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A380 makes stop at MSP Though Airbus Industrie did not bill the arrival November 27 of the A380 at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport as a sales call, officials at the airframe company made it clear that it considers hometown carrier Northwest Airlines a nice fit for the big aircraft. Airline officials, visitors and media were given a walkthrough of one of the test aircraft by Keith Stonestreet product marketing director of the A380 marketing division. The aircraft was outfitted in a three-class configuration in soft colors. First class was on the lower deck while business class was in the upper deck. Galleys were outfitted with equipment from Iacobucci Group and B/E Aerospace and the seats with Panasonic inflight entertainment systems, one of two authorized IFE suppliers for the A380. The first of the A380s was delivered last month to Singapore Airlines and is operating on its Singapore-Sydney daily route. Stonestreet said the next three production A380s will be going to Singapore Airlines for use on the carrier’s routes to London and Tokyo. After that, Emirates and Qantas Airways are scheduled next in the delivery cycle. Northwest Airlines is one of only two carriers in the United States to currently operate the 747-400 along with United Airlines. With the A380’s long-range capabilities, Stonestreet said that Northwest could operate 16-hour non-stop flights from MSP to Hong Kong or Dubai. |
