Posted on 06/05/2016 10:10:24 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Here at the world's busiest airport -- with seven concourses and more than 200 gates -- a gate for the Super Jumbo Airbus A380 could not be provided. That forced Qatar Airways passengers to deplane Wednesday via mobile stairs and shuttle buses.
Atlanta's airport has only one gate that can accommodate the A380 -- the world's largest airliner. The airport and resident hub carrier Delta Air Lines said they could not make that gate available.
The very public battle between Delta Air Lines, the world's second largest airline, and competitor Qatar Airways represents a microcosm of the national debate over whether the amount of alleged government subsidies foreign airlines receive violates international Open Skies agreements.
(Excerpt) Read more at news4jax.com ...
Isn’t that like taking off to the beach on a summer holiday weekend without a hotel reservation? You’d think gate arrangements would have been made beforehand, especially with a new and difficult to accommodate aircraft.
Good for Delta, Qatar is a land of slavery and the air line is no better.
Delta ROCKS!
Such a deceptive headline.
There was a gate, they were just not allowed to use it.
This is a dispute, it seems.
I think we were finally able to use it because of safety reasons - people were starting to pass out...
Qatar Airways 1st class service is one of the best in the industry.
Yes, they serve booze.
They usually fly Boeing 777’s to the states though.
Qatar is the best airline in the world! Their service is beyond excellent. Anyone who flies for trips abroad, Qatar and Emirates are amazing as is Singapore.
They are scheduled.
There is only one gate capable for the 380 at this airport.
Thing is, the jet is so huge it can’t fit anywhere else and the market for a 380 in the US is very limited, it is not cost-effective to build an entirely new terminal/gates.
Who pays for the new gates?
The A380 requires dual level air jet bridges, because they can sell seats for disabled passengers on both of the aircraft’s decks. Most A380 operators put premium classes of passengers on the upper deck and have economy on the lower deck.
The 747 is able to skirt around this issue by having all classes of seating available on the first deck. Most airlines that still fly the 747 have just additional business class seating albeit more private than main deck business class on the 747’s half upper deck. Basically anyone being booked for the 747 upper deck has to be able bodied enough to climb the internal 747 stairs along with carry on luggage. Those airlines that still offer international first class ususally place that in the nose compartment of the main deck of the 747.
They say you have to show up like 3 to 4 hours before boarding these things. Stupid.
Then you have the Boeing Dreamliners where you can taxi into a small runway...deplane the passengers then turn around unassisted and take off again.
That’s American ingenuity.
The USAF encountered serious problems with its XC-99 transport in the later 1940s and early 1950s. It was too big to be useful. It commuted between the few bases that had runways large enough to handle it and the B-36, the bomber variant it was developed from.
Once you land your jumbo jet what do you do with your passengers? The A380 normally carries between 544 and 644 passengers plus crew. In a dense pack configuration it goes up to 800 plus. So the question is not only where do you park it but how long will it take to unload and how long will it take to get the passengers off the airport.
Unless there are numerous A380s operating every day there is little finical incentive to develop a new terminal to handle the impact of an A380 arrival.
Perhaps this could be a case, in Atlanta at least, where the supporting infrastructure wasn’t upgraded as rapidly as the size of commercial passenger jets.
Ever load/unload a KC-10, 200 passengers, via stairs/ It takes a while and is a real bear in a rain storm.
Yes, but it still counts as an on-time departure!
Well done news4jax.com - that’s a lovely photo of an A380! Journalism at its best. /sarc
Ha yeah it looks like a 767 or Airbus A330 .
No you don't. I flew from CRP to IAH and had just over an hour of connection time for my Lufthansa flight to FRA. I got to the A380 gate at terminal D from terminal B via the terminal connecting train on the sterile side of security prior to the start of boarding. The only thing I didn't like about it was United Airlines put the wrong gate information on my ticket. They put the gate number for the upper deck which is only for premium classes, so I had to be directed to the correct line.
Because CRP is such a small airport, I only really needed to be there an hour prior to takeoff. The security lines at CRP are rather short, so if you're not there during the early morning rush hour, checking in 30-45 minutes ahead of departure is adequate. It's a lot less hassle than driving from Corpus Christi, parking in a long term parking lot. Taking my maxed out bags from my car and putting them on a shuttle bus, riding to the international departures portion of terminal D, checking in, going through the security gauntlet, walking to the gate, and waiting to board. I can be let off near the check in counter at CRP and never have to handle my checked luggage again till I get to my destination.
I’m talking about the initial boarding.
Bottom line, they need to have separate boarding and security for this plane...otherwise I think it be unfair to these passengers. It’s definitely a special plane.
Well, maybe Trump is right... Maybe I need to reconsider my position on this...
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