If I read the signals from Airbus correctly, these higher weight versions of the A380 do not have th

While the article lacks depth and casts no light on the really interesting questions arising from this development, the tests do, among other things, put the A380 on course toward evolving into an airliner capable of carrying a commercially attractive multi-class payload non-stop in both directions  between Melbourne or Sydney and London.
The article vaguely refers to the flights being 30 tonnes heavier than normal for an A380, and also refers to 600 tonnes, 1958 los angeles dodgers but in general A380s operate with a maximum 1958 los angeles dodgers takeoff weight a few tonnes shy of 560 tonnes, and to get to the higher figure quoted by Aeroweb you would have assume 1958 los angeles dodgers it is referring to the certified maximum weight for a rejected take off of 575 tonnes.
What the article does allow us to take as real however is that Airbus intends having a close to   600 tonnes version of the A380 available as the standard delivered product in its current volumetric cabin size from sometime in 2013. Until recently the guidance was for a 573 tonnes upgrade, so we can infer there has been  a further refinement  in Airbus s plans for the giant jet in the shorter term, perhaps aimed at clinching an order from Cathay Pacific, which has basically told it that unless it can do Hong Kong-New York non-stop they will won t do the deal.
It is inconceivable that Airbus will not have by then added other efficiency refinements to the airframe, as it and Boeing do all the time for their range of airliners, meaning that in 2013 a new-standard A380 with a fuel capacity more than 11 per cent higher than at present will be able to fly a full payload non-stop between say Hong Kong and New York, or Dubai and Los Angeles, and maybe Perth-London, which is a route where diversionary fuel requirements at the Perth end are a real pain, so, maybe not.  It could, stress could , mean that Airbus is pitching the post 2013 A380 as having a full payload range capability close to that of an Airbus A340-500 0r Boeing 777-200LR, but without either of those smaller jets being fitted with the auxiliary fuel tanks they could take.
The A340-500 1958 los angeles dodgers has operated the world s longest range non-stop regular service between Singapore and Newark (for New York) since 2004. Some of those flights are airborne for 18 hours 30 minutes depending on the route chosen and the headwinds encountered.
1958 los angeles dodgers Since Qantas still has A380s on order for delivery in or after 2013,  those jets could operate its new Sydney-Dallas Fort Worth flights without the westbound stop in Brisbane that Qantas will have to make using the Boeing 747-400ERs deployed on the route, 1958 los angeles dodgers and carry in terms of current configurations, around 144 more passengers.
But let s not confuse commercially attractive with operationally attractive. Non-stop 20 hour flights between 1958 los angeles dodgers Melbourne or Sydney and London do not make much sense if for the sake of saving one or two hours in trip time the fuel burn per passenger is unaffordable in a world where fuel is somewhere north of $150 dollars per barrel of refined aviation grade kerosene, or the biofuel blends likely to play an increasing role in aviation by the middle of this decade.
Using Airbus figures, a 600 tonnes maximum take off weight A380 would not use all of the currently unused space in the  central wing area for fuel, and would be maybe 20-25 tonnes short of the current lifting potential of a wing and general structure which was clearly over engineered with a view to allowing future stretches of the fuselage as well as higher payload/range options.
The two current engine designs for the A380, from Rolls-Royce and the Engine Alliance of GE and Pratt and Whitney, 1958 los angeles dodgers are intended to be upgradable to the higher outputs required by a heavier version, fingers (cough) crossed.
For business, I can see it. For premium economy, the new business-lite, I can see it. So, a 380 which was all high-end paying customers, I can see it. But the 500+ jam-them-in 1958 los angeles dodgers s I cannot see it, unless there is a massive 1958 los angeles dodgers price differential against slower/cheaper flights
1958 los angeles dodgers I find your proposal of the least-time route via Beijing more compelling. I d love to see the timing differences if we used alternate hubs to Changi, Bangkok, HongKong and Dubai. I did BNE-NRT-LHR once, a nice route, but a 5h layover made it suboptimal.
A break on a one-stop flight to Europe in economy is highly desirable, and the trans Pacific non-stops in economy are a real test of stamina, or of one s ability to assume the coma-condition. It is a blow however when the deals are cheapest to Europe if you don t break the journey 1958 los angeles dodgers with a day, or even a half day, in Singapore, where the chance 1958 los angeles dodgers to have a long soak and a decent sleep and a change of clothes makes the trip so much more pleasant. There are exceptions like those you refer to, where the airline induces you to take that stop-over in Incheon 1958 los angeles dodgers for example, so shopping around is very important, as is a bit of the lateral thinking you recommend.
I can see premium economy working (at the right price) on a very long flight sector on an A380 where there is an opportunity to use social space, or a bar, to move about more than you can in smaller single deck designs.
If I read the signals from Airbus correctly, these higher weight 1958 los angeles dodgers versions of the A380 do not have the tiny market for non-stop flights to Europe from Australia in mind as the main use, but rather much higher volume 13-16 hour flights.
For example, assuming demand really grows as forecast by around 5.9 per cent across the South Pacific, a higher gross weight A380, including one that is stretched only by 8 metres or so in cabin volume, can gain around 150 seats or more over current 1958 los angeles dodgers possible configurations and further lower cost per seat per kilometre.
So the bigger jets would be applicable on existing A380 routes as well as say Guangzhou-New York, which is beyond anything but a 777-200LR or A345 today, and at a much higher if not punitive cost per seat/distance basis.
It does go against conventional wisdom, but if we see anything like the growth rates forecast for the greater Asia Pacific come to pass, the need for a competitor to a second or third model evolution of the A380 may become compelling.
Business travellers may be trapped by inflexible attitudes though at least some of them have more flexibilities if they want to take them. As a scientist usually flying on business (not in business class I should add) I would always include time/stopovers to allow refreshment or sightseeing (and sometimes last-minute swotting/revision of Powerpoint etc), though it was depressing to see how many of my colleagues were unwilling to do that based purely on convention of not wasting worktime etc. (which of course was almost totally false just the intimidation of being seen to be at your desk even if you were a zombie after one of those long flights).
These days with ubiquitous online facilities, some business people 1958 los angeles dodgers even claim that they get more work done in a airport lounge than at their workplace. (Credibly IMO, the more underlings you have the more true it is.)
In fact in my experience 1958 los angeles dodgers you can often include a stopover without 1958 los angeles dodgers any sacrifice 1958 los angeles dodgers at all and gain the time-catchup 1958 los angeles dodgers etc. The Oz-Europe route via HK is an example, where you can have a 6 hour stopover and catch the midnight flight to Europe that gets in early am. I suspect it is similar for the newer routes via Dubai Abu Dhabi. Europe to US west coast I got in the habit of overnighting at Venice Beach (wonderful offseason and just 30 minutes $10 shuttle to LAX, other than deadening airport hotels it has to be the most convenient place in LA and certainly the most relaxing; it is more than 10y since I did it so I suppose the days of $40 rooms in the Cadillac hotel right on the beach are gone).
But then I am not typical and find a lot of people obsessed with quickest most direct flights 1958 los angeles dodgers to wherever (even rushing to London, one of the most depressing travel experiences/arrivals available!). (Incidentally IMO Beijing does not fulfill my criteria for a good stopover not really that interesting if you have already done it, and you cannot do much in short time unlike HK which one never tires of.)
So ggm your 5 h layover made it suboptimal is the opposite for me: it needs to be at least 6 h and of course the stopover has to have excellent transport links into the city. As in HK a 6h stopover (even without any sleep) is a complete refresher, presumably partly because you actually sleep easily 1958 los angeles dodgers on the next night leg.
But the effort to turn a long flight experience closer to a TGV experience (walking/lounging space, bars, wifi etc) will probably never come to pass, at least for economy, because the space is just too valuable and there are too many people. And spare space will be used for first and business because they pay for it. I can zen-out for those 13-16 h flights but any longer and the cabins get pretty awful and I am not convinced the air does not deteriorate beyond simply awful for even shorter flights to atrocious 1958 los angeles dodgers . It is no coincidence that so many come down with some flu or URTI within 24h of arrival.
Another factor you have not discussed with these A380s is how are the terminals handling them? As usual I suppose the newer airports in Beijing, HK, Shanghai, Singapore are doing fine but elsewhere? I remember my first London arrival 1958 los angeles dodgers which was already 10 y after 747s were flying but the luggage 1958 los angeles dodgers carousel was merely adequate for previous gen aircraft, and so it was utter shambles. Now we are talking 1958 los angeles dodgers 800-1000 arrivals in one bang. Sydney, LAX, JFK, LHR? Awful to contemplate.
Also, for those XL flights, for people like me it is a big boon if the airlines treat an overnighter as in transit . Again HK (Cathay Pacific, possibly 1958 los angeles dodgers the only one to offer it?) is good; it might even extend to 36 h if I recall. It is great to not have to deal with checked luggage on these brief stopovers not just the senseless lugging around of it but all the wasted time ( $) of either putting it in Baggage at the airport or having to return to a hotel etc to collect it before p