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Most comfortable passenger aircraft I've ever flown on. I've only flown them with Emirates - and it may be a combination of their choices for how it is equipped

Most comfortable passenger aircraft I've ever flown on. I've only flown them with Emirates - and it may be a combination of their choices for how it is equipped inside along with their service, but either way if I ever have a chance to be on an A-380 I jump at it.

shawkinaw 9y ago
I was screwed out of my opportunity to fly in an A380 by JetStar, a horrible discount airline in Australia whose random flight delay made us miss our flight out of Sydney. Ended up on a 747.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
caminante 9y ago
How does it compare to the Dreamliner/Boeing 787? I like the Dreamliner. The ride is noticeably smoother and the improvements to cabin air filtration, humidity management, cabin pressurization at lower altitudes, larger windows, and "mood lighting" make for a more enjoyable ride [0]. [0]https://backpackerlee.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/the-airbus-a380-vs-the-boeing-787-dreamliner/ https://backpackerlee.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/the-airbus-a3...
- davidmr 9y ago
  They're both magnificent planes, but given the option I will usually take the 380. At least on the upper deck, it's far quieter. Over a 10-15 hour flight, that goes a long way with me.
- sitepodmatt 9y ago
  All nice bonuses when you've got your knees in your nostrils and elbow locked with the person next to you. Almost all 787s joining fleets have smaller width or legroom than their replacements (whatever they are a380, 777, a330 etc..). There are exceptions Air India is one and I forget the other..
  - sitepodmatt 9y ago
    A little late addition, also consider watching the documentary Broken Dreams 787 by Al Jazeera, it is available on YouTube, some very concerning allegations that go far beyond limited space.
- dingaling 9y ago
  What's often overlooked in articles such as that is that the 787 and the A380 have the same cabin environmental system hardware; developed by Hamilton-Sundstrand for the A380 and modified to work with the 787's mostly-bleedless engines. In fact at 38,000ft the A380's cabin can be held at just under 5000ft-equivalent, and not more than 7,000ft at 41k, which is much better than previous types. The 787 can hold 6,000ft to 43k. Boeing's genius with the 787 was in marketing an airliner directly to the traveller for the first time since the Convair 880 back in the 1950s. Airbus were caught completely off-guard by that and never quite recovered until the later A350.
- ricw 9y ago
  The couple of times I flew the Dreamliner it really wasn't much of a difference to the 777 or A330. Noise level was very similar, same leg room, same seat space. Quite disappointing. From what I hear and have read, the A380 is significantly quieter. To a degree that is eerie.
- InTheArena 9y ago
  The 787 is fantastic. The composite body and bleed-less engines allow for the cabin air to be held at a higher humidity and a lower altitude level then other planes. I regularly fly transpacific, and my preferences (in order) are 787-9, 787-8, A380, B777-200LR, A330, B747-8i (Lufthansa runs these between Frankfurt and Chicago), B777-300ER, I will do almost anything to avoid the old 747s, the old A340s and first generation 777s that United is still dragging around. I recently flew direct from Denver to Narita in Tokyo. I got off the flight felling like it was the equivalent of a Denver to San Francisco flight in terms of impact to my body.
- cstross 9y ago
  The correct comparison for the Boeing 787 is not the A380 super-jumbo but the A350XWB. It's mostly a successor to the earlier A330, but with a more extensive use of composites, updated everything, and a slightly wider fuselage; it's about the same size as and designed for the same operational model as the 787, but because Airbus were wrong-footed by the market turn and over-focussed on the A380 it only flew relatively recently, giving the Boeing product time to build up a big market lead.
- exidy 9y ago
  We love to focus on the minutiae of technical specification. The reality is that both the 787 and the A380 are modern passenger planes with similar cabin environmental systems. How much you enjoy flying each type is probably going to depend more on incidental factors such as what seat you're in and who is next to you, and what IFE the airline chose to install (if any) when it comes to medium and long haul flying. Personally I am not particularly tall or wide (174 cm) so I can make myself comfortable even in the cramped conditions of discount airlines. However if you're taller or wider, you're going to be checking seatguru for which airlines give you the most legroom. In general, the Airbus product for each segment (A320 vs 737, A330/A350 vs 787) is slightly wider than the Boeing product so if you're a big bloke it might be important to you. For me, I've flown the 787 and the A380 but I actually like the old (Qantas) A330 best, for the simple reason that I like the window seat, and the less dense 2-4-2 configuration means I only have to climb over one person when I want to stretch my legs!
sitepodmatt 9y ago
Emirates A380 is pretty meh. Narrow seats and slow as hell boarding. But service is okay for size for flight, not a problem approaching crew and asking for whatever you desire during quiet periods, dont be the douche that presses the call button unless your sandwiched on a non-aisle seat with aisler asleep. 777s are better in my opinion generally not as cramped and much faster boarding and disembarking. The newer the plane the generally smaller the legroom or seat width. 777 are much older, but seem equally quiet - much quieter than a 747 or a340 etc.. 787 seems a nightmare plane, with exception of one or two airlines such air india putting out 33" legroom in eco. 787 set a precedence to cram in as much as you can, look at Oman Air that outfitted their a330 with 34" in economy as the fleet standard several years ago, but on new dreamliners starting toc creep into its route map its 31", and they fly similar lengths, that's the future unfortunately - virgin and BA equally shit at 31" on 787 If you continue to desire A380, then Singapore is far superior, economy upper desk, service and seat walk all over Emirates A380, but if your in the states then any non-us airline will look like premium economy in comparison, even Easyjet ;)
- lathiat 9y ago
  You're mistaken. Emirates A380 have some of the widest economy seats in the air at 17.8". Many planes with 17". Very little >18"
  - sitepodmatt 9y ago
    Singapore is 19" ;) Although Im generally happy with 18", it felt much more cramped but I guess some of that could be attributed to being in largest eco section downstairs, Ill retract the narrow seat comment based on standards, it's a crowded plane and that is certainly felt when in the main section.
ekianjo 9y ago
> Most comfortable passenger aircraft I've ever flown on Maybe, but it's a commercial flop for Airbus. That's not the plane most airlines need in the current market.

shawkinaw 9y ago

I was screwed out of my opportunity to fly in an A380 by JetStar, a horrible discount airline in Australia whose random flight delay made us miss our flight out of Sydney. Ended up on a 747.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

caminante 9y ago

How does it compare to the Dreamliner/Boeing 787? I like the Dreamliner. The ride is noticeably smoother and the improvements to cabin air filtration, humidity management, cabin pressurization at lower altitudes, larger windows, and "mood lighting" make for a more enjoyable ride [0]. [0]https://backpackerlee.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/the-airbus-a380-vs-the-boeing-787-dreamliner/ https://backpackerlee.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/the-airbus-a3...

davidmr 9y ago
They're both magnificent planes, but given the option I will usually take the 380. At least on the upper deck, it's far quieter. Over a 10-15 hour flight, that goes a long way with me.
sitepodmatt 9y ago
All nice bonuses when you've got your knees in your nostrils and elbow locked with the person next to you. Almost all 787s joining fleets have smaller width or legroom than their replacements (whatever they are a380, 777, a330 etc..). There are exceptions Air India is one and I forget the other..
- sitepodmatt 9y ago
  A little late addition, also consider watching the documentary Broken Dreams 787 by Al Jazeera, it is available on YouTube, some very concerning allegations that go far beyond limited space.
dingaling 9y ago
What's often overlooked in articles such as that is that the 787 and the A380 have the same cabin environmental system hardware; developed by Hamilton-Sundstrand for the A380 and modified to work with the 787's mostly-bleedless engines. In fact at 38,000ft the A380's cabin can be held at just under 5000ft-equivalent, and not more than 7,000ft at 41k, which is much better than previous types. The 787 can hold 6,000ft to 43k. Boeing's genius with the 787 was in marketing an airliner directly to the traveller for the first time since the Convair 880 back in the 1950s. Airbus were caught completely off-guard by that and never quite recovered until the later A350.
ricw 9y ago
The couple of times I flew the Dreamliner it really wasn't much of a difference to the 777 or A330. Noise level was very similar, same leg room, same seat space. Quite disappointing. From what I hear and have read, the A380 is significantly quieter. To a degree that is eerie.
InTheArena 9y ago
The 787 is fantastic. The composite body and bleed-less engines allow for the cabin air to be held at a higher humidity and a lower altitude level then other planes. I regularly fly transpacific, and my preferences (in order) are 787-9, 787-8, A380, B777-200LR, A330, B747-8i (Lufthansa runs these between Frankfurt and Chicago), B777-300ER, I will do almost anything to avoid the old 747s, the old A340s and first generation 777s that United is still dragging around. I recently flew direct from Denver to Narita in Tokyo. I got off the flight felling like it was the equivalent of a Denver to San Francisco flight in terms of impact to my body.
cstross 9y ago
The correct comparison for the Boeing 787 is not the A380 super-jumbo but the A350XWB. It's mostly a successor to the earlier A330, but with a more extensive use of composites, updated everything, and a slightly wider fuselage; it's about the same size as and designed for the same operational model as the 787, but because Airbus were wrong-footed by the market turn and over-focussed on the A380 it only flew relatively recently, giving the Boeing product time to build up a big market lead.
exidy 9y ago
We love to focus on the minutiae of technical specification. The reality is that both the 787 and the A380 are modern passenger planes with similar cabin environmental systems. How much you enjoy flying each type is probably going to depend more on incidental factors such as what seat you're in and who is next to you, and what IFE the airline chose to install (if any) when it comes to medium and long haul flying. Personally I am not particularly tall or wide (174 cm) so I can make myself comfortable even in the cramped conditions of discount airlines. However if you're taller or wider, you're going to be checking seatguru for which airlines give you the most legroom. In general, the Airbus product for each segment (A320 vs 737, A330/A350 vs 787) is slightly wider than the Boeing product so if you're a big bloke it might be important to you. For me, I've flown the 787 and the A380 but I actually like the old (Qantas) A330 best, for the simple reason that I like the window seat, and the less dense 2-4-2 configuration means I only have to climb over one person when I want to stretch my legs!

sitepodmatt 9y ago

Emirates A380 is pretty meh. Narrow seats and slow as hell boarding. But service is okay for size for flight, not a problem approaching crew and asking for whatever you desire during quiet periods, dont be the douche that presses the call button unless your sandwiched on a non-aisle seat with aisler asleep. 777s are better in my opinion generally not as cramped and much faster boarding and disembarking. The newer the plane the generally smaller the legroom or seat width. 777 are much older, but seem equally quiet - much quieter than a 747 or a340 etc.. 787 seems a nightmare plane, with exception of one or two airlines such air india putting out 33" legroom in eco. 787 set a precedence to cram in as much as you can, look at Oman Air that outfitted their a330 with 34" in economy as the fleet standard several years ago, but on new dreamliners starting toc creep into its route map its 31", and they fly similar lengths, that's the future unfortunately - virgin and BA equally shit at 31" on 787 If you continue to desire A380, then Singapore is far superior, economy upper desk, service and seat walk all over Emirates A380, but if your in the states then any non-us airline will look like premium economy in comparison, even Easyjet ;)

lathiat 9y ago
You're mistaken. Emirates A380 have some of the widest economy seats in the air at 17.8". Many planes with 17". Very little >18"
- sitepodmatt 9y ago
  Singapore is 19" ;) Although Im generally happy with 18", it felt much more cramped but I guess some of that could be attributed to being in largest eco section downstairs, Ill retract the narrow seat comment based on standards, it's a crowded plane and that is certainly felt when in the main section.

ekianjo 9y ago

> Most comfortable passenger aircraft I've ever flown on Maybe, but it's a commercial flop for Airbus. That's not the plane most airlines need in the current market.