AIRBUS A380 READY FOR TAKE OFF Singapore airlines will be the first recipient of this new monster sometime mid 2006. Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Lufthansa and the Emirates have committed to the new AIRBUS A380 but there are no USA carriers on the order forms as yet. Recovery in the USA is still underway and no one is ready to get aboard at this time. This plane is just huge. Longer, taller and wider than the next best thing. How big is big?
The AIRBUS A380, European built, contains a doubledecker passenger configuration. Hey! I thought that was just for England's big red bus. No. The AIRBUS A380 takes flying to a new height. No pun intended. It can hold more than 555 plus passengers. GULP! Sure hope there are enough washrooms. The range it can fly is 9,321 miles. The plane stands 261'8" with a height of 79' 7" compared to the Boeing 747-400 at 211"5" long, and 63" 8" high. Holy Moly. Who would have thought. Admittedly this certainly moves air passenger travel forward but we should insist on seating we can be comfortable with. Some airline configurations boast wildly their capacity at the expense of precious leg room. They talk about the least number of seats at 555 up to 900 something! Hello. Hello. I do NOT want to be on the sardine load thank you. Wishing everyone luck with this marvelous addition to the expanding World Tourism Industry.
One more thought is disembarking, especially hitting the immigration and customs lineups. Claiming luggage? Ouch! TRAVELSAPIEN wishes everyone well.
Gad. That should be something for the "What a trip I had" files.
www.airbus.com can fill your boots with information on this massive flying machine.
