(CNN) — The A380 super jumbo has many supporters around the world, but none quite as vocal and powerful as Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, by far the largest operator of the aircraft.
The Dubai-based airline purchased nearly half of all A380s ever produced and now has 118 in its fleet, about 80 of which are currently flying.
The entire fleet will be back in the air by spring of next year, as part of a resurgence that has seen the super jumbo reintroduced into service with many of its operators, after the pandemic led many to believe it was ready for retirement.
“The notion that the A380 was a spent force was always a little bit of a difficult one for us to swallow,” Clark told CNN Travel in an exclusive interview.
“I was chuckling to myself, thinking ‘Wait and see.’ We started flying the A380 into Heathrow six times a day in October of last year, and we haven’t had a [free] seat on any of them since.”
The airline will start refreshing the interiors of almost 70 of its A380s later this year, adding a new premium economy class that will slightly reduce passenger capacity from 519 to 484.
Shower spa experience
The Emirates A380 is equipped with a shower spa for first class passengers.
Emirates
The most distinctive feature of Emirates’ super jumbo, however, will remain the legendary shower spa, which offers first class passengers the luxury of a full-fledged shower at 35,000 feet.
There are two such suites, at the front of the upper deck, and Emirates is the only airline to offer them, after Clark explicitly requested them during the final design phase of the plane, in the early 2000s.
“Airbus had come up with a fairly sad possibility of putting benches and having little lounges there, but the notion that you would have bathrooms with showers and all the other bits and pieces was an interesting one,” he says.
“It was a bit of a risk for us, but these were dead spaces which we couldn’t generate income from. I realized that actually they would be hugely popular.”
Convincing Airbus to install them, however, wasn’t easy.
“We designed the showers and then went to Airbus, who were very much arms folded at that time,” Clark adds.
“But prior to the A380’s launch, the marketing program showed double page spreads with avenues of shops, lounges and cafes, so naturally I said, ‘that shouldn’t be a problem for you.’
“Clearly it was, but because we were such a big buyer, they complied. And it’s no mean feat trying to get water up two decks, keep the pressure up, the…
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