How much a first class suite really costs

Emirates first class suite. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

The list price for the first class suites are $250,000. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

HAVE you ever wondered how much airlines really have to pay to deck out their planes with those outrageously extravagant first class suites?

According to B/E Aerospace, a company that sells aircraft interiors to top carriers including Emirates, they're listed at $250,000 each.

And that's not even including the logistics of delivering and installing the suites on the aircraft.

So that explains why many airlines – including Qantas – have had to remove their first class sections in recent years.

In pictures: The best of first class

B/E Aerospace fits out various planes with the first class suites including Airbus A380s, Boeing 777s and Boeing 747-8 widebodies.

Speaking at an aviation conference in the US, B/E Aerospace CEO Amin Khoury explained to the audience how the company prices the suites, APEX reported.

Khoury held up a picture of an Emirates first class suits and said: "So this is... an Emirates suite. So you can see there's a full bed, there's a little controller, a TV screen, accent lighting, there's a little refrigerator which you can't see in there, and this folds up to permit dining for two people.

"And those are very expensive. Those sell for $250,000 each."

Sneak peek inside Emirates' first class suites

 

View the original article here

How much a first class suite really costs

Emirates first class suite. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

The list price for the first class suites are $250,000. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

HAVE you ever wondered how much airlines really have to pay to deck out their planes with those outrageously extravagant first class suites?

According to B/E Aerospace, a company that sells aircraft interiors to top carriers including Emirates, they're listed at $250,000 each.

And that's not even including the logistics of delivering and installing the suites on the aircraft.

So that explains why many airlines – including Qantas – have had to remove their first class sections in recent years.

In pictures: The best of first class

B/E Aerospace fits out various planes with the first class suites including Airbus A380s, Boeing 777s and Boeing 747-8 widebodies.

Speaking at an aviation conference in the US, B/E Aerospace CEO Amin Khoury explained to the audience how the company prices the suites, APEX reported.

Khoury held up a picture of an Emirates first class suits and said: "So this is... an Emirates suite. So you can see there's a full bed, there's a little controller, a TV screen, accent lighting, there's a little refrigerator which you can't see in there, and this folds up to permit dining for two people.

"And those are very expensive. Those sell for $250,000 each."

Sneak peek inside Emirates' first class suites

 

View the original article here

Transport costs race past inflation

Higher public transport fares are on the way next year. Source: HWT Image Library

FARES have risen twice as fast as inflation since public transport was privatised.

Fare increases have added up to $1200 a year to the cost of commuting since 1999.

Yearly tickets have doubled in price. Monthly and weekly tickets have also risen by more than double the 41 per cent rise in inflation in this period.

Rises for daily and two-hour tickets have been less steep but still outpaced inflation, jumping 52 to 80 per cent.

But Public Transport Users Association president Tony Morton said trains were more crowded and less reliable than when the Kennett government sold the system, promising better services.

"Public transport users aren't getting value for money," he said.

"We're now paying twice as much for a system that is by no means twice as good as it was in the '90s, and in some ways is worse."

Mr Morton said fares had risen faster in Melbourne than in any other Australian city. But, in real terms, driving costs remained the same. 

He said privatisation had led to a costlier rail system but poor planning meant it had not sufficiently responded to patronage.

Transport Minister Terry Mulder said, since privatisation, patronage had grown by more than 200 million trips to 536 million a year, and many routes had more frequent services.

He said: "The previous Labor government did not adequately maintain Melbourne's rail network, leaving a backlog of maintenance work that often left commuters frustrated."

Mr Mulder said the Coalition had invested more than $560 million, adding 1078 Metro train trips a week and more than 2000 bus trips.

He said inflation since September 1999, when private operators took over, had been 48.5 per cent.

In January, Mr Mulder went ahead with a 6.8 per cent fare hike, on top of an 8.6 per cent rise last year, to help pay for improvements.

The abolition of Zone 3 fares in 2007 lessened cost impacts for some commuters in outer suburbs.

But the axing of popular and cheap short-trip tickets on trains and trams, and discounted 10x2-hour tickets, have magnified costs for thousands more.

peter.mickelburough@news.com.au

View the original article here