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Emirates Airlines‘ A380 is currently doing a showcase tour around North America. We were there to catch the show Live at JFK Airport in New York City on Aug 1, 2008. While there, we took the time to chat with Nigel Page, who is Emirates’ Senior Vice President of Operations for the Americas. Being with Emirates for 15 years, and 20 years with British Airways, Nigel shares his wisdom with us in the video interview. Below, you will also find key talking points in the interview. Enjoy!
- How would you differentiate Emirates A380 from Singapore Airlines‘ and Qantas’ product?
- Geographic advantage – Dubai is located mid-way between Russia and Africa, US East coast and the Far East and of course, Europe and Australia. We will take full advantage of this, once our 58 A380s are in service.
- Cabin crew of 130 nationalities – each plane has a crew that speaks over 10 languages between themÂ
- Cellphone use permitted on-board – in a controlled way
- Technological leadership – IFE system, fax machines and more.
- Given the size of the A380, what’re some of the customer service challenges encountered?
- The airplane is so huge that you almost get the feeling it’s a cruise liner.
- It’s too early to comment on the problems, as flights have just begun
- How do you intend to garner customer feedback for the product?
- Customer surveys
- Feedback from cabin crews
- Will there be different products for the A380?
- 3 different configurations – 489 seats (3 class, Long range), 500+ seats (3 class, mid-range) , 600+ seats (2 class, Mid-range)
- Where will the Emirates A380 fly?
- Announced routes: New York (started), Los Angeles (Oct 1), San Francisco (Nov 20),
- Planned routes: London, Sydney, Auckland, Houston, Chicago, Toronto
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