Things we have learned about the A380

January 6, 2009

We managed to fly back on the A380 on Sunday, so since I cannot detach the Flip Mino from my sticky paw, I had to record the experience.

So what have we learned?

1. It is very very large indeed, but it doesn’t feel outlandishly big on the inside.
2. It is quiet. About half as quiet as other big planes.
3. It comes with a premium. You have a pay a bit more for the privilege of having your ass on the A380.
4. Singapore Airlines is a classy outfit. As one of the ground staff said ‘Other airlines have the same plane, but it’s really about the little touches’. She was right. Amazing service.
5. It very bizarrely smells like earwax on take-off and landing.
6. The toilets are bigger. Good.
7. It has Star Office so if you have a memory stick, you can work on your docs, presentations, speadsheets etc. However, you have to use a rather fiddly qwerty keyboard on the back of the handset.
8. While the crew spotted me filming and mentioned it to Andrew, they didn’t seem very bothered. In fact, they gave us a little tour!
9. One hardly notices turbulence. I guess that’s because it’s so wide.
10. If you get into the Suites (‘beyond first’ as there is no first class) and get the two in the middle, you can have them converted into a double bed scenario and join the Mile High Club have a little sleep with your squeeze.
11. It is still possible with patience, a heckuva lot of air miles, shopping around, luck and brass necks to get an upgrade. 

Written by eguinan Posted in TMI! Tagged with A380, Airbus, flight, plane, Singapore Airlines