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Comment by lsllc | Hacker News Reader

I've been lucky enough to fly on the upper deck of a 747 a handful of times (both economy and business, never first!). I've yet to fly on a A380 but I suspect time is running out there.

That being said, flying long haul (transatlantic) on a 787 is sooo much better!

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I'm glad I got to fly in a 747 upper deck and nose (thanks BA and Qantas). Still I really wish I could have flown in the proper nose right at the front. The idea of having forwardish facing windows just looks so nice.

I will say the A380 is really so much better than 747s (or at least 747-4s, not sure about the newer -8s). You can just tell how much quieter it is, and the size of some of the business class sections is outstanding. Emirates' business class bar is such a fun little novelty that made flying delightful. And their economy just felt better too.

I've only done the 747-8I in economy, but it is notably much quieter than a -400, though not to the same extent as an A380.

agree a380 economy can be as comfortable (if you get the upstairs 2 seat aisle) as business in an old 747 ( flew lhr->dfw on an old ba 747, upstairs in business just before lockdown it was pretty sad up there)

I was lucky enough to fly first earlier this year on a BA 747 to Dubai (Avios reward flight). I was sat in the 2nd row, but the seat is not that close to the window which makes it hard to benefit from the angled windows. It was cool, but not as great as people make it out to be.

Some early Soviet airliners used to have a glassed nose. :)

I flew on Singapore's A380 and A350 in Business a while back. That A380 Business seat was astoundingly large. You have so much room to move around, adjust posture, stretch, etc.

Even their A350 business seat didn't have quite as much sitting-room, much of the space being taken up by part of the built-in furniture.

Given the option, I'd pick the A380 over the A350.

Only time I've ever flown business class internationally was LAX to SYD on a Qantas A380. I really enjoyed it. 'Tis a pity I'm unlikely to get the opportunity again any time soon. (Unless I want to pay for it myself, and it is a lot of money.)

A lot of employers nowadays seem to restrict business class travel to VP level and above (or sometimes the really exceptional IC, as in "distinguished engineer" status). If you fly economy enough, you may get enough status to get upgraded occasionally; if you don't fly often, you've got little hope. My Dad tells me how, back in the 1990s, the company he worked for let anyone (even the most junior IC) fly business whenever the flight was long enough (and all US-Australia flights were). Such a policy was not uncommon back then, much rarer today.

My large employer has that policy still (business class if any leg of trip is >8 hrs).

Everyone at the VP level doesn’t get to book better than the rest, but they fly so much that they’re regularly upgraded.

I once blew a bunch of frequent flyer miles for SFO-HKG on Cathay Pacific, first class, the pair of seats in the 747 nose with several windows each. It was glorious.

I flew a couple of times transatlantic on 747 upper deck (economy) and it was fine.

But the beauty of the 747 was seeing it from the outside. I once spent an entire afternoon watching them take off and land at JFK (in 1990 I think) and I still remember it fondly. It was incredible, and beautiful.

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