The Airbus A380 is a monster of a jet.  With two levels of seating there is an enormous amount of space which airlines can use to offer crazy amenities and incredible seating configurations (like the Etihad Apartments).

The three main Middle East airlines (Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar) chose to use some of the available space to add bars/lounges to their aircraft.  When executed properly these types of lounges are a great way to pass the time on a long flight and provide a unique experience to customers.

Qatar A380 Bar

To date the Qatar Airways A380 bar executes this concept the best, in my opinion.  Their bar is spacious and is designed in such a way that encourages customer interaction.

Emirates unveils new A380 bar and lounge

The Emirates A380 has a reputation for the “blingiest” cabin in the skies, almost too much so for some passengers.  There have been rumors of a new Emirates First Class offering coming soon (as early as next month), and the first part of that announcement seemingly came today.

Emirates has redesigned their A380 bar and lounge concept to mimic the furnishings of yachts and private jets.

The concept looks very nice and luxurious and hopefully represents a departure from the golden blingy feel of the previous concept.  Emirates further details the new cabin this quick video:

Initial thoughts

Obviously it looks great and I’m sure it will be a hit with customers, but I still dislike the horseshoe bar idea.  To me the horseshoe bar centers the attention on the bartender, which is different than the Qatar offering where you have long bartops where you’re almost forced to look past the bartender at other passengers, which encourages interaction.

Regardless of the execution I think you’ll agree that the product itself looks superb.  I’m hoping to head to a trade show in a few weeks to see the new cabin up close!

What do you think about the new bar?