840 passengers per plane!

[PatchGirl]

I don't know about you but the thought of being crammed into a plane with 839 other people does not fill me with glee.

Air Austral, based on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, has ordered two economy-only versions of Airbus's giant A380 airplane which they plan to use for budget flights.

The flights, planned for between Paris and Reunion from 2014, will carry the most people to date in a single plane.

Other carriers that bought the A380 have focused on luring premium business customers.

"We are convinced that airplanes with good priced tickets will help explode traffic figures," Air Austral president Gerard Etheve said.

The A380 can sit 525 people in the standard three-class structure used on most long-distance flights, or up to 853 in all-economy journeys