Air Austral To Pack 840 Aboard Economy Class Super Jumbos

Published by djmick on November 18th, 2009

a380 economy seating

Air Austral, which links islands in the Indian and Pacific Ocean with France, has ordered two Airbus SAS A380 super-jumbos that they plan on making all economy class for round trips to Paris.

Using the double-decker budget class configuration, that will allow for an astonishing 840 passengers, plus crew.

The airline ordered two of the world’s largest passenger plane, with an option for two more at the 2009 Dubai Air Show.

a380

The A380 entered service in 2007 and is designed to seat 525 people in ordinary three-class seating or 873 people, including 20 crew, when its two floors of cabins are filled with economy seats.

So far, buyers of the plane have focused on luring premium passengers with facilities from beds and showers in first class to a stand-up bar, with total seating of around 500 people.

Airbus A380

Reunion, an island in the western Indian Ocean southwest of Mauritius, is an overseas department of France and uses the euro as legal tender. Other destinations of Air Austral, started in 1975 as Réunion Air Service, include the islands of Mayotte, New-Caledonia, Australia and South Africa.

The A380 aircraft is operated by four airlines to date, and Airbus has orders for 202 A380s from 17 clients, including one private customer, Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Share On |