I just booked a flight from LAX to Tokyo on the Singapore Airbus A380. I'm in economy and the ticket was $917.90, but I wanted FF tickets so I paid around $960 in Booking Class H. I picked seats 77G and 78G (returning). This is near the back of the upper deck.

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Sin...irbus_A380.php

There is an extra charge for exit rows and bulkhead seats. I'm hoping that there won't be any babies up there.

I would never choose the upper deck. I realize my chances of ever having to do another evacuation are very slim but I would still want to be downstairs.

I flew economy in the upper deck from London to Singapore last year. People from "below" economy came up to look around and said upper was definitely better than lower--more spacious. I never looked for myself. The flight was beyond wonderful--comfortable, lots of food, lots of movies, lots of service from FA's.

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Sin...s_A330-300.php

Exit aisle seat for me for more leg room worth the extra $

Well, I usually take an aisle seat for longhauls, but if it's my first trip on the A380, I'd probably get a window on the upper level to see what it looks like from there. Also, since it's 2-4-2, it's not THAT difficult to get out from the window either.

Otherwise, sitting in an aisle on the upper level is little different from other Airbuses.

Thanks Jane for your comments. I was wondering if the stairs would be "off limits," but since it isn't a U.S. plane, they may not make an announcement like you can't gather around the stairs. The seating in the lower deck is 3x4x3 while upstairs it is 2x4x2. I thought I would be able to exit the plane faster because there are less people in front of me upstairs than downstairs. I need to stretch my right arm so I like an isle seat. Walking a flight of stairs during flight would be good exercise. I remember when I had jury duty, the stairs were off limits and we had to take the elevator. I kept falling asleep.

Jane B: Do you remember if they had one or two baggage claim areas for the plane. I heard they treat the upper deck as a seperate plane. Also, did they board the upper deck differently from the lower deck?

I'd go with the upper deck, if only because 2-4-2 is better than 3-4-3. If you have sat in coach on a 747, then you have sat in coach on the lower deck of an A380.

Honestly, I didn't find the A380 terribly exciting and pretty much indistinguishable from my experience on other widebody jets.

Wally, we did not claim luggage because we were in-transit to Borneo. The loading went incredibly fast. There were 2 boarding entrances and I think we loaded "upper level" and the others loaded "lower level".
Upon landing in Singapore, there was an announcement saying that passengers could "tour" the plane. However, we had a tight connection so were not able to take advantage of the offer.

Thanks JaneB and Travelgourmet. I'm just happy to be on a plane where I'll have a bigger individual video on demand television, a power plug at my seat, free alcohol, a pretty flight attendant, a clean bathroom, decent food, miles with Continental, and a fasten seatbelt sign that they will probably will be turned off most of the time.

". . . the upstairs section has a quieter and more cosy feel than the packed lower deck, as well as that great double-decker view.

The upper-deck economy cabin also permits easier aisle access due to the use of a 2-4-2 seating configuration, whereas downstairs it’s a 3-4-3 rack."

This is from the Australia Business Traveller: There are several interesting articles at this site like United upgrading their economy class on flights to Sydney.

http://www.ausbt.com.au/singapore-ai...ted-articleend

I can't believe that link works.