Canada’s First Superjumbo A380 Serves Toronto

Note: All vacation / airline articles were written to be published on FlightNetwork.com, when I worked for the group from 2007 to 2010

Did you know that though Airbus A380 is the largest passenger aircraft of the world, it doesn’t have the honor of being the biggest airplane ever produced.  That record is sustained by Ukrainian (Antonov) AN-225 Cossak, a six engine jet developed to transport space vehicles.

With wingspan of 261.8ft and measuring 239.5ft from nose to tail, the A380 is 79ft tall.  If a carrier ever chooses to fit in only economy cabin it can comfortably carry up to 853 passengers on the double decker.  The airlines instead have opted to make full use of available space in offering unprecedented luxury and services like; onboard lounge including a bar, bathrooms with showers, cabin suites with linen covered beds, widest business class seats and more, to pamper its premium passengers.

The largest passenger airliner with four engines flew its maiden flight on April 27, 2005 from Toulouse in France.  The first commercial flight was introduced by Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Sydney, Australia on October 25^th of the same year.

With 50% more floor space than the next-largest commercial aircraft; Boeing 747-400, the double-decker will mostly offer up to 550 seats in standard 3 class configuration.  With design range of 15,200 km or 8,200 nautical miles, it can fly comfortably from Boston to Hong Kong.

Canada will receive its first Superjumbo commercial flight at Pearson International airport, Toronto when Emirates Airline lands here with the Airbus 380 on June 1^st, 2009.

Emirates, the airline from Dubai, United Arab Emirates will upgrade its current 3 x weekly Boeing 777 operations, that it began flying in October 2007 with A380.  In place of 360 seats on its B777 plane currently, the A380 will operate with 489 seats.  Emirates who has been demanding more capacity / frequencies on its Dubai – Toronto route will increase its passenger loads by almost 30% with the introduction of first superjumbo to Canada.

The airline is expected to operate with 14 suites in first class and 76 flat-bed seats in the business class on the upper level and 399 seats in the economy class on the lower deck.  In a statement Emirates said the Superjumbo aircraft services will include an extensive menu of multi-course meal options, the award-winning in-flight entertainment product ‘ICE’ with over 1200 channels of entertainment, SMS and email facilities as well as seat-to-seat calling in addition to an onboard lounge.

Whilst the fares are subject to change, the airlines is expected to offer round-trip prices to Dubai starting at $1,130 for economy class, $6,550 for business class, and $10,000 for first class, which includes a lounge and two shower spas.

Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are the only airports in Canada that have made the necessary adaptation to handle the world’s largest aircraft’s passenger configuration and wide wingspan.

So folks, take the opportunity of experiencing A380 the next time you fly from Toronto in the direction Emirates glides.