Thai Airways has effectively made the upstairs economy section of its new Airbus A380 into a 'baby-free' zone.
On a tour of the factory-fresh superjumbo – the first of six, which will fly to Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney, among other cites – we spied an curious absence of bassinette-mounting positions on the bulkhead wall in the front of the economy cabin at the rear of the upper deck.
Thai Airways confirmed our suspicions, and assured our delight, with the revelation that there is no provision for bassinettes in this part of the aircraft.
An airline rep explains that the video screens for the front row of economy – row 75, and shown below – have been mounted relatively low on the bulkhead, where the bassinette fixtures would usually be found.
By comparison, as shown below, two pairs of mounting points are found on all bulkheads on the lower deck – which belongs entirely to economy, with 377 seats.
This means the upper deck's compact 58-seat economy section will therefore remain relatively infant-free.
So there's your first expert travel tip for Thai's A380: book a seat upstairs – that'll be anywhere from row 75 through to row 83– for the best chance to avoid adding crying babies to your travel experience.
Read: our world first review of Thai's A380 Royal Silk business class seats
Browse: our guided photo tour of the Thai Airways A380
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 645
BUT did Thai confirm that infants/babies are BANNED from upstairs Y/C? you could infer that all zone C (between doors 3 & 4 main deck of QF a380) and the upper deck Y/C zone of QF 'new config is 'infant free' because there's no bassinets!!! babies can still travel safely/legally in adults arms/laps with the aid of 'infant seat belts'...no bassinets doesnt necessarily equate to no babies!!!!
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2563
Undertheradar: we never said there was a 'baby ban' in upper deck economy - it's not like MAS which has actively won't book kids under 12 into its A380 upstairs economy cabin (unless downstairs is fully booked).
The Thai A380 situation is that there are no bassinettes in this cabin, which means that
1. infants under six months cannot be booked into this cabin (that's the rule, Thai tells me, 'under 6 months' and they have to travel in a bassinette)
2. infants over 6 months can be booked into a bassinette or travel on the parents' lap, but most parents want a crib for their kidlet so they'll also be headed downstairs.
Now, if the parents are happy to have the infant sit on their lap then yes, they could end up on the upper deck – but I'd reckon the chances are well against it given the number of economy berths downstairs (377) versus upstairs (58).
As for Thai business class, there are bassinette mounting positions at both of the bulkheads in the business cabin.
10 Apr 2012
Total posts 59
I will remember that If I fly Thai A380 in the Future.
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