The age of the superjumbo dawns for Emirates

Middle Eastern airline Emirates has taken delivery of its first Airbus A380 and so signalled the beginning of the superjumbo era.

The airline received the plane at a ceremony on 28 July at Airbus’ new A380 Delivery Centre named in honour of superjumbo creator, Jürgen Thomas.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates chairman and chief executive, attended the ceremony at the Hamburg-based facility alongside 2,000 Airbus staff.

Emirates was not the first operator to receive a superjumbo, but eight years ago it was the first to place an order for an A380.

As of November 2007, the Dubai-based carrier had ordered 58 of the huge aircraft to service long-haul routes all around the world.

Sheikh Ahmed said that “we have stood firm on our commitment to the A380. Our investment in the aircraft, including engines and in-flight features, exceeds €32 billion (£25.3 billion), with €12 billion spent in Germany alone”.

He also congratulated Airbus for creating a “greener, cleaner, quieter, smarter aircraft” which reportedly offers the same relative fuel economy as some hybrid cars.

Airbus has assured that the GP7200 engines in the A380s can achieve a 500,000 litre saving in fuel per aircraft compared to comparative planes.

Therefore each superjumbo can achieve 3.1 litres for every 100 passenger kilometres, as well as meeting US aviation noise regulations comfortably.

Inside the Emirates A380 there are 14 first-class seats, alongside 76 business-class and 399 economy seats.

There are also some incredible facilities including the first-class shower spa which features two fully equipped bathroom areas.

Business-class customers can enjoy the onboard lounge and economy passengers can also benefit from a more spacious cabin and mood lighting designed to combat jetlag.

The debut, fully booked Emirates A380 flight will depart tomorrow from Dubai destined for New York’s John F Kennedy Airport.

Emirates goes mobile

Under brand new regulations Middle Eastern carrier Emirates last week became the first operator ever to allow phone calls from mobiles on a flight to or from the UK.

Last Thursday, passengers on an Emirates Boeing 777 service from Dubai to Heathrow Airport reportedly made 30 mobile calls and sent 100 text messages during the flight.

This follows the announcement that Ofcom, the UK’s communication regulator, had given its approval to the usage of mobile phones during flights originating or terminating in the UK.

Back in March, Emirates began installing its planes with an AeroMobile system which enables in-flight mobile calls without affecting navigation equipment.

Presently, around 10 per cent of the Emirates fleet have been installed with AeroMobile which can only be safely used when the aircraft reaches 23,000 feet.

The use of mobile telephones is also forbidden while the plane is in UK airspace so as to avoid the signal disrupting communication with airport crews.

Staff members on the planes can also turn the system off whenever necessary or transfer it so that only text messages can be sent.

Patrick Brannelly, Emirates vice-president for passenger communications, told Travel Weekly that “we have had no complaints or incidents”.

“The cabin noise level on airliners is such that you cannot hear people making phone calls and the call quality has been so good there has been no need to shout,” he added.

The AeroMobile system has been tested by various other carriers, including Air France-KLM, Turkish Airlines and Qantas.

Low-cost carrier Ryanair has also pledged to install the technology into a quarter of its fleet and then levy a charge for passengers to use the service.