bringing to six the number of the aircraft in their fleet.

From that date, the A380s will operate once or twice weekly on the route. From March 29, it will become twice-weekly.

The A380s, which cost about $US300 million ($A339 million) each, can seat 450 passengers, compared with about 300 to 350 on the Boeing 747s.

The A380s are quieter inside and out, and are more fuel efficient than Boeing's Jumbos.