Anyone Flown Aboard An A380?

[omegaet]

Considering the possibilities of burning up some award miles later in the year for a trip on Lufthansa.....unfortunately, reading a number of 'complaints' in various reviews about the Business Class seats. Lots of chatter about why Lufthansa would outfit their new plane with older versions of the "not" flat reclining seats.


This is a pretty good virtual tour of the interior of their A380:

YouTube - Virtual Cabin

Has anyone had first hand experience flying the A380?

[kyshel]

The biz seats look like the same recline we had on the A330 and the 747-400. In a word--MISERABLE!!
You always feel like you're sliding. I felt like the footrest was the only thing that kept me in my seat
Now, that FIRST class looks pretty darned inviting...
I'd rather fly 777 flat or 767er recline seats.

[omegaet]

World's largest jumbo jet clips tiny jet, sends it spinning at JFK | Geek.com

What did the flight attendant just say?

"Please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the captain has brought the plane to a complete stop and turn off the seat belt sign."

OK, so the captain had stopped the plane, but I bet the fasten seats belt sign was still illuminated.

[kyshel]

Quite a whack, eh? Hard to tell if RJ was moving into gate from stopped/paused position. They are not usually "holding" at that location, from what I have been told. Loved the ATC tape, too. Thanks for that.

[Mountie]

World's largest jumbo jet clips tiny jet, sends it spinning at JFK | Geek.com

What did the flight attendant just say?

"Please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the captain has brought the plane to a complete stop and turn off the seat belt sign."

OK, so the captain had stopped the plane, but I bet the fasten seats belt sign was still illuminated.

OMG! If I had been a passenger in that commuter, I would freaked out. Whack and you are spun 45 degrees! How does that happen? What's with these guys in the tower?

Sleeping on the job, not paying attention to what is going on with taxi way traffic.

[[email protected]]

budget cuts - these airports only had 1 traffic control guy on the night shift - there should be more

[jsattapr2]

budget cuts - these airports only had 1 traffic control guy on the night shift - there should be more

Don't think we can blame this incident on a sleeping air controller.

Looks like the pilot of the RJ decided to stop short when a vehicle passed in front of his aircraft and the A380 pilot was passed the vision point of see the RJ. As least there was no fire.

[kyshel]

to clarify some things about this and JFK in particular:
the RJ was being held or being allowed to approach the gate area as instructed by ground crew. you can't see them in the video because they're out of focus or view
aircraft can't just wander around those gates by their own decision unless there is an emergency
there are several thoroughfares marked for ground vehicles--it's rare to have a plane hold for one that is not authorized to cross (meaning there is protocol of who goes first etc)

some airports require a vehicle preceding each wing of an A380 to prevent this type of situation
it is the responsibility of the airbus pilot to clear his aircraft safely in a congested area
ATC and ground ops are ultimately responsible for directed aircraft on the ground safely (asleep or awake)
The likely outcome would be the airbus pilot misjudged his spacing and was only a few feet from several other "obstacles"
Kennedy is a not only a eyesore it has the potential to be dangerous in many ways (ever had bird poo land on your table in
the terminal?) yep--they can't evict the little birdies that nest in the ceilings....who cares about the BIG birdies? (end of that rant part)

[omegaet]

f.y.i....Lufthansa has already announced daily service between Frankfurt and Miami, using one of their Airbus A380s, staring June 10, 2011. MIA spent a huge sum modifying Gate 17 (Gate 17...which has two jetways [Lufthansa initially demanded three jetways for loading and unloading efficiencies] as well as the other necessary improvements to accommodate size and weight requirements.

Air France and Virgin Atlantic have both indicated interest in future A380 service into MIA. However, nothing firm to date and there is a substantial lack of funds for additional improvements at the airport.

[kyshel]

I just had to add this:
"The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was unclear which plane struck the other, The New York Times reports."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

If I used the phrase ROTFLMAO, it would be appropriate.