Has anybody been on the Airbus a380??

If yes, how is it. Does it live up to the hype I have heard?

What hype have you heard?

It really depends on how the airline that purchased it configures it. Check www.seatguru.com for individual airline configurations.

I was planning to go Sydney, Australia to Cairo on Singapore Airlines A380 in business class.... 30 inch seat.. largest business class seat in the universe apparently!!! (not that my butt needs such a big seat!!) However, to my disappointment I was unable to get a flight all the way through to Cairo on Singapore as many or all were codeshare with Egypt air, and I was not wanting to depart on a high on the A380, then "downgrade" to Egypt air at the end of the journey when I was tired. So, unfortunately I cannot tell you about it... I can only tell you about my excitement at possibly going on it.... !!

For the most part, the real bells and whistles are in the business and first class cabins. Even then, Air France, for example, didn't really do anything special. Qantas, too, installed nice, but hardly groundbreaking cabins. Emirates has showers in First Class and Singapore has the beds, but otherwise there isn't that much difference between what you are seeing on the A380 and what you see on other planes today - the Singapore biz seat, for example, is the same as that installed on their A340-500s and 777-300ERs.

In coach, the differences are more minor, but some of the configurations I have seen have seats that may be wider than a 747, for instance. Otherwise, there is little to distinguish the coach seats from those on any other new plane.

I flew the 380 on Singapore Biz class between SYD-SIN and it was wonderful. Boarding and deplaning was quick and easy, the seats were the widest in the industry, I believe, and go completely flat with some privacy. The aircraft takes a bit longer to take off but it's a quiet ride. I took a tour of the F/C suites and they look amazing.

In 2007 when we couldn't fly home from Bangkok due to the airport closure, we flew to Singapore and the ONLY flight i could get without having to remortgage my house was SQ in Economy on an A380 (which was galling as i had Biz class seats on Eva from BKK) anyway, my TA advised me to try and get seats upstairs, which i did. Best economy i have ever flown. (we were near the back and had a row of 4 to ourselves, which did help) if i realy had to fly economy long hall again i would definately consider SQ A380

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101104/...ntas_emergency

When does an emergency become a "superjumbo" emergency? And how much margin for error with a new plane should be allowed?

Waiting to see if other airlines ground their A380s, after Qantas and Singapore.

Not sure I'd take even a free trip on one. (Well, maybe in First Class because everybody knows that First Class passengers never die.... right? They have those special golden parachutes and everything....or is that something else?)

EK and AF uses Engine Alliance engines (EA is a joint venture between GE and P&W). The only other airline with 380/RR flying is LH.

Anyways, I would love to book on SQ's 380 between HKG and SIN for my HKG-SIN-PER trip this month, but those flights cost more than the 772 ones. So, I passed. Let see what happens next.