Could an all-economy configuration of the Airbus A380 with nearly 1,000 passengers saved the program? Or is the concept of a 966-seat jet aircraft the stuff nightmares are made of?
The All-Economy Stretch A380 With 966 Seats Onboard
Andreas Spaeth, an aviation journalist in Germany, shared a LOPA (layout of passenger accommodations) for a stretch version of the Airbus A380, originally called the A3XX-200, that envisioned 966 passenger seats onboard:
Would a stretch have saved the @Airbus #A380? Here an early design for the A3XX-200 all Economy with 30” pitch for a whopping 966 pax! #avgeek pic.twitter.com/DR39j0N57a
— Andreas Spaeth (@SpaethFlies) September 16, 2020
The lower deck featured 550 seats in a 3-4-3 layout with 30 inches of seat pitch. The upper deck featured 416 seats in a 2-4-2 layout. 550 + 416 = 966.
I count 14 lavatories onboard, equating to one lavatory per 69 passengers!
For comparison purposes, here’s how many the seats A380 operators actually chose to install on ball:
- Air France – 516 passengers
- All Nippon Airways – 520
- Asiana Airlines – 495
- British Airways – 469
- China Southern Airlines – 506
- Emirates – 489 – 615 (as world’s largest A380 operator, Emirates has six different configurations)
- Etihad – 498
- Korean Air – 399 – 407
- Lufthansa – 509
- Malaysia Airlines – 494
- Qantas – 484
- Qatar Airways – 517
- Singapore Airlines – 379 – 471
- Thai Airways – 507
Note, the A3XX-200 was a stretch version of the A380 and the final version, the A380-800 was a bit shorter and would have accommodated up to 868 passengers in an all-economy class configuration. Airbus even considered squeezing in 11 seats across on the lower deck instead of 10, as pictured above.
CONCLUSION
I sometimes have nightmares of 20-across airplane seating in economy class like a ferry boat. Somehow, this A380 seems even worse. I’m not sure I would have been happy about the lavatory lines on a flight with nearly 1,000 people onboard.
And writing this makes me sad once again that I missed out on the Air France A380 before COVID-19 led to a premature retirement…
Would you have been willing to fly on an aircraft with 965 other passengers?
image: Airbus
“I count 14 lavatories onboard, equating to one lavatory per 69 passengers!”
Nice.
The first photo at the top had 3-5-3 seats
That’s 11 across
I noted that too…never knew that was the configuration.
This plane would never have seen the light of day.
FAA requires a plane to be evacuated in 90 seconds with 50 percent of exits. LH tested this early on and said 525 was maximum seating capacity.
As the post states, Emirates has A380s with a denser configuration than the 525 you have suggested LH attempted, though if it was the FAA that denied it, it could still operate and just not serve US destinations.
A local restaurant has a 200 seating capacity and 2 lavatories. One lavatory per 100 and eating and drinking. Seems to work reasonably well.
Never never i wud travel on such plane sitting in a sardine tin like cabin.
Such planes ought to be forbidden .
Rgds wt
A plane crash could kill 1,000 people. I find it chilling.
but a 1000 peope dying of covid a day in the US alone seems ok
It seems reasonable but the people in the restaurant are not stuck in one place for 14-18 hrs.
DavKar, but any and all of those people can leave at any time in a restaurant. Most in a restaurant are there for an hour or two at the most. But on a cross oceanic flight for 10 hours plus you are captive and stuck in tight steats where they serve you drinks and sometimes cut you off with their beverage carts to the lavatory. No, not for me with barely enough toilets.
1000 passengers plus crew. A terrorists dream.
I flew a few times with EmiratesvA380 and to me it is the most pleasant aircraft to be on even in economy class. so yes i would fly in all economy class for sure. It is a crying shame this aircraft lived such a short live
People’s Express 2.0?
No thanks i only fly long haul hours and more in business.
5 hours and more
Fine if your tick or having it paid for Sounds like a meme selfish attitude to mem
This sounds like hell.
Imagine how many crying babies.
GALSKAP SATT I PRODUKSJON.
DUSJE I MARSJØYDE..
MANGE BLIR FOR F… ALDRI FORNØYD.!!
TITANIC IN THE SKY, MEN DETTE ER VERRE EN DET OG.!!
Depends on the prime per Person!!!!
Sure, if the ticket price is less.
It might work for short hops
Like a NYC to Washington
NYC to Boston, Philadelphia
it would literally be like an Airbus
Won’t work for those city pairs. Amtrak dominates.
Nightmarish. The fewer fellow passengers, the better.
No, never… can’t even imagine how loud it would be, the passengers who would traveling in those unacceptable conditions…, but most of all I feel for the FA’s. Burn out!!
I love the a380 with 500 seats I loved watching the take off from Heathrow I was lucky to go on one and have a look around at Gatwick I won a comp to have a look round one I would like to fly in one of them but due to copd witch is a degenitive lung disease I can not get insurance to fly but I had a great day looking round one of them I think they are stopping the a380 and 747s to early sending them to be scraped before there end of service is wrong
Quick question: when a airplane model is “retired” can they not be brought back from retirement?
They can be, though it is rare.
I don’t see how this is any different to the regular configuration of an A380? The lower deck is usually all economy anyways. The only difference here is that there would be two of those.
Yes. Exactly what I wanted to say. No one of these bad comments flew ever one of those. And if they did they would know how comfy it is even in economy. Sad that soon this plane is gone
I think it’s a shame they are retiring the A 380 such a nice plane.
This configuration has the Chinese market written all over it.
The nicest thing about Emirates 380, is First and Business Class floor with Path rooms and Bar Launch at back and it stability during flight and landing.
“The lower deck featured 550 seats in a 3-4-3 layout with 30 inches of seat pitch. The upper deck featured 416 seats in a 2-4-2 layout. 550 + 416 = 966.”
Which is the 3-5-3 configuration shown?
That was an even more dense configuration that never made it to a LOPA.
No doubt to show people how good they have it on the only 10 across setup.
Het is alrijd leuk te vliegen met emiraat.
How much of a stretch , 15-20-25 ft?
no. not even for free.
Jamais je ne voyagerai, même gratuit, dans des conditions galériennes et esclavagistes pareil; et lorsque j’emprunte les transports aérien, je fais l’effort de réserver un léger surclassement, c’est plus humain !!!!!!!
j’aime beaucoup l’aviation et j’ai le niveau du 1er degré du brevet de pilote privé avion
Would the 966 pax version get certification for the evacuation within 90 seconds requirement?
Je partage totalement le commentaire de Éd Lewis
Let’s face it, with close to 1000 passengers on board, if you are going down , I don’t think the 90 second evacuation rule is going to make a difference, remember there’s only about 15 minutes of oxygen in the planes now, if they increase the number of passengers by that many, I’d starting to wonder about the overall safety of the plane.
Anyway, Airlines only need you to pay to get a seat on the plane ✈, the more seats they can sell, the more they make.
They’re not fussed how you can get out or off the plane, these types of (cattle class) seating configurations prove that. Sorry but I also see this as ridiculous. Personally I’d source other Airlines to fly with.
No thanks. I’d certainly would not choose to fly on such airplane. Dear too many pax! So scary!
As passenger I have flying over 7.000 hours in last fifty years.
Mostly on intercontinental destination. Size of aircraft not releventto people who love to flying. Potencial largest versions
of A380 are welcome.
Rodney Marinkovic and Aviation Enthusiast Associate Group.
♥️ Belgrade and Sydney
The Flying Titanic.
Not at all . I wouldn’t fly with a crowded aircraft waiting in line to go to the bathroom and imagine in which condition you will find it . Probably you would need cleaners on board!!!
Absolutely No, Not even for free!!!
Health disaster in the making if ever done.
In the good old days, I have travelled cross -Atlantic in a 380 wuth its excellent Business class. The bar at the rear was a bit overdo .
As other people have mentioned, evacuation of that many (within the specifies time) could be a problem.
Thanks, but no thanks.
If it would help lower prices and get people back into the air then why not!!! So many people have less money now and of this is a way to get lower prices and people moving it might just save the world!!!
All good and well but that amount would have needed to be certified. Disembarking a set amount of time dictates the max amount of passengers
I think that making even one 1000 passenger aircraft would be wrong for two reasons.
1) Should the aircraft crash the loss of life would be the end of that type.
2) When arriving at any airport you would need a separate landing area the waiting time to get through customs would be rediculous, especially for passengers who are unlucky to be in the last 100 transfer to another flight would be also impossible.
Some of my friends have flown on a normal A380 and said the waiting is a problem.
Myself I only helped fit the electrical installation during 2007 – 2010 empty shells to fully wired.
How many 1000 seats planes have actually crashed compared to planes with less than 300 passengers ? Exactly none ! TheA380 is extrenely safe and always will be. Because it is build by people who take their job serious.!!!.
In the last 10 years I have been using the Airbus 380 in various airlines, emarits, katar, and also Singapore Airlines. All have been great. Love them. Quite and comfortable. The air being higher makes a lot of difference. Less jet lag. Als more space to exercise and change electric gear.
Gutted covid ruined my chance of flying that A380 from NZ to UK this year. Hope it comes back to NZ. Love watching it arrive and depart. Such a beautiful big plane to watch. Xxx
Slave ship
I would fly in it depending on price and seat width. I could see this config being used on medium haul trips in/out of China
It’s very important to a large flight like that it saves man occasionally in passenger for business and normal passengers but they need to think in case of emergency, washrooms and the getting off doors.
Indeed! But people rarely spend more than a couple of hours in a restaurany. Most have completed their ablutions at their residence.
On a long haul flight, everyone wakes up more or less at the same time, approximately when breakfast is served. During meal service, aisles are blocked. Once the trays are cleared you can see serpentine queues, particularly in economy.
I fly business or first for any flight longer than 6 hours for this very reason.
I always liked the configuration and options Lufthansa had on the 380s between LAX and Frankfurt. Probably would not enjoy a 1000 economy seat configuration – liked that option of “deluxe” economy I think it was called Comfortable.
In the 70s’ a German charter operator Condor Airlines used to fly two 747-200 with 3-5-3 configuration with over 500 seats Korean Air bought these two planes (HL7447 HL7448) and used it the same way for a few years.
All Korean Air flight attendants hated working these two airplanes.
Nowadays if the price is right people will fly anything.
Looks like someone channeled Frank Lorenzo and his PEOPLE EXPRESS. He would
have loved this. 900+ passengers in the Day of CoVid-19. Call it “The Flying Petry Dish”. Really stupid idea. I’ll walk instead.
I wouldn’t want to fly on that nightmare