BA confirms A380 for South Africa

British Airways is taking the Airbus A380 to South Africa, with tickets already on sale.

The airline aims to start flying the A380 to Johannesburg from 12 February 2014, although the date for the inaugural flight may be earlier. Initially, it will operate three times a week, increasing to six weekly services by March 2014. These flights will be part of the airline’s normal schedule to South Africa’s commercial capital.

Since British Airways took delivery of its first superjumbo earlier this month, Johannesburg is only the third A380 route to be confirmed after Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

To mark the announcement, British Airways is offering discounts of up to 40% from South Africa to London across all cabins. World Traveller fares start from R8,380, World Traveller Plus from R15,380, Club World from R30,380 and First from R53,380. The launch special runs until 31 August for travel from 12 February to 21 June 2014. Fares include all taxes and surcharges, but may vary slightly on the day of purchase due to exchange rate fluctuations.

British Airways’ A380s can accommodate 469 customers across four cabins. That includes 14 in First Class, whilst Club World (Business Class) customers can choose from 44 seats on the main deck, or 53 seats on the upper deck. The upper deck seats will be arranged in a new 2:3:2 configuration across the cabin. The 55 World Traveller Plus (Premier Economy) seats are located on the upper deck, while World Traveller (Economy) customers can choose seats on both the main and upper deck. The aircraft’s innovative design makes it much quieter during take-off and landing, and the cabin has the lowest noise level of any existing passenger aircraft.
 

Airbus to Inspect all A380s

Airbus has been ordered to check all A380 superjumbo planes currently in service, after cracks were found in wing components. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has ordered all 68 Airbus A380 superjumbo planes currently in operation to be checked.

It extends an earlier check of 20 A380 jets, whose wings are made in North Wales, ordered by the EASA in January. Airbus have reiterated that the "safe operation of the A380 planes is not affected". Qantas, Australia's largest carrier, said it had suspended the use of one of its Airbus A380 passenger jets for as long as a week, after discovering 36 small cracks in key wing components.

Singapore Airlines, which took delivery of the first A380, has also repaired some of its superjumbos after finding cracks, and has since put them back into operation. EASA confirmed that the new round of inspections will begin with A380 planes which are approaching the 1,300 flights mark, which will have to be inspected within six weeks of 13 February.

Those aircraft which have flown more than 1,384 flights will need inspections within three weeks of this date. Planes with fewer than 1,300 recorded flights will be inspected at the next routine maintenance interval, it added.

The A380 was first unveiled in January 2005, but production delays meant deliveries did not start until October 2007. In addition to Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Air France are among the firm's biggest customers for the jet. There are currently 253 A380 jets on order to carriers worldwide.