The Airbus 380

“I’m flying on the A-380, the super-Jumbo,” I explained to David.

“Once you’re inside, it’s just another airplane, Dan.” David replied – perceptibly.

In Hong Kong, I took a taxi to the downtown air terminal and checked in for my flight.

“It’s a full flight,” the clerk informed me.

“All 471 seats?” I asked.

“Yes. But I can give you an aisle seat on the upper deck...”

“That sounds good.”

“… but its quite far in the back.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I replied. “I don’t like middle seats.”

“Here you are – seat 82G.”

“Very far back,” I thought.

The train to the airport was quick and smooth. I was disappointed that the airport factory outlet for Shanghi Tan items had closed. The airport “Duty Free” area was, predictably, vast – which was a bit funny since Hong Kong is a duty free city. (The shops guaranteed the same prices as the city proper.)

I looked at the airplane when I got to the gate. The photo (above) shows a sleek aircraft. On the ground, it looks, well, awkward. My seat was at the very back of the top deck; I had to walk by the sumptuous business class seats (the first class suites were blocked from view).

“Not a whole lot of overhead compartment room,” I thought.

Taxi to take-off position was bumpy.

“A lot of bounce in the back of the airplane,” I thought.

The flight was equally bouncy.

“Perhaps it’s just bad weather,” I thought.

The inflight magazine indicated that the Airbus 380 will begin flying to Zürich in a few weeks. (It also said that the currency in Zürich is the €uro which would be a surprise to the Swiss.)

The Singapore Airlines service was, as usual, impeccable and the landing was very smooth. The baggage claim belt was the l o n g e s t I’ve ever seen in my life.

“The next time I fly this airplane,” I thought. “I’ll use frequent flyer miles, fly with Nazy and book a suite.”