Start of QR A380 services
 

Looks like CDG gets the honour...

http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/e...601DOH&lang=en

I know schedules can change at the last minute, BUT it is great news (not because of the the A380 only) but because it will finally confirm that the opening of the airport is definetly before June 1.

Interesting! I presumed it would be LHR first - are they taking delivery of all 3 A380s at once? If so maybe LHR won't be too far behind :)

Not in the GDS yet, nor on the QR site. But good to know. I think I know what I'll use these funny QCredits for: an upgrade to F on the whale jet.

QR's 4th A380 looks to be ready in another couple months or so:

http://doubledecker-blog.blogspot.ca...160-qatar.html

It will be interesting to see how QR's A380s are received in the market once EY unveils their A380 product. From the rumours its supposed to be something spectacular, on the FT EY forum there is mention of a spa, shower and enclosed first class suites that include separate lounging and sleeping areas.

When QR finally starts flying from LHR, any guesses which flight they will start with - assuming replacing one of the A346s. Trying to book a flight now for next March and hopefully will end up with one of the new 380s.

It's not yet been announced I'm afraid. I have seen speculation it may be QR001 and QR002, but I wouldn't book a flight based on this as I think it's just guesswork at this stage.

Any guesses which other routes they may deploy the A380s on? So far it seems like LHR and CDG are hot favourites - what about the others they've got arriving in the not so distant future?

purple1addict,

semi-educated guess:

LHR, CDG, FRA, JFK, MEL + 1 Asian destination (such as BKK or PVG). Probably some regional flights too if they can squeeze them in such as JED or DXB. Thats 10 aircraft utilisation as I expect LHR and CDG will both have 2 A380 flights a day eventually.

We saw examples of these at QR. We doubted that passengers actually want separate places to sit and sleep.

But if EY introduces them, then it will be great that they are providing customers going via the middle east with a choice.

No idea, but I'd go with N1Rotate's guess probably, except I'm not sure about Melbourne given the distance. Al Baker has made the point that the A380s will not be serving any ULH destinations due to fuel burn on the aircraft. I would say anywhere they currently fill up B773s regularly, and still have frequent flights - maybe BKK could be an option, although they may struggle to fill up those premium cabins. Also any busy A346 or A333 route that currently sells first class seems like a good bet, too.

Sixth Freedom,

No doubt. Personally for me QR's A380 product works well for me, and I am not one for gimmicks. The F-cabin reminds me of the interiors of larger business jets which is a good thing.

Regarding gimmicks QR's A346 bar/lounge was innovative at its time, as it was different than what VS had and at that time EK didn't have the A380 yet. The bar/lounge worked well in advertisements and at the travel trade shows but in reality hardly anyone used it.

With regards to the gimmicks I am thinking of all my local friends who travel international first class. Not to generalise but these kind of gimmicks are popular with the locals, and the privacy from enclosed seats is popular too with the local women especially. I know a group of local government employees that travel to JFK regularly. They get a cash equivalent of a flexible J-class ticket on QR, then they top it off with their own pocket money and travel on EK A380 first. I hope QR's market research looked at local's preferences as they will depend on them to make F-class profitable.

That was because:

i) the lounge was exclusively for F pax and there were only 8 F seats
ii) there was no special reason for people to visit the lounge.

If QR had allowed J pax to use the lounge too (there are 42 J seats on the 346) and put out some catering like they do on the 787 then I believe that the lounge would have been much more extensively used.

These mistakes have been rectified on the 380.

Some locals prefer EK and others prefer QR.

Sixth Freedom,

Thanks for the valuable insights, I once spent the whole flight DOH-HKG from after take off to top of descent chatting with a friend in the A346 lounge. I must admit that product development along with network planning are some of the most interesting aspects for me in running an airline and I appreciate your knowledge in these matters.