A380 - FLYING ON THE BIG DOG

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Freon

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 16, 2007
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Location
Houston, Texas
Ladies & Gentlemen,

     I just got off a flight from Houston to Frankfurt.  Business Class on a Lufthansa A380.  (This was my second flight on a A380, the first was a short hop in the Mid-East on an Emirates plane.)  My observations:

1)  It is a big SOB, 540 Metric Tons at takeoff.  542 MT at push-back, so it burns 2000 kg of fuel just getting to the runway.

2) I counted 25 members in the flight crew.  But the darn thing holds over 500 passengers.

3)  In true German fashion, even the B/C seats were hard as a rock and uncomfortable.  And this plane was less than a year old!

4)  The seat did lay flat, and my 6'1" frame had plenty of room, but it was like sleeping on my driveway.

5)  It is a lumbering beast, we must have used every inch of runway taking off and most of the runway landing.

6)  On the upper deck, you are easily 80-100 feet above the ground when the plane touches down with the nose up.  (about 60 feet up when parked) The sensation is much worse than being on the upper deck of a 747.

Otherwise, the food was good and the staff was great, but the booze and wine list were a little thin. 

 
The new seat designs on ANY plane are just fucking awful.  They took a plush, ergonomic design, inverted it so it is nothing but pressure points, and then replaced all cushioning with a Pringles chip.  I'm always PUMPED to get one of the three across embraer jets if I fly anywhere, because sadly, they are the most comfortable, and you're never stuck sweating your ass off in the middle seat!

 
I'd like to fly on one of those, but truthfully I hope my days of 12-hour overseas flights are finished.  (but I know they aren't :(

 
So sad your lie flat business class seat wasn't more comfy.

Wife and I had lie flat business class seats on a Delta A330 this past weekend from HNL to ATL and they were QUITE comfy!

 
I flew a Lufthansa A380 about a month ago LAX to Frankfurt, albeit in economy [emoji575]. I didn't think it was *that* bad, and being 6'2", I tend to be picky about leg room-- or more specifically -- knee room.

Regarding the big boy A380, Maybe it's just me but turbulence effects didn't have the same shutter of a smaller domestic jet. Seemed more damped. Not sure if was just the sheer size and mass or something specifically with the construction. No complaints on the AV system for LHA -- top notch.

 
The size does help. Gust and density changes will kick the crap out of smaller jets. 

 
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