January 23, 2005 – THE emergence of the Airbus A380 as a new and unique canvas for cabin designers and IFE suppliers was confirmed last week when the president of Emirates declared that its examples of the giant long-hauler would be full of passenger-pleasing “gizmos and gadgets”.

The Middle East carrier’s views carry plenty of weight – with a total of 45 aircraft on order, it will be by far the biggest operator of A380s for years to come.

Speaking at last week’s “reveal” ceremony in Toulouse, Emirates president Timothy Clark declared that the A380 would usher in a new era for the airline’s passengers. “I cannot say yet what features our aircraft will have,” he said. “But I do sense that the A380 will launch features never seen before.``

The first Emirates A380 is scheduled to enter service at the beginning of November next year. “We expect to achieve about 80 per cent load factor in a short time,” Clark said. “People will go out of their way to fly on our aircraft because we will have so many gizmos and gadgets for them to try.”

He was echoed by Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, who said: “We will try to do everything we can to maximise passenger comfort for all classes aboard the A380 - and that means showers and lounges.”

Like the other lead A380 operators, Emirates has decided not to pack passengers into its aircraft, preferring to use the extra volume to improve the experience for alll classes. Some of its A380s will have as few as 489 seats compared with Airbus` nominal three-class figure of 550. Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways are also going for fewer than 500, while Qantas plans 501 and Air France 538, of which only nine will be first-class.

The carrier also plans to ensure that the huge aircraft’s capacity of more than 500 seats will not add to the pressure on the ground. Chairman al-Maktoum said that a new $4 billion terminal was under construction in Dubai and would be completed next year in time for the arrival of the airline’s first A380. “Concourses 2 and 3 will have 23 gates specifically designed for twin-deck loading and unloading,” he said. “There will also be gate lounges able to accommodate more than 500 passengers at a time.”

Another Middle East carrier, Qatar Airways, is busy preparing for the advent of the world`s largest airliner. “We are looking forward to the arrival of this aircraft to join our existing all-Airbus fleet,`` chief executive Akbar al-Baker said last week. “Though we are four years away from taking delivery of our first A380, we are already working on creating spectacular interiors to make it an experience of a lifetime for our passengers.”