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New Airbus: comfy seats, room with a view

The world's largest passenger plane is big, for sure, but its amenities are just as impressive.

By BILL ADAIR
Published March 27, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Bill Adair] Bathroom with a view: Some of the lavatories on the Airbus A380 have windows, but don't try to open them. Video report See the plane and hear reactions from passengers

CHANTILLY, Va. - The Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane, doesn't roar when it takes off. It's more like a gentle rumble.

From inside the cabin of the gargantuan plane, the four engines are amazingly quiet, even during a full-power takeoff.

In the air, the plane is so stable that you sometimes forget you're flying. Without the roar of the engines and the mechanical groan of the flaps, you don't have the constant reminders that you're defying the laws of gravity.

A 90-minute demonstration flight around the Washington area Monday showed the new European-built jetliner had gizmos and passenger comforts that other big planes lack. Its cabin lighting can be adjusted to reduce jet lag. The bigger fuselage allows wider seats. Some of its lavatories even have windows.

But the flight also was a reminder that Airbus hasn't sold any of the $300-million A380s to U.S. carriers. The demo flight was staffed by flight attendants from the German airline Lufthansa.

Still, Airbus officials said they were pleased by the positive reaction to the plane and are confident that U.S. carriers would buy the big jet once they see how economical and popular it can be.

"As a passenger, you've got to be impressed with the space you get," said Allan McArtor, the chairman of Airbus North America. "It's a new kind of environment."

About 200 government officials, journalists and airline executives were invited for the flight, which concluded the plane's weeklong tour across the United States. It was the 21st century version of barnstorming: The plane landed in new towns and the locals lined up to wave and snap photos. But now, the barnstormers can't land in a pasture. They need a 10,000-foot runway.

From the outside, the A380 doesn't look especially big. It lacks the distinctive hump of the Boeing 747 and doesn't appear much larger than a Boeing 777 or Airbus A340.

But once you step into the plane, you realize it is the jumbo of the jumbos. It is a double-decker with a spacious stairway connecting the decks at the front of the plane and a spiral staircase at the rear. The plane can hold up to 873 passengers in an all-coach configuration, but this one could carry 519 in three classes - coach, business and first. It has well-stocked bars with room for 15 people.

Airbus says the wider fuselage will allow coach seats 18 1/2 inches wide instead of the 17 inches found on many other planes. That decision is up to the airlines, which choose their own seats and decide how much leg room to give.

My seat number illustrated the size of the plane. I was in a window seat in row 86, near the back of the upper deck. I was about half a football field from the pilots.

The A380 has flown to about 50 airports around the world, but only a handful have the equipment needed for full passenger service. It won't be flying to Tampa any time soon it's more likely to come to Miami, which has more international routes, but it probably will start flying from gateway cities such as New York and Los Angeles next year.

Like other planes that marked milestones in passenger aviation such as the Boeing 747 in 1970 and the first highly computerized Airbus planes in the mid-1980s, the A380 represents a new generation of technology.

Some you don't notice, such as the more efficient wing, which improves fuel economy. Others you do notice, such as the seatback TVs that show the view from cameras mounted outside the plane.

One shows the view you would see if you were riding on top of the tail fin. Another camera on the belly allows you to see straight down, as if the plane's floor was made of glass.

That made for interesting TV pictures as we flew over suburban neighborhoods. Once we were back on the ground, we got close-ups of the two guys who hooked a bar to the plane to tow it into its parking space. Both guys had healthy heads of hair.

The plane has an innovative lighting system that can be adjusted to simulate the natural cycles of light, so passengers don't get jet lag.

Some of the plane's lavatories have windows, which allows you to sit on the toilet while watching the sky and the clouds. It's a little unnerving - until you realize you probably don't need to worry about someone looking in.

Bill Adair can be reached at adair@sptimes.com or (202) 463-0575.

[Last modified March 26, 2007, 23:22:33]