Comments on: Photos: Double-decker Airbus takes off

The Airbus 380, designed to carry up to 800 passengers, completes a successful four-hour test flight.

[shoffmueller]

Show me a picture of coach class

Let's see the section that holds 500 seats of hungry passengers fighting their neighbor for the arm-rest and getting poked in the back by the knees of the guy in back of you. And just think how many screaming babies you could fit on this thing.

[Andrew J Glina]

Look at Photo 2 (Just the subject)

Look at Photo 2

[enyikos]

It's So True

All I have to say to your post is LOL, and that its so true.

[j3st3r]

Airline Classes: Economy = Coach

As is already pointed out there is a picture of Coach class (its actually Pic 3). European and Australian airlines refer to this as Economy.

With even minor inspection its easy to spot the differences. Economy has 3-4-3 seating across the plane on what would appear to be standard fabric covered seats. Find yourself upstairs in Business and you'll be snugg in leather upolstered 2-2-2 seating (Pic 4).

Separation of the unwashed masses and the filthy rich? Maybe. Getting what you pay for? More like it. Regardless on your view, if you get a seat on one you're doing better than me, I'll try and remember to wave as Im wlking and you pass over head LoL.

[Tex Murphy PI]

Seating

As immensely obese Americans are, NO plane is going to give you enough space - even in First Class!

Bigger isn't always better

Airbus' golden boondogle. The trick about big planes is filling them up with PAYING passengers.
I believe that Boeing's approach, smaller aircraft flying direct to destinations is the correct way to go. Besides, this thisg is too big. Airports around the world simplly do not have the infrastructure to support it.

[Tex Murphy PI]

Yes, they do!

If an airport can accomodate a Boeing 747, then it can certainly accomodate a 380!

The Airbus consortium isn't dumb enough to design and construct such a huge beast if it wasn't already able to use the existing airports around the world.

If these jets aren't as in demand as Boeing likes to have us all beleive, then why are customers flocking to put in waves of orders for it?

It sound like sour grapes from Boeing - who would rather compete with flawed rhetoric, than with products. It's so sad that our country only excels at producing lawyers, and not actual products people could use.

So what...

Dream on. If they do not have the infrastructure, they will build
it. 80% of all 747 flights concentrate on 38 airports. I´ll bet any
amount that at least these 38 airports are A380 ready when it is
delivered to the first customers. So what.

And to all the "subsidized company" guys. Boeing doesn´t get
any (indirect) help from US government? Read the news, guys,
read the news.

Comments

I saw a presentation on the A380 back when they thought Boeing was going to produce an aircraft in this class and they thought they would do very nicely with 40% of the world market. Then Boeing decided not to spend the money and they got very happy. (As would any firm.)

On the subject of govt assistance, I believe Boeing has had more money from the US govt than Airbus has had from the EC, just the EC did it in a more up-front way (here's the money, not here's a DoD grant to do X). Though like most things different people will count different things as "assistance", but I do think Boeing hasn't lost out significantly over time. Personally I'm happy with having both companies as healthy aircraft producers and don't wish to knock either of them.

On airports - the A380 was designed to be able to use existing runways and taxi-ways (that literally defined its size), but does need new buildings to cope with its extra floor.

I'm looking forward to flying on one, gotta be better than some of the 30 year old jets around at present.

[Bob_Barker]

It's taking all of my...

It's taking all of my willpower to restrain from making reference to skyscrapers.

[Earl Benser]

You sort of wonder....

How many routes actually could use a 380? Sure, maybe fewer
fligts than 747's would need, but 747, et. al. hlready haveonly
limited routes that are profitable.

What about the demand on terminals? You need security
scr=eeners, ticket takers, loading doors and all the other
features, to be doubled at least. That won't be easy, but in time
it could be done.

What about public reaction when a 380 goes down killing all on
board? It will happen, and psychologically it will be a bombshell
when it does. Still, the Tenerife 747 crash killed as many, and
maybe no one remembers.

Small point - the requirement for evacuation of all passengers in
less than 90 seconds. I don't think that you could do that with
explosive decompression at 40,000 feet.

Anyhow, it will be interesting watching Boeing and Airbus push
their separate visions. Maybe there's room for both. But if it's
oneor the other, I guess I'd have to go with Boeing's approach -
smaller planes, more direct flights.

We'll see.

[kieranmullen]

Booze at the ready

I like how pic number 5 has slots for bottles of wine. Almost like a fire extinguisher case. In case of emeerygency break glass! :-)

[shreeg]

Economy seats look uncomfortable

Compared to the 777's seats that have a couple of extra inches on the sides.
The seats shown on 380 economy seem to be of the 747 ilk. Most uncomfortable and cramped.

[David Arbogast]

HEY LOOK!

HEY LOOK!
Its the plane that Microsoft's money built!

[Andrew J Glina]

Negative Nancys

I am surprised at all of the bad comments on the A380. The 747 is an old design, and it is good that it is at last getting true competition. I think that the reason why Boeing is not trying to compete is because they do not want to damage 747 sales so they are instead replacing other old designs. (Which have been loosing sales due to other Airbus products.) Rememeber that the 747 was insulted for all the same reasons, and they were even more justified then as the airports needed huge upgrades.

[Chandler_Johnson]

We should just use the wright flyer or and the spirit of St. Louis for all airfare

[steigen1]

Thank you