A380 operators finding configuration sweet spot as value halo persists

Several carriers have more than one configuration

Delivery customer, Singapore Airlines, which now operates 16 A380s, has two different configurations for its A380s. It has a low-density 409-seat configuration with the upper deck reserved exclusively for business class and a higher density 471-seat configuration, with economy seating at the rear of the upper deck.

The other large A380 operator, Emirates, has 20 in service and 70 more to come. It too operates two different configurations for its A380: an 'ultra long-range' configuration with 489 seats and a 'long range' configuration with 517 seats, adding an extra 28 economy seats to the lower deck. A planned medium-haul configuration, with around 620 seats in two classes, has been considered by the airline, but so far has not materialised.

Air France, with six A380s in service, also has two different configurations. Its first configuration featured 538 seats in three classes, a figure close enough to the 525-seat standard configuration that Airbus suggests. However, the carrier has phased this out in favour of adding 38 premium economy seats, at the expense of 60 economy class seats, resulting in a four-class, 516-seat A380.

Also going the premium economy route is Qantas. The Australian carrier operates its A380s with just 450 seats in four-class configuration. Its A380s work as high yield-focussed machines: if the premium economy seats are included, 26% of the seats on its A380s are a premium product.

The only other carrier with a comparably high proportion of premium seats is Korean Air. Its A380s operate with three classes and just 407 seats, the lowest density of any current operator. Startlingly, it has just 301 economy seats on its A380s. Like Air France, it has an all-business upper deck, which includes a bar and lounge area.

Emirates and Korean make an art form of marketing the A380 brand

Korean's A380s also feature a duty free "showcase area", for those very active duty free-buying Korean passengers wanting to purchase luxury items in-flight. Adding to the marketing impact by using the aura around the A380, the carrier also introduced a 'Celestial Bar', supported by vodka brand Absolut which, according to The Moodie Report, simultaneously launched a super-premium vodka, Absolut Elyx, especially for the occasion.

Just as the marketing value for Emirates of introducing in-flight showers in a relatively dead part of the fuselage was worth thousands of news reports, so the success or otherwise of Korean's duty free area was assured - in marketing terms - even before the aircraft flew. The airline's "Where dreams are made" promotional video made no secret of the profile it sought to create from introducing the new aircraft.

Lufthansa has one of the highest density configurations

Lufthansa's A380s also feature 106 premium seats, eight first and 98 business all on the upper deck. However, Lufthansa fits 420 economy seats on the lower deck, for a total of 526 seats, one of the highest all around seating densities of any A380 operator.

Around 510 seats appears to be the norm that airlines are settling for with the A380, although in a multitude of different configurations. China Southern, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways have all settled for just under 510 seats in three classes, although the number of premium seats varies considerably.

Two low-cost airlines, Skymark and Air Austral, plan to set the extreme parameters

It may now be a couple of years before we see any truly radical A380 configurations. Perhaps the most intriguing is Japan's Skymark Airlines. To date, the only truly successful independent Japanese domestic LCC, Skymark, with six orders, has paradoxically proposed the lowest density of all, a two-class, 394-seat configuration, with 114 60-inch pitch business class "near lie-flat" seats and 280 premium economy 38-inch pitch seats for long-haul services to New York, London and Frankfurt initially, beginning in 2014.

Meanwhile, leisure airline Air Austral, at the top end of the scale, is planning an all-economy layout of "around 840 seats".

A380 seating configurations

Airline	First delivery	A380s in service	Total Seats	First	Business	Premium Economy	Economy
Singapore Airlines	Oct-2007	16	409	12	86		311
			471	12	60		399
Emirates	Jul-2008	15	489	14	76		399
			517	14	76		427
Korean Air	Jun-2011	4	407	12	94		301
Lufthansa	May-2009	8	526	8	98		420
Qantas	Sep-2008	10	450	14	72	32	332
Air France	Oct-2009	6	516	9	80	38	389
			538	9	80		449
China Southern	Oct-2011	-	506	8	70		428
Malaysia Airlines	2Q2012*	-	508	8	54		420
Thai Airways	Aug-2012*	-	507	12	60		435
Skymark Airlines	2014*	-	394		114	280
Air Austral	2014*	-	"around 840"

Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation & airline sources
*Scheduled delivery

Not all the popular attention is welcome

As the aircraft moves into its fifth year of commercial service, the A380 still attracts attention out of proportion to the numbers in service. The story surrounding the cracking in some wing brackets in the aircraft has rumbled for more than a month and appeared in just about every conceivable form of media. Airbus, conscious of the need to safeguard the aircraft's high brand recognition, is moving forward with a solution, which is expected cost up to EUR100 million.

Can the value halo survive higher density configurations?

Airbus expects A380 sales to roughly match deliveries this year. Despite the issue, the aircraft is proving popular with passengers and its operator clients, many of whom report both higher load factors and higher yields on the A380. Airbus chief operating officer, John Leahey, says he is confident that as the A380 network continues to grow and the aircraft carries a wider range of passengers that the order book will be self-replenishing.

There is still a long way to go before Airbus breaks even commercially on the A380, but it will be reassuring for the manufacturer that the aircraft is still able to attract a luxurious halo that converts to dollars for its operators.

Where the current 500-ish level of seating currently appears to be the norm, it will be interesting to see how this evolves over time, especially if its buyers are confronted by a much more price sensitive market. And, more importantly, if the configurations do trend upwards, whether the value halo persists.