With delivery of Emirates second Airbus A380 further delayed it is unlikely that Emirates will be able to introduce the aircraft on the Dubai - New York Kennedy operation for the planned 1 October date. Had the second aircraft arrived on time it would have been possible to offer the 14-hour flight on a daily basis. Emirates also uses Boeing 777s on the route.
Whilst not a true competitor, Doha is 250 miles by air from Dubai, with no practical land route alternative, Qatar Airways also plans to introduce a daily Boeing 777 ER service, again to Kennedy, at the start of the winter season on 26 October. The Qatar Boeing 777-300ER will offer a 78-inch business class pitch in a 2+2+2 configuration and up to 34-inch pitch on the 293 seats in the economy cabin. The aircraft also features the next generation in-flight entertainment system - the Panasonic eX2 - with more than 700 individual audio and video entertainment options.
Airbus A380 deliveries continue, albeit at a slower rate than even the latest revised schedule.
Singapore Airlines now has five of the super Jumbo in service, operating out of its Changi hub to London, Sydney and Tokyo.
Emirates took its first aircraft in July.
The lead Qantas A380, VH-OQA, departed Hamburg (Germany) for Toulouse (France) on Saturday 30 August. This 450-seat, four-class aircraft will officially be delivered to Qantas on 19 September ahead of its arrival in Sydney (Australia) on 21 September. The airline's first commercial A380 service is planned between Melbourne and Los Angeles on 20 October. Qantas has 20 A380s on order.
With the three leading A380 operators now publishing details of their operations, and expected to compete directly on the London ” Sydney route during 2009, it is at last possible to compare the offerings. As noted Qantas has gone for a four-class layout (14-72-32-332), with business class and premier economy on the upper deck. Singapore, with 471 passengers (12-60-399) calls its premier class ”suites”. These are located on the main deck. Emirates, boarding a maximum 489 (14-76-399), and the largest customer load to date, places all its economy class passengers on the lower deck.