Skymark Airlines' First A380 Starts Final Assembly

The vertical tailplane (VTP) for the first A380 for Skymark Airlines has been painted with the Japanese airline's logo at Airbus' facilities in Hamburg and transported by Beluga to Toulouse, where final assembly of the aircraft is now underway, paving the way for completion and delivery to the airline later this year.

Skymark Airlines has placed six firm A380 orders with Airbus and will thus become the first Japanese airline to offer its passengers the unique and new experience of flying on the A380.

Skymark plans to operate its A380s on international trunk routes, in particular linking Narita to destinations in the US. The airline announced its intent to use the aircraft on long-haul trunk routes out of Narita Airport, and that they would be operated in a two-class, 394-seat configuration – with 114 seats in business class  and 280 in a premium economy class. Business Class will be equipped with angled lie-flat seats at 60 in (1,500 mm) pitch and 20.7 in (530 mm) width, while "shell-style" seats at 38 in (970 mm) pitch and 20.5 in (520 mm) width will be offered in Premium Economy.