CheshireTom

With two weeks to go before the delivery of the first A380 to Singapore Airlines there was a good article in Flight International which appears to dispel a lot of the nonsense that is touted about the state of the programme: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/...-singapore.html To summarise a couple of points from the article ............... 10 A380s have flown to date. 23 A380s have been assembled. Singpapore has opted for a 471 seat configuration. Thirteen A380s will be delivered in 2008, 25 in 2009 and 45 a year from 2010. Three SIA A380s are in Hamburg undergoing cabin furnishing, along with the first Emirates aircraft.

Yep, there's no cheating either ........... they're merely assisting each other.

Are you only visiting this planet, or what? BAE is British Aerospace and apart from being neither Arab nor an English language academy they aren't renowned for treating their employees like sub-humans.

An Ma isn't a prerequisite to work in the Middle East. A typical employer such as BAE Systems will pay you 40k GBP p.a. tax free for a BA, TEFL and 5 years experience.

A DELTA + degree would probably land you the same jobs in Thailand. Or, more likely, knowing (or being recommended to) the person responsible for recruiting for the position.

Is the bidet woman still at your place? I could be persuaded to make the trip ..............

Working on a Sunday, Robin?

I'll give you that ............. my mistake However, the AirAsiaX flights will operate with a 31 inch pitch .........

Andy, You've made a lot of assumptions, ............. Where does it say the seat pitch will be 28"? Even domestic Thai Air Asia has a 31/32" seat pitch. Not everyone lives within spitting distance of Heathrow so changing flights ain't a big deal and better done in KL than LHR. Taxes? Your confusing taxes with surcharges. Two totally different things. Yes, they will have biz class .......

Brown1950, Thanks for that info. I noticed yesterday that Manchester was on their route map but assumed it was a throw-back to them negotiating routes/landing slots. I would assume the length of time that the aircraft appears to be on the ground means that there will be a major AirAsia/ManU publicity drive going on. Has United got a home game against Roma on the 2nd? I only realised the last couple of days that BA doesn't fly to KUL so it would make sense to have the first route down south, if that is in fact the case. Any idea if their biz class has flat bed or lie-flat seating?

They could have countered that the A380 was just a French Mirage .......... I'll get me coat.

That will be the Boeing Design Team in ............................................................ Moscow.

Meanwhile, EADS tanker is coming along nicely ....................... Northrop-EADS tanker takes first flight The chief competitor to Boeing's KC-767 tanker completed its maiden flight this morning. The KC-30 tanker is the product of Northrop Grumman and EADS. The duo has pitted their aerial refueling tanker against the KC-767 in a bid for a $40 billion contract supplying the U.S. Air Force with tankers. The initial aircraft, known as D-1, flew for nearly four hours, according to a Northrop press release. D-1 will be the first tanker delivered to the Air Force should Northrop-EADS win the contract .................. Northrop-EADS already has won three international tanker competitions, securing contracts to supply Australia, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom with KC-30 tankers. Boeing will supply both Italy and Japan with its KC-767, based off the Everett-built commercial 767 jet. However, the Chicago-based aerospace giant company is significantly late in delivering the initial tankers to those countries.

I see that the US press is making a big thing about the Airbus being built by those horrible French people and referring to national security blah, blah blah. Unfortunately, they ignore the fact that the French Air Force's current AWACS, AAR and Transport aircraft are all made by ................................................. Boeing. Did someone mention level playing field and government subsidies?

It seems a pretty expensive way of going about things. Just buy a return ticket with 3 or 6 month validity with the return date 90 days after your outbound flight. Most airlines will allow you to change the return date after you arrive in Thailand for a nominal fee (25-100 USD).

Got to give the guys at Boeing 10/10 for consistency .............. Boeing not afraid of tanker delay BLOOMBERG NEWS The Boeing Co. said its failure to deliver tankers to Japan and Italy on time won't hurt the company's chances to win a U.S. military contract for the plane. Boeing is behind schedule in delivering versions of the KC-767 to both countries, said Mark McGraw, vice president for tanker programs, in a news briefing for reporters today at an Air Force Association conference in Washington, D.C. Boeing plans to start the deliveries in 2008. The Air Force plans to buy 179 tankers to replace its Boeing-built KC-135 fleet, which has planes that are an average of 44 years old. The contract is valued at about $40 billion.

Conversely, it is the precise reason why many BMs are loathe to post any pics/videos these days. You never know when it's going to come back and haunt you.

No, mook ...... there were reports of a shortage and speculation that it could hinder the 787. I merely posted the confirmation from the horse's mouth. I could just as easily point out that BM, Indiscipline, posted as far back as last November exactly what the problems were that are only now being acknowledged by Boeing. The threads have always been about the US v EU ..... the title of one thread was "Boeing is kicking Euro butt". You were keen enough to go along with all the Euro/Airbus bashing but now that things ain't turning out quite as rosy as you wished/hoped for the threads are now "degraded". Just learn to live with it; I'm quite sure that the 787 saga has some way to go yet.

The public taxi rank is moving to the arrivals level in the next couple of weeks (it is presently on the ground floor). Simply go outside and they have official booths marked up for public taxis. Do not get confused with signs for the airport's own limos (grey toyotas). Go to the desk and tell them your destination. The prices are shown at the booths. Within BKK it is metered plus tolls, plus 50 Baht airport surcharge. To Pattaya it is 1,200 Baht plus tolls, plus 50 Baht surcharge. The booth operator takes down your details (you don't pay them) and directs you to one of the waiting taxis, gives one half of the booking slip to the driver and the other half to you. On your part it lists the basis for the fares, contact numbers in case of complaints and the taxi number. Inside the cab the drivers name/number should be displayed in English ..... make a note on your part of the booking slip. Give the driver cash for the tollway and pay the other 1,250 when you get to your destination. I always ask for a Thai Rung cab ....... they are a Thai built 4x4 type vehicle and extremely comfortable especially if there is more than one of you travelling.

Scally, Wrong thread, mate. This one is about the 787 ............ Even Isaan girls get their noses redesigned; it's no big deal. You got nothing to say on the subject in hand?

Bill, It can be a bit of a nightmare and coverage is somewhat limited out in the sticks. This thread on Flyertalk may answer a few of your specific questions: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/archive/ind...p/t-619911.html Regards, Tom

Steady on, Shane. You know the rules about flaming newbies.

No, Jack. You state that Toom is cheaper than a meter taxi. Toom is 1,200 (incl tolls) each way, a meter taxi is 1,200 (fixed price + tolls, + 50 Baht surcharge) from BKK to Pattaya and 800 Baht (+ tolls) for the return. When you get a meter taxi your trip is recorded at the airport and you get a receipt showing the cab number and details of what to do in the event of any problems. With the uninsured Mr Toom you get nothing. BTW, it's Don Mueang.