First A380 delivery

I read about Singapore Airlines taking delivery (finally) of its first
A380. The article said the plane was configured with 471 seats, which
I found odd seeing as the plane's 550-pax capacity has been pitched by
Airbus since day one (never mind the 800-pax max density seating aka
cattle truck) I realize every airline will configure the plane to fit
their own needs, but that sounds like a big drop in seat count. Makes
me wonder why they didn't just buy more 747-400s.

Kingfish,

Makes
me wonder why they didn't just buy more 747-400s.


The seats are different. Very. Wait for the pics.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

On Oct 15, 10:11 am, Thomas Borchert
wrote:
Kingfish,

Makes
me wonder why they didn't just buy more 747-400s.

The seats are different. Very. Wait for the pics.

???

Does that justify spending bazillions on new aircraft? I thought the
whole point of A380 was more bodies onboard, then SIA only puts in 471
seats? Does't make sense to me.

Kingfish schrieb:

Does that justify spending bazillions on new aircraft? I thought the
whole point of A380 was more bodies onboard, then SIA only puts in 471
seats? Does't make sense to me.

The point is to have more room. It's up to the airline what they want to
do with that room: Fill in more meat or offer more luxury. I would guess
that Singapur Airlines knows better than I or you what they can sell in
Singapur.

Kingfish,

Ok, I'll spell it out.

I thought the
whole point of A380 was more bodies onboard, then SIA only puts in 471
seats? Does't make sense to me.


More seats CAN be the point of buying an A380 for some airlines. More
SPACE in the same number of seats can be an excellent point of that
investment for another. If you look at SIA, they try to have a
high-class, luxury image. Which of the two options above makes more
sense for their market segment?

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

"Kingfish" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Oct 15, 10:11 am, Thomas Borchert
wrote:
Kingfish,

Makes
me wonder why they didn't just buy more 747-400s.

The seats are different. Very. Wait for the pics.

???

Does that justify spending bazillions on new aircraft? I thought the
whole point of A380 was more bodies onboard, then SIA only puts in 471
seats? Does't make sense to me.

As Singapore airlines has probably made more profit in the last 10 years
than the whole of the big US legacy carriers put together, I would suspect
their judgement is better than anything the US has to offer.

As Singapore airlines has probably made more profit in the last 10 years
than the whole of the big US legacy carriers put together, I would suspect
their judgement is better than anything the US has to offer.

I confess I know nothing about Singapore Airlines, so bear with me.

How is it that they are so profitable, in a cut-throat, competitive
world-wide market?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
As Singapore airlines has probably made more profit in the last 10 years
than the whole of the big US legacy carriers put together, I would suspect
their judgement is better than anything the US has to offer.

I confess I know nothing about Singapore Airlines, so bear with me.

How is it that they are so profitable, in a cut-throat, competitive
world-wide market?

The offer good service. I realize conventional wisdom in the US has it
that price is everything for for some people it is, but I'll pay more
for comfort ... a lot more. Unfortunately, in the US I can no longer
find it unless I go into first class. I'm not willing to pay 3-4X more,
so I just avoid airline travel and drive if at all possible. However, I
would easily pay 50% more for a decent seat and decent service.

Matt

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
As Singapore airlines has probably made more profit in the last 10 years
than the whole of the big US legacy carriers put together, I would
suspect
their judgement is better than anything the US has to offer.

I confess I know nothing about Singapore Airlines, so bear with me.

How is it that they are so profitable, in a cut-throat, competitive
world-wide market?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

As Matt pointed out, they provide good service. Since they are a Pacific Rim
carrier, they fly long routes and the pax who frequent those routes value an
additional few inches of leg and/or hip room.

As someone who has sat on a two stop, 32 hour flight, I can tell you that
even a little more room makes a world of difference.

KB

I confess I know nothing about Singapore Airlines, so bear with me.

How is it that they are so profitable, in a cut-throat, competitive
world-wide market?
--

This is a good question that I have wondered about myself and I am not
sure that there is any simple answer. Their service is fantastic and
the prices are not high at all which makes me wonder if the Singapore
govt subsidizes SA in different ways and their profit may not be as
high under the hood when everything is taken into account.. hard to
tell. Image is everything for the Singapore govt and they leave no
stone unturned to project a positive image of their country.