A380 Air Travel - As good as the hype suggests ?

[Herrod Motorsport]

Rodge I fly virgin business class on every trip and would not use anybody else . I am heading back to the USA next weekend with virgin . I have flown business with quants on a 380 and the plane was good but the service was terrible

[Riksta]

I don't like French things, airplanes included.

[PHANTMXR6]

I've just returned from a trip to the UK with the family.
We flew out of Oz from Darwin to Singapore with Singapore Airlines.
From Singapore to the UK and return to Singapore we flew with Qatar Airways in Business class.
I can sum up the whole experience with Qatar in one word.

'Awesome'.

It cost me $16k for all of us for the flights with Qatar, but well worth it.

Check out the website and you'll see what we got.
Their primary fleet is 777's and that's what we flew on.

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by Herrod Motorsport

Rodge I fly virgin business class on every trip and would not use anybody else . I am heading back to the USA next weekend with virgin . I have flown business with quants on a 380 and the plane was good but the service was terrible

Business must be good Rob I know what you and others are saying about Qantas, flown them heaps of times across the Tasman and would go out of my way to fly another airline...almost any other airline.

'Awesome'.
It cost me $16k for all of us for the flights with Qatar, but well worth it

Sounds like a great trip mate. If we can get our boat sold for a fair price by spring and that's a big "IF", we might just lash out and do the business class thing. If it doesn't sell then I guess that's another summer of boating holidays even though the novelty of that has worn off and I guess we won't be flying anywhere. I just got a so called special from Air N.Z. in my inbox this evening, premium economy return to Vancouver, (which is really only half way to London) and they wanted just on $4,000 return per person (what a deal NOT)...economy was about $1,700... I'm thinking they're just milking this premium economy thing for more than its worth.

Air N.Z. run auctions on their website on Tuesday's to fill space and sometimes there's special opportunities there...once there was a return business class flight for two to London and from vague memory I think it was either $6,000 or $8,000..if I could hoover up a deal like that I'd be as happy as a pig in mud .

[Rodge]

Oh shyte ...I just googled it and have missed the cut-off by four days An absolute classic case of "you snooze, you lose"
http://www.airnewzealand.com/busines...-special-offer

Bit earlier than we would like to go and i'd rather get the boat sold first but at that price, its a no brainer...well that's solved the flight class and carrier choice once and for all, just wait for another deal like that and we'll be in

[CJR09]

i flew qantas's 380 last yr melbourne london via singapore - I thought it was great, much better than expected, but maybe that was due to travelling with bubs - priority boarding, priority seating etc - a heap of leg room, with chair right back and legs stretched right out it was the perfect length for my feet to rest on the bulkhead under the baby bassinet

biggest pro was reduced noise - very noticable difference over all others

takeoff hardly even noticed - only thing that gave it away was it felt like nose was up for ages before plane actually left the ground

the aircraft works extremely well in turbulence

well appointed aircraft - entertainment etc

if I was in a normal seat would it have been as comfortable? definately not

[EASYBOSS]

Originally Posted by Rodge

http://www.airnewzealand.com/busines...-special-offer

Thats a great deal and a no brainer, you just have to go for the next deal and you cant go wrong, ANZ, the best business class I have ever flown.

That special price was fantastic, when I we doing regular business class, and just to LA, it was costing ( not me, ha ha some big multinational ) 10K return.

Dame, Gold Elite is good, ah well nothing lasts forever.

Only problem I have ever had is drinking them out of port, they only seem to carry one bottle, so in all all, if that was my worst problem, I had none.

[ltd]

Originally Posted by flappist

1) Dugongs spend twice and much time in maintenance than jumbos so therefore half the time in the air and so half the noise.

2) When they state there is more pressure in a dugong they are talking about emotional stress not pascals.

3) Dugongs come in two versions, playstation and xbox. They also have a built in app called "Where is my dugong" to assist the jumbo pilots to drop off the LAMEs and pick up the pax.

If it is not Boeing we're not going.........

p.s. what would you know about dugongs LTD you traitor.

In a word about your post; Brilliant. I laughed quite a bit even though whilst suffering from the cold it made me have coughing fit.
Some of the guys that went on the Dugong say its the best thing ever, however there's still a big number who don't like them. Faced with the decision of the flying Renault (and all its foibles) thanks to QF putting over 15 744's in the desert I took a little time in a freighter pulling QF gear but that was only temporary and its only a matter of time before madam trash has them heading to the middle east to pull out Australian Army gear.

Have been on the 380 a few times and have to say whilst it's nice inside, systems wise it's a re-badged Daewoo. When you see some of the problems they've had whilst in maintenance they don't really inspire much confidence.
That said, the QF32 incident was literally down to crew, who landed an overweight and becoming rapidly imbalanced aircraft in spite of the dozens of systems failures. For those uninitiated, read the ATSB report on it.

I must say I didn't notice the cabin pressure any different from a 744, the 773 or the 738. Maybe the difference people feel is because the interior is more open.
That said there are max pressure differentials that are allowed by the manufacturer, and that's more to do with managing fatigue on the aircraft.
I'll ask one of the QF guys if they know what they run it at.
Regardless, I took a pay cut to keep the faith, and frankly the premise of max deflection of a control surface causing it to break off scares the hell out of me. In summary I'll say it loud and clear - Buy American.

[Rodge]

BUT, Its not like the "Dream"liner hasn't had its share of problems too.

[chevypower]

What's this? You ride as a passenger on a plane and you become an aviation expert?

[GT0132]

We flew on a Qantas A380 from Sydney to HK last month. Flew economy class as it wasn't a business trip so I was paying . We pre ordered the seats near the mid exit with the extra leg room and, although it was colder because of the seat positioning, it felt no different to any other plane. Oh that's right, the TV screeen wouldn't stay up on its mount and I had to hold it for the entire 9 hours

On the return journey Qantas used the 747-400

On these long haul trips it's not so much the plane , it's the service. Most international airlines I've flown on leave Qantas for dead on service and food quality and if it wasn't the deal we got through the Mrs work we would have flown Cathay Pacific. I have to take my hat off to both Dragonair and Thai International in the service department though.

Can't believe I'm 50 yo a Kiwi and never once flown on Air New Zealand, but I hear they keep winning awards for in flight service, so may have to give them a shot one day.

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by chevypower

What's this? You ride as a passenger on a plane and you become an aviation expert?

Its all over the media mate. Watch CNBC and you'll know from a business case perspective, to date, the Dreamliner has been anything BUT a dream for Boeing.
Added to that from a safety perspective with its lithium-ion battery problem and early delamination of the wing surface its had its share of problems. Certainly not an expert otherwise I wouldn't have started this thread, just expressing an opinion on the claimed superiority of Boeing in terms of their latest technology aircraft.

Originally Posted by GT0132

We flew on a Qantas A380 from Sydney to HK last month. Flew economy class as it wasn't a business trip so I was paying . We pre ordered the seats near the mid exit with the extra leg room and, although it was colder because of the seat positioning, it felt no different to any other plane. Oh that's right, the TV screeen wouldn't stay up on its mount and I had to hold it for the entire 9 hours

On the return journey Qantas used the 747-400

On these long haul trips it's not so much the plane , it's the service. Most international airlines I've flown on leave Qantas for dead on service and food quality and if it wasn't the deal we got through the Mrs work we would have flown Cathay Pacific. I have to take my hat off to both Dragonair and Thai International in the service department though.

Can't believe I'm 50 yo a Kiwi and never once flown on Air New Zealand, but I hear they keep winning awards for in flight service, so may have to give them a shot one day.

Yeah mate as you and several others have suggested we've found the Qantas service pretty average too. If there's another ripper business class deal like I posted a link for the other day I'll post it up here, $3,700 Kiwi business class to London sounds incredible doesn't it !! Might even be worth hoping over the ditch to link up for that one ! (I don't work for Air N.Z. in case anyone is beginning to wonder).

[chevypower]

^I wasn't directing my comment at anyone specific - just the comments about how one plane flies in comparison to another. Noise insulation from the engines, sure, but other than that I don't buy into anything else being perceptible by the passenger. Too many variables.

[gcg2503]

All this talk about A380s made me want to view the QANTAS and Singapore Ailrlines dugongs take off at 3:45pm and 4:00pm from Melbourne Airport

I used to refer to them as fat sparrows...but dugongs is more appropriate.

PS: They look small in comparison to the Landau ;)

[cs123]

I'm not sure what the whinging is about Qantas service. I have mostly positive experiences with the cabin crew.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Funny... I have only flown QANTAS once and it was a memorable event for just 1 thing, they gave out the ear phones soon after we were seated and had the entertainment system available from the time they allowed boarding...

Can't stand it when they wait till 45minutes after take off to switch on the entertainment system.....

[gcg2503]

Singapore Airlines all the way for me customer service wise.

QANTAS and BA are not in the same league.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by GT0132

Can't believe I'm 50 yo a Kiwi and never once flown on Air New Zealand, but I hear they keep winning awards for in flight service, so may have to give them a shot one day.

They need to win an award for the safety video they played when the Rugby was on in 2011... they used the players to do what the flight attendants do and threw in a bunch of clever Rugby connotations...

Will try and find the video and put it on Youtube

[zilo]

The Qantas 380 is a bit like a Mitsubishi 380.

Nothing to get excited about, just a quiet, spacious, reliable and economical way to get from A to B.

probably front wheel drive as well...

(sorry couldn't resist the pun )

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by gcg2503

All this talk about A380s made me want to view the QANTAS and Singapore Ailrlines dugongs take off at 3:45pm and 4:00pm from Melbourne Airport

Did you notice how quiet they were on take-off.

What started this was I dropped my daughter off for a flight and while I was waiting to watch her flight take off one of Emirates 380's took off and I couldn't believe how quiet the take-off roll was. In some ways it was quiet a disappointing experience.

Lets just say it was at the complete opposite end of the scale than the F111 you guys sent over for an air show a few years ago that flew directly over us in full afterburner at only 100 ft, that nearly blew my eardrums to bits, my wife and I stared at each other in complete disbelief, it was the loudest thing we'd ever heard in our lives...absolutly off the chart in terms of anything ever experienced before. Now that was exciting

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by cs123

I'm not sure what the whinging is about Qantas service. I have mostly positive experiences with the cabin crew.

Come on - we are Australians - of course we want to cut down our Qantas, great national offering and prefer the overseas options because we are just way too cool for our own country.

Falcon anyone?

I fly about 40 times a year with Qantas and rarely fault the way they treat me and everyone else around me (just in case the Platinum FF is the reason)

[FTE217]

I'll echo you tweeked - I have been travelling for years with other airlines and also a Qantas FFlyer.
The only whinge I will go on about Qantas is their higher pricing for years compared to competitors though lately they have addressed this.
You guys whinge about service there's worse - United, as much as I can go on about my american business friends great service their airline old hosties are terribly going through the motions.

I think many people expect so much whilst on a plane also thinking that hosties are at their beck and call, maybe I'm low maintenace for I just wish to be left alone, not talk to my neighbour, watch my movie or 2 and fall asleep and pray I'm on terra firma before I know it - for me thats a good plane every single trip no matter what company it is !

[EASYBOSS]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

They need to win an award for the safety video they played when the Rugby was on in 2011... they used the players to do what the flight attendants do and threw in a bunch of clever Rugby connotations...

Will try and find the video and put it on Youtube

The naked painted bodies ones were far better

[gcg2503]

Originally Posted by Rodge

Did you notice how quiet they were on take-off.

This is the first time I have viewed an A380 taking off from the outside.

Agree 100%. very quiet, disappointingly so.

I have been lucky enough to do about 7 long haul flights on a Singapore A380. Every time has been on the upper deck next to the emergency exit. Absolute bliss.

Cabin noise to me appears to be 40% less than a 747, 777 or A340.

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by EASYBOSS

The naked painted bodies ones were far better

Yeap I definitly want those hosties serving me my drinks

[Deco28]

I flew the A380 to hong Kong and the 747 back to Sydney. The A380 just seemed the more pleasant experience. Would definitely recommend trying to jump on their plane.

Both were on QANTAS.

[NX74205]

I thought I was the weird one here, being an aviation enthusiast who would choose a flight based on aircraft type rather than price.

I've never flown on the A380 nor do I intend to anytime soon. I've read a lot of trip reports about the A380 stating that they're somewhat eerily quiet, to the point where one would be able to hear a conversation on the other side of the plane a few rows up. But the main reason why I don't want to fly on the A380 is because that thing is ugly.

Is it as good as the hype suggests? I have no idea, but I have a feeling that it's overrated. When the novelty wears off, it'll just be any other plane.

Signed,
Boeing 777 fanboi.

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by NX74205

But the main reason why I don't want to fly on the A380 is because that thing is ugly.

I spose I would have the same decision process, if i was sitting out on the edge of the wing holding on to the wingtip fence, looking back at the plane in a 900kph jetstream, but until then......

[Crazy Dazz]

Been doing FIFO all over the place for yonks. Cattle class is cattle class nomatter what plane you fly, and most planes over X years old have been refitted depending on the airline so will still have decent entertainment.
Thing is, the bigger the plane, the more cattle to be prodded through the same little aerobridge, and the more luggage to be offloaded. Business class is definitely worth it if you can afford it.

[noosacuda]

A mate of mine that worked for Qantas for many years says he'd never,ever fly on an Airbus, Boeing was the only way to fly.