The A380 was a good example of getting the prediction of demand wrong. It looked good for the gulf carriers, but the US and European carriers moved to more direct flights due to consumer demand, for which the A380 is the wrong choice.
Most airports came before the A380, you'd change one/two gates at most.
Doesn't beat the top deck of a 747 in business for the cool factor, but I've never woken up after an overnight flight feeling so refreshed before.
Book the shower right before landing and step off the plane feeling nice and fresh. It’s always easy to spot the F pax from the unwashed masses.
Hope it's around for many years.
8 hours of noisy bus ride? Weird, I never found the A380 like that and it's not as if I was up front or anything. Engine noice was minimal, fairly comfortable. Maybe just lucky.
Having said that, I recall a distinct difference between airliners. Qantas A380 wasn't as nice in comparison to the Emirates.