Airbus May Shrink Staircase to Add Seats to A380 Superjumbo

(Bloomberg) -- Airbus Group SE is exploring measures to boost the appeal of its A380 superjumbo to potential buyers, and could jettison the model’s so-called grand staircase to add more seats.

The revision is one of several that are being considered as Airbus seeks to lower the double-decker’s costs per seat, spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said at the ITB Berlin trade fair Wednesday.

Offering airlines improved operating margins on the A380 might be one way of reviving demand for a model that’s seen sales slow, prompting Airbus to pare planned production rates. Alternative layouts for the superjumbo may be demonstrated at the Aircraft Interiors expo in Hamburg next month, it said.

Airbus said last June that it was exploring ways of carving out extra space on the A380 and might modify the staircases connecting its two passenger floors, suggesting at the time that a rear spiral structure might be made less of a feature. As many as 60 more seats might be accommodated, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Rothman in Berlin at aerothman@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Reiter at creiter2@bloomberg.net, Christopher Jasper