When on the way to a meeting with an important client and flying on one of Emirates’ new A380s, first class passengers who want to arrive refreshed need not worry. The superjumbo now comes equipped with a shower for first class passengers.
Plan to shower quickly though. Emirates President Tim Clark says that the shower is regulated by a program that limits shower time to five minutes. There will be lights in the shower, like a traffic light, that warns passengers how long they have left.
The luxury does complicate matters, especially with fuel prices on the rise. The plane will have to take on an additional 500 kg. (approximately 1,102 lbs.) of water, an increase of 25 percent.
Clark is looking for ways to trim the weight in other areas. For example, information on items for sale, such as duty free catalogs, will be moved to one of the TV channels, curtains are used for the windows rather than the plastic shutters, lighter carpeting, and more compact seatback entertainment hardware are being examined to reduce the overall weight by two metric tons (approximately 4,400 lbs.).
Airbus, for its part, is also looking to further reduce aircraft weight by three metric tons by reworking the airframe and re-machining several components.
Airbus Programs Chief, Tom Williams says, “It’s not a matter of removing all the weight from one section. It’s more like squeezing a few pounds here and there.”
