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Comment by dx7tnt | Hacker News Reader

I second the comments about this wonderful plane delivering a superior experience. I used to fly Manchester (UK) - DXB - Melbourne and loved every second of being in economy on one of these. Flying with Emirates even in the cheap seats is always exciting with great food and drink, so much so I'd arrive at my destination both drunk and hungover, but feeling good because of the nice clean air and quiet ride of the A380. Flying on the 777 or with a carrier like Etihad isn't even a comparable experience. The little things really count on a long-haul flight so that little bit more legroom, comfort, and class that the A380 gives makes flying on one a real treat, even if you are flying with 500 other people. Big shame there weren't more customers for Airbus, and more carriers couldn't make this plane work for them.

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Unfortunately not all carriers give more space to economy passengers in an A380. Qatar Airways for example, pack the seats in just as tight. I actively choose against A380s for my long flights because the aircraft feels like a flying city as opposed to a flying village. An A350 or 787 provide a far superior passenger experience in my opinion.

I remember when the A380 was starting to get some public media attention and there were these great sounding potential-perks of these new super jumbos: an on-board gym! a library! a creche! perhaps even an on-board casino!

In hindsight it was perhaps inevitable that all that extra space would just mean more people packed in just as tight as they are on smaller planes.

While I am sure its very nice up in first class, my A380 experience has been as soul-destroying and uncomfortable as any other plane.

I got to experience first class in a BA A380 flight once since it was cheaper than business class and my company was paying.

This is probably going to sound like the pinnacle of first world problems, but: it's overrated. The main differences between business and first were getting actual bedding and having more attendants per passenger. And three types of champagne, because obviously just one isn't enough. The food was slightly better than in business but nothing outstanding.

There's a huge step up from economy to business since you get the lie-flat seats you can actually sleep comfortably in and good food/alcohol. Beyond that, you're mainly paying for exclusivity and status.

BA A380 first class is pretty lacking. The saying is that it's "the world's best business class". I flew it over and back from ORD to LHR and it was enjoyable but it can't touch the Emirates A380 experience in F.

Other carriers have some pretty amazing first class products on the A380, with a bar and a shower.

I've had a couple of flights with the A380. Basically once you are inside it's just another airplane that just happens to be big. I was on a A330 once as well and they are similarly nice and probably make more sense economically. I imagine the same is true for the 350.

The 747 can be OK but not if it's a decades old one in need of renovation/retirement. Lufthansa had a few really old ones operating between Frankfurt and Boston until quite recently. The difference with the A330 I had on the same route. But I'd take Lufthansa on a 747 over their partner United on pretty much anything. The last few times I made a point of booking such that I was on a Lufthansa operated plane both ways.

I'm guessing that the limiting factor for the airbus was that it needed specialized infrastructure at airports and that most smaller airports just never got around to bothering with that; thus limiting where you can fly with them. This was always a risk and probably became more of a burden when it became clear it wasn't selling well.

> Basically once you are inside it's just another airplane that just happens to be big

That's not true at all, the cabin noise in the A380 is so much quieter than in older planes. It's night and day.

This. I nicknamed this plane the « magic carpet ». It does not feel at all like you are taking off or landing. More like a train moving in 3 dimensions.

Thirded. A wonderful experience that made me proud such a feat of engineering could be partly executed in the UK.

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