The largest carrier on international routes, Emirates Airlines, has existed since 1985. Regular flights have been established to 150 airports in 80 countries, including daily flights to Russia at Domodedovo and Pulkovo airports.
In addition, from Moscow and St. Petersburg, Emirates flies to international destinations: to the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, South and North America.
Airbus A380-800 Emirates cabin diagram
Emirates Airbuses A380-800 have two types of cabin layout: three and two classes. Moreover, the number of passengers with a three-class layout varies depending on the distance of the route. On long-distance routes - 517 passengers, on ultra-long-haul routes - 489. When configured into two classes, Airbus 380-800 of Emirates Airlines can accommodate 615 passengers.
Let's take a closer look at the layout of the Airbus 380-800 Emirates cabins (see diagram) into three classes for ultra-long-haul flights, i.e. for 489 passengers.
Let's start with the upper deck. There are two privileged classes of service here: first and business class.
Aircraft history in numbers
- January 2005 – The A380 is presented to the general public in Toulouse (France).
- First test flight: April 2005
- First test flight across the Atlantic Ocean with passengers on board: March 2007. The first passengers were Airbus employees and journalists.
- First commercial flight: October 2007 with Singapore Airlines.
- First commercial transatlantic flight: November 2009, flight Paris - New York.
- June 2022 – a new modification of the A380 plus was introduced. Thanks to improved wing aerodynamics, fuel consumption was reduced by another 4%. The new plane can accommodate more passenger seats. Their maximum number increased to 933.
As of July 2022, the Airbus A380 is used by 16 airlines. A total of 214 aircraft are in operation. The largest number (95 pieces) belongs to aviation.
In Russia, as of 2022, the following airports can receive the A380: Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Pulkovo and Tolmachevo.
First class private cabins
First class accommodates 14 individual cabins for VIP passengers: maximum comfort and everything necessary for relaxation or work. The dimensions of the cabin are three meters long and one and a half meters wide. The relaxation area includes: a fully reclining massage chair, a wardrobe for personal belongings, a mirror, a dressing table. All finishing in the cabin is natural polished wood. The upholstery of the chair is genuine leather. On the outside of the cabin there is a wardrobe and luggage compartment.
The personal minibar includes fine wines and champagne.
For work, there is a sliding work table, sockets, 2 USB inputs for charging electronic devices, Wi-Fi during the entire flight. Lighting is adjustable from bright to minimal. The cabin has a 27-inch personal screen with a large selection of entertainment programs, videos and games.
Business Class
According to the airbus A380-800 layout, the Emirates business class cabin offers 76 passenger seats. Each chair folds out into a horizontal bed almost 2 meters long and 50 cm wide.
The seats are located so that each passenger has his own individual exit to the corridor. There is a partition between the central seats that can be lowered or raised at the request of the passenger. Next to each seat there is a personal minibar, table and luggage compartment. In addition: power socket, USB input, shoe compartment and noise-isolating headphones.
Entertainment system: 23-inch LCD monitor. In addition to the entertainment program provided by the airline, you can display video files from your electronic device on the screen.
Wi-Fi throughout the flight allows you to work on your personal computer or communicate with colleagues, family and friends.
Start date of release and modification
Work on the creation of this airliner began in 1994. The goal of the company's designers was to create an aircraft that could compete with the popular Boeing 747. After thinking about the concept for a long time, they came up with the idea of creating a double-decker aircraft that could carry more passengers than its main competitor.
Embraer 190 aircraft: characteristics
Note! In 1994, McDonnell Douglas began work on another large aircraft (600-800 passenger segment). But, unable to withstand the competition, it was forced to abandon the project and leave the civil aviation market.
The program was actually launched on December 19, 2000. Almost immediately the company received 55 orders for this aircraft. In 2001, design solutions were finally approved, and in 2002, installation of the aircraft began. In total, the a380 production program, called “3XX,” was developed and approved over 10 years, and more than 12 billion euros were spent on it (with an initial budget of 8.8 billion euros).
Note! The Airbus concern has calculated that the program's payback will be achieved by selling 420 aircraft.
On January 18, 2005, the A380 aircraft was first presented to the general public, and on April 27, 2005, the first flight was made, lasting about 4 hours.
Note! A total of 5 aircraft were built for demonstrations and testing.
The first transatlantic flight took place in 2006. This was a test flight, the purpose of which was to study the “behavior” of the vessel in high altitude and severe frost conditions. The plane, having flown across the ocean, landed first in Colombia and then flew to Canada. In the same year, the first passenger flight took place (interestingly, the passengers were Airbus employees). The purpose of the flight was to determine the level of flight comfort.
In the same year, the aircraft underwent evacuation certification in Hamburg. Passengers and crew managed to evacuate the plane in 78 seconds, against a standard of 90. The European EASA and the American FAA (passenger air safety agencies) gave their permission for commercial flights.
Commercial flights began in 2007. One ship was sold to Singapore Airlines and began operating on the Singapore-Sydney route. Another aircraft was purchased by Qantas and delivered to the Melbourne-Los Angeles route. Both companies noted that the A380 is superior in its flight and commercial characteristics to its direct competitor, which is the Boeing 747.
There are three modifications of this aircraft:
- three-class – designed for 525 passengers (with the provision of various services on board); It is interesting that the A380-800 modification was initially designed for a maximum of 583 passengers, but then it was decided to increase the flight range by 370 km by reducing the payload;
- single-class (economy; same a380 -800) – designed for 853 seats;
- cargo aircraft (A380 -800F) - designed for 150 tons of cargo and a flight range of 10 thousand km.
Note ! For some time, the Airbus company was forced to stop production of the cargo model, as there were too many orders for the passenger modification.
Both passenger structures include two decks, which are connected by stairs located in the bow and tail of the aircraft.
If the customer wishes, designers can create various locations on the plane: bars, showers, lounges, duty-free shops. All this is designed to make the flight even more comfortable.
It is also interesting that the company offers different aircraft configurations for different customers. There are also luxury models that provide sleeping accommodations for passengers and a gym.
A major contribution to the implementation of the program to create this aircraft was made by the Moscow engineering center Airbus ECAR.
Individual parts of the aircraft are manufactured in France, Germany, England, Spain, then delivered to Bordeaux, and from there to Toulouse. All finishing work is carried out in Hamburg.
Economy class
Economy class on the Emirates Airbus 380-800 is located entirely on the lower deck and includes 399 seats distributed over 4 cabins. Seating configuration: 3-4-3 and 3-3 in the last rows (check the diagram). The width of the seat cushions is 45 cm. The backrests recline by 15 cm. Each chair has a built-in LCD monitor on the back side of the backrest. All monitors are connected to a central entertainment system, which includes more than 2,500 channels in several languages: films, programs, games, shows. In addition, there is an interactive map with which you can follow the flight.
On each economy class seat, passengers will find: a small travel pillow, a blanket, stereo headphones, as well as bright stickers that passengers can stick on the back of the seat to warn flight attendants:
- “Do not disturb” - pink.
- “Wake me up during lunch” - green.
- “Wake me up when you sell duty free products” - orange.
Wireless Internet is available throughout the flight.
For children there is a special entertainment program, toys and a children's menu.
Menu for adults can be selected on the official website. You can choose national cuisine of the country you are flying to, a diet menu, etc.
Comfortable places are highlighted in green on the diagram, less comfortable ones are green and yellow, and the most uncomfortable ones are yellow and pink.
The location of the seats in the rows: where is it more convenient to sit?
The seats in row 43 are quite comfortable, but have one drawback: in front of them there is a partition with toilets. The distance to the partition is quite large, but these places are not suitable for people of large stature and massive build. In addition, people passing to the toilet can cause some disturbance.
45 D, E, F, G – comfortable seats with plenty of space in front.
50 A, B, C, H, J, K and 51 D, E, F, G – places where the backrest reclines at a small angle (they are yellow in the interior diagram).
in front of rows 52 and 68 . These are places of average comfort. The space in front of the seats is increased, but not enough for tall people.
In seats 65 A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and 66 H, J, K, the seat backs are blocked.
There are emergency exits in front of rows 67 and 80 Some categories of passengers cannot fly in seats in this row. Restrictions apply:
- children;
- pregnant women;
- disabled people;
- passengers with animals.
81 A, K and 82 D, E, F, G – comfortable seats with increased space in front of the seats.
Row 88 – uncomfortable seats in the last row, behind which the toilet rooms are located. The backs of these seats deviate at a slight angle.
Flight performance
The large dimensions of the Airbus A380 aircraft do not have a negative impact on its technical characteristics and are of great benefit, increasing the number of free seats to 853. The length of the airliner is 72.7 m, its height reaches 24.1 m, while the cabin itself is stretched by 6.5 m. The wingspan is even larger - 80 m.
Its area is 845 m². The weight of the aircraft without any load is 276.8 tons, the maximum takeoff is limited to 560 tons, and the landing should not exceed 386 tons. The commercial load can reach 83 tons.
Four Rolls-Royce Trent 970 or Alliance GP7270 engines are responsible for flight performance. In both cases, takeoff thrust is 31,780 kgf. Cruising speed is limited to 900 km/h, maximum speed is 945 km/h. To take off, the plane requires a run of 2 km, and when landing it will need a run of up to 2.9 km. The A380 is capable of covering distances of up to 15 thousand km, rising to a height of up to 13100 m. Fuel consumption per hour is 12 thousand kg with a tank capacity of 310 thousand liters.
Bad places
These seats cannot recline. This is a significant drawback, especially on long- and ultra-long-haul flights. On the A380 it is:
- 50, 79 and 88 A, B, C, H, J, K
- 51 and 78 D, E, F, G
- 65 A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H
- 66 H, J, K
The layout of the A380-800 for 517 passengers differs from the one described above only in the presence of two additional rows in economy class on the lower deck - 41 and 42. They have only six seats, and the seats in row 41 are located next to the emergency exits.
Why are the number of orders for the liner declining?
The amenities available on the A380 for passengers in all classes allow them to travel even over long distances in comfortable conditions. The design of the airliner was thought out thoroughly. Its distinctive features are spaciousness and capacity. The plane is easy to control during takeoff and landing. It doesn’t matter what territory the flight takes place over: over the mountains or the sea, the feeling of vibrations is minimal.
A distinctive feature of the cabin are comfortable chairs. Among the components that provide a pleasant environment is a bright interior. Particular comfort is created by the presence of bars and shops on the plane. Moreover, the latter offer duty-free trade. The good work of the flight attendants and other personnel should be noted. Everyone is distinguished by good preparation and the ability to find the right approach to passengers.
For the A320 flight to be profitable, it is enough to fill 500 seats. However, not every major airport has the appropriate facilities to receive and service such large aircraft. To make this possible, additional costs are required.
The project provides that the liner is capable of carrying 800 passengers. But this turned out to be a difficult task. Such loading can be ensured in a minimum number of directions. For this reason, the number of orders for the A320 is not significant. Thus, airlines located on the American continent have not made a single order for the aircraft.
Photo of the Airbus A380-800 interior
When purchasing tickets for the Emirates Airbus A380, check out the aircraft cabin layout. Detailed diagrams are also available on the airline's official website. Choose the best seats and make your flight comfortable. Happy flying with Emirates!
