Dreaming of first class on the A380

Sky high style

(Credit: Singapore Airlines)

Though CNET News.com's Daniel Terdiman already covered the first commercial flight of the Airbus A380 in his blog, as a fellow aviation nut, I just had to weigh in on the aircraft's interior. This morning I drooled over the photos taken by Luke Anderson from ZDNet Australia on his tour of the Singapore Airlines A380 in Sydney (where can I get that gig?). The pictures of the economy class section are nice, but let's be honest, who really likes economy class? Frankly, I'm more excited about those luxury suites in first class. And who wouldn't be?

A380 business class

(Credit: Luke Anderson/ZDNet Australia)

The luxury suites are self-contained compartments on the lower deck of the plane. Though the roof is exposed the suites have sliding doors to keep out nosy neighbors. Inside each suite is a leather seat (more like an arm chair, actually) that coverts to a perfectly flat bed. And if you book adjoining compartments, the center divider can be lowered to make adjoining beds (talk about your mile-high club). On-demand entertainment is shown on a 23-inch LCD while additional amenities include a vanity mirror, storage galore and all the food and drink you can imagine.

Sadly, I doubt I'll get to fly in such luxury for some time; a random fare check showed a price of $7,500 for a round trip Singapore to Sydney ticket. So far, my only view of the A380 was from the ground when it made a low pass over San Francisco earlier this month. I suppose I could snag an 34-inch-wide expansive business class seat if I'm lucky; those are a more reasonable $3,700. But as I said earlier this year I'd sit on a cardboard box just for the privilege of riding on the world's newest airliner. And I say that as (like Daniel) a loyal 747 fan.