Just wondering if anyone knows how much "extra" fresh water the Emirates A380's can carry just to supply the on-board showers for the first class folks. Could someone provide the amount of water both in terms of gallons as well as pounds?

Also, from what I've been able to gather, is that each "activation" of the shower lets it run for 5 minutes, and each first class passenger is entitled to one 5-minute "extension" of the shower run time. So, each first class passenger could potentially "use" up to 10 minutes' worth of water for their shower. How many gallons of water would that be?

Also, is the "extra water for the shower" calculated just a couple of hours before departure so they don't need to carry a full load of shower water if the first class passenger count is low? For example, if there are only 5 first class passengers (for whatever reason) flying from DXB to JFK, there is no sense in carrying the amount of water needed even if all 14 or 16 (I can't remember) first class passengers took a 10-minute shower during the flight. Besides that, I'm sure that not every first class passenger has a desire to take a shower onboard an airplane anyway. Which leads me to my last question-

Do more men than women take showers on the A380's that are so equipped? Something tells me this would be the case, but what do I know?

Yes, I am certifiably crazy. My dog and 2 cats have made me painfully aware of this. But life goes on.

Thanks in advance for any information.

I don't recall getting any instructions from the shower attendant that I could use more than the 5 mins of water, keep in mind though that you can make it last by turning the water off and on while you lather up. When you do book a shower, they give you 30 mins, but if the First Class section isn't too full, they will allow you more time.
In my opinion, if you are lucky enough to have a shower on a plane, take the damn shower, its wonderful!

The used shower water is stored to flush toilets in economy class

I dont recall ever being told I had to rush out of the showers when Ive used them. We are told to try to be out of the shower spa in 20 minutes. They are quite nice, and the heated floor and toilet seat were nice!

Etihad asks the pax before departure if they are planning on taking a shower and fills the water tank accordingly.

Zaf wrote:

The used shower water is stored to flush toilets in economy class

Somehow I read this as "They used flushed economy class toilets to shower water." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Zaf wrote:

The used shower water is stored to flush toilets in economy class

I thought this was a joke first, but isn't this actually a very smart way to recycle the water. And why not to flush all toilets on-board. What if the aircraft encounters sudden turbulence? Is there a chair with a seat belt in the shower?

Well, it should be pretty easy to do the math and come up with some rough numbers based on the assumption that EK uses 'water saving' showerheads that use around 2 gallons per minute. (https://www.epa.gov/watersense/showerheads). According to seatguru, Emirates' 3 class A380s have 14 first seats https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Emira ... mation.php

So, a five minute shower at 2 (US liquid) gallons per minute is 10 gallons per passenger. Multiply that by 14 passengers and we have 140 gallons, or ~1,167 pounds of water. If they allow for 5 minutes of 'extra' time for each passenger (I'm assuming that's in case you lose track of time and the water stops while you have soap all over you), that's 280 gallons or ~2,335 pounds.

Obviously, this is just a rough estimate as I couldn't find out how much water the Emirates shower uses per minute specifically. Also, I'm not sure if they just load it all or tailor it per passenger load. I'd think that when you get up to the size and weight of an A380, carrying a couple of thousand extra pounds isn't a big cost in order to pleasantly surprise your premium customers with extra shower time if the load is light.

I think it’s 1000 litres, they started with 2000 litres but found out that 1000 litres is enough, IIRC.

EricAY05 wrote:

Zaf wrote:

The used shower water is stored to flush toilets in economy class

I thought this was a joke first, but isn't this actually a very smart way to recycle the water. And why not to flush all toilets on-board. What if the aircraft encounters sudden turbulence? Is there a chair with a seat belt in the shower?

Except modern airline toilets don't use water to flush, they use vacuum and liquid.

sorry. a vacuum toilet certainly uses water. that funny hiss you hear before all the waste disappears is water. it actually looks similar to a normal toilet flushing. 17 years flying..... i know how each system works

airnorth wrote:

I don't recall getting any instructions from the shower attendant that I could use more than the 5 mins of water, keep in mind though that you can make it last by turning the water off and on while you lather up. When you do book a shower, they give you 30 mins, but if the First Class section isn't too full, they will allow you more time.
In my opinion, if you are lucky enough to have a shower on a plane, take the damn shower, its wonderful!

I'll second that as regards the experience. The attendant on one of my flights did say that if extra was required then to let her know, but if you turn off when soaping up you find no need at all, and the time allowance of 30 mins in total was more than adequate. The shower itself was better than those in some arrivals lounges (especially BA, who lack in all respects when it comes to First) and at least it means that you get off the plane ready to go - wonderful.

EricAY05 wrote:

What if the aircraft encounters sudden turbulence? Is there a chair with a seat belt in the shower?

There is a bench seat in the shower and a safety rail. In the event of turbulence, sit down and hold tight.

flapsdown40 wrote:

Just wondering if anyone knows how much "extra" fresh water the Emirates A380's can carry just to supply the on-board showers for the first class folks. Could someone provide the amount of water both in terms of gallons as well as pounds?

I now found the two links I was thinking about yesterday:

Emirates was forced to drop its initial plan to recycle the water used by its Airbus A380 fleet's on-board showers, rather carry up to 500kg (1,100lb) of additional water, after it fell foul of regulators.

More information: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... er-226345/

and just some months later another article in FG:

Water usage on Emirates A380 showers much lower than forecast
The amount of water being consumed by the showers on board Emirates' Airbus A380s is much lower than expected, allowing the airline to examine a significant reduction in the uplift for each flight. The savings may also allow the auxiliary water tanks specified for the aircraft to be removed.

Emirates Airline president Tim Clark revealed when the first A380 was delivered in July that based on a forecast of usage of the two on-board showers by first-class passengers, the aircraft would have to carry around 500kg (1,100lb) - or 25% - more water. The airline's A380 first-class cabin features 14 suites.

To cater for the showers, the airline's 489-seat A380s are fitted with two optional auxiliary potable water tanks installed in the centre wingbox, which increases capacity from the standard 1,700 litres (450USgal) capacity in six tanks to 2,270 litres - ie around 2.3t.

Source: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... an-318814/

You will be able to see it only onboard it's 3 class aircraft and the 2 class don't have it.

airnorth wrote:

When you do book a shower, they give you 30 mins, but if the First Class section isn't too full, they will allow you more time.

Who needs more than 30 minutes for a shower? Who needs as much as 30 minutes?

mariner

mariner wrote:

airnorth wrote:

When you do book a shower, they give you 30 mins, but if the First Class section isn't too full, they will allow you more time.

Who needs more than 30 minutes for a shower? Who needs as much as 30 minutes?

mariner

My daughter, every day .... will have to rehabilitate the new bathroom in a few years...

mariner wrote:

airnorth wrote:

When you do book a shower, they give you 30 mins, but if the First Class section isn't too full, they will allow you more time.

Who needs more than 30 minutes for a shower? Who needs as much as 30 minutes?

mariner

Me.

mariner wrote:

airnorth wrote:

When you do book a shower, they give you 30 mins, but if the First Class section isn't too full, they will allow you more time.

Who needs more than 30 minutes for a shower? Who needs as much as 30 minutes?

mariner

I suspect that is total time in the shower area - not just the shower itself.