This trip report can be found with pictures at http://www.gnopps.com/skyteam/pages/...rip-report.php.

Introduction

I was lucky enough to win a a seat in economy class on the first route proving flight with the new Airbus 380. Though the A380 had flown with passengers before; this was the first time it flew on a route flight from one aiport to another, this was also the first time the A380 landed in USA. The trip I won was FRA-JFK-FRA with a two night stay in NYC (accomodation not included). Seeing that NYC is expensinve and since I had a DBC voucher from Delta I decided to use that to help for my gold requalification for next year. Thus I bought JFK-BNA-ATL-SNA-SLC-IAD-JFK to help rack up the miles and segments needed for next year. Lastly, I also bought DUB-FRA-DUB with LH to get to FRA. My itinerary was as follows (all in Y):

17/3
LH DUB-FRA

19/3
LH FRA-JFK
DL JFK-BNA

20/3
DL BNA-ATL-SNA-SLC-IAD

21/3
DL IAD-JFK
LH JFK-FRA-DUB


DUB-FRA
LH 4981
12:20-15:15
A320

Leaving on St. Patrick's day Dublin city centre would be partly blocked off but thankfully my nice landlord offered to drive me to the airport. Dublin airport was its usual crowded self with a lot of people queueing to the ticket counters making it hard to reach your check-in. They seriously need the planned expansion, you can really see the growing pains DUB is suffering from. My lounge was much less full though and I had a bit to eat and drink. Using my DC I went to the Anna Livia lounge instead of the BD Star lounge, since the former has a better selection of snacks. Three years ago they had even better snacks there with fresh croissants and muffins, now you'll find cheese and crackers there instead. Another thing making this lounge better is that it offers 3 computers with internet access.

Boarding began on time but pushback was 10 minutes late. I had the exit row which of course was comfortable, though as is often common, the armrest was missing at the window seat. After the security demonstration had been done a man approached the FA with a broken perfume bottle, he had bought it at the airport and wanted to exchange it. With the the doors closed there wasn't much the flight attendants could do, don't know what the man expected. Later when we are taxiing to the runway the same man gets up, ignoring repeated loudspeaker requests to sit down, and goes to the front galley with the perfume bottle. After some seconds he returns to his seat without it, later the captain comes on telling us to sit down or we'll go back to the gate.. The rest of the flight went on smoothly with the usual LH service; a very small sandwhich, candy bar and drinks. Though Dublin has Guinness a German beer every now and then feels very good.


FRA & Check-in for the A380

I had two nights in FRA before my flights. Using a great discount I stayed at the Mercure Dreieich the first night. It is a great alternative as airport hotel with the local bus going regularly from FRA airport for �2.20. One thing I have learnt with hotels is never to trust their own pictures. Nothing was more correct with this hotel. The nice building pictured on their home page is some house the hotel owns for parties, whereas the hotel itself is in a grey, ugly building. Except for strange stains on the floor & chairs, my room was alright. Wifi access was ridiciously expensive though (something like �25 for a day), however the hotel is nice enough to provide an internet computer for email in the lobby. Their serving from the restaurant in the evening was plentiful. I had requested late check-out for 14:00 which was agreed on. But of course a cleaning lady comes bursting in (short knock then entry straight after) at 11:45, I tell her in both English and German that I will check-out at 14. This doesn't help, she repeats the same procedure half an hour later� After check-out I was glad to find a bavarian restaurant up the street and had a late lunch there.

Check-in for the A380 flight was being done only on the night before, I guess the wanted to have some margins in case something went wrong. After the bus to the airport I waited for check-in to open. For these flights no seats were (officially) pre-assigned, thus about 90 minutes before the check-in opened I went in line to secure a good seat. I had about 10 people before me and when check-in opened the queue behind me was too long to count. They had three check-in desks opened but no area to queue. The staff directed us to queue in a long bend around the check-in machines. When check-in finally opened I asked for an emergency exit window on the upper deck, but unfortunately all upper emergency exits were gone. Still, I was happy with my window seat at an emergency exit right above the wing. Showing my Eurobonus Gold card I was told that that would do no good on this flight, and I later saw that the booking class was X (i.e. award trip).

Some of you might be familiar with Hospitalityclub, a network where you stay at peoples� places for free. For the second night I had written another member of this network if I could stay with him. He answered that I he had a couch available and that I was more than welcome. After check-in he picked me up at the airport and we took the 3 minute train ride to Kelsterbach, just next to FRA airport. He had a lovely apartment though it was very hot. Turned out his dishwasher had broken the day before, meaning he had to keep the temperature up to dry out the apartment. As he also had an interest in aviation we had no hard time finding suitable topics. We spent the evening drinking beer and watching documentaries about air disasters, I believe not too many passengers do this the day before a test flight? :-) Only mishap was the morning after I had left the house; there was a locked gate to get out to the road. Not knowing which doorbell to press and with the mobile turned off I climbed the gate instead with the aid of two supportive trash cans..


FRA-JFK
LH 8940 (operated as AIB 101)
09:00-12:30
A380

* 1A PLANNED FLIGHT INFO * LH8940 7 MO 19MAR ASM
APT ARR DY DEP DY CLASS/MEAL EQP GRND EFT TTL
FRA 0900 MO FAOCDZIRYBM/R 380 8:30
HXQNVWS/R
JFK 1230 MO 8:30

COMMENTS-
1.CHARTER FLIGHT
2.FRA JFK - COCKPIT CREW LUFTHANSA
3.FRA JFK - CABIN CREW LUFTHANSA
4.FRA JFK - H/ RESTRICTED BY MARKET
5.FRA JFK - OPERATED BY AIRBUS INDUSTRIES
6.FRA JFK - 9/ NON-SMOKING
7.ENTIRE FLT- PLS CHECK SPECIAL RULES FOR CABIN BAGGAGE
8.ENTIRE FLT- PLS SEE TI DFT/IAD/VI

CONFIGURATION-
380 F 12 C 64 M 443

I went through security in terminal 2 and proceeded to gate E5 and the awaiting Airbus 380. Just before the gate there was an extra security station where among others my laptop was thoroughly vacuumed in search of traces of explosives I guess. Pretty smart way to do it I think. At the gate itself there was a reception with sparkling drinks and juice. Waiters went around with canap�s and sandwiches. A combination of never being able to eat breakfast and excitement prompted me to limit myself to just some fruit. There were a lot of journalists walking around, as well curious looks through the glass wall. About half an hour before boarding someone in a pilot uniform held a speech. He didn�t introduce himself (or perhaps I missed that part) and talked mostly about the technical facts of the plane. At 08.00 boarding started. We had already received info that service would be the same in all three classes, but still they invited C and F to board first, I guess because of many VIPs seated in those compartments. Y boarding was done by rows, starting with the back of the upper deck. After the boarding pass was taken we proceeded down through an escalator and were divided there. First class and economy in upper deck were directed to the left whereas business class and lowed deck economy went down a jetbridge to the right.

Both A380 flights had Airbus interior but Lufthansa cabin crew, so I can�t give any updates on the new LH seats ;-) . My first impression of the cabin was that it was very bright with white walls and yellow seats. Continuing down to my seat I was happy to find that it was indeed an exit row. The middle seat was blocked with a paper saying �Crew only�. As can be expected my seat had much more space than needed and I believe it was also a bit wider than the middle seat. Like many other configurations my window seat had the only seatpocket, which was crammed with three magazines, safety cards etc. Sitting down I saw all the commotion around me. There was Airbus & LH staff running around doing tests and completing check lists, as well as us passengers taking maaaaany photos and filming with their video cameras. Taking a look outside the window and looking at the wing I had my first impression of how huge this aircraft is. It was easy to see this was the largest wing I had seen, and seeing the weight of it pull the tips down was impressive. Unfortunately all passengers were requested to stay in their own section during the whole flight, this made it hard for me to grasp how big the plane was from the inside. It was hard to imagine you had another level of passengers above you. Had I been able to walk from the nose to the rear staircase and then to the front again on the other level I would probably have been able to get a better understanding of the size. The plane had a camera mounted at the tail helping you see what happened though. What also set this aircraft apart from other was that you could clearly see the curvature completing a quarter of a circle. On the aisle seat sat someone from the polizei in charge of looking at safety aspects of the plane. The middle seat was only needed during take-off and landing, the rest of the time it would remain empty, wunderbar!

Soon the time came for pushback and everyone who would not travel to NYC were asked to disembark. The safety demonstration was done on the video screens and partly by the cabin crew. The safety video was done in a very futuristic way with a boy and girl showing 3D popups accompanied by futuristic sounds and a speaker voice. This was kind of silly I think, the kind of the safety demonstration you'd expect in a sci-fi movie. The plane was pushed back and it was a good feeling to sit in this moving, albeit ugly, flying miracle. I would have liked to have had an external camera to better get the feel for which aircraft I was really going to fly in a couple of minutes. Accompanied by airport cars and watched by bystanders we taxied to the runway. I had expected a last minute check on the runway and than power up from standing still, but the engines powered up as soon as we reached the runway. During the whole trip I scribbled down notes and my note regarding the takeoff was just �Fun!�. Feeling all the power and knowing that all this would be able to fly was fun!

As I wrote before, all classes received the same service and menus were handed out once we reached a safe altitude. After this came a drink service with salted cashews, it was nice sitting with a gin (Bombay) & tonic playing with the PTV on this unique journey. The captain came on the speakers and told us we would be flying slower than normal not to reach JFK too early, he also gave us all the relevant technical details. Over Ireland there was some turbulence and the seatbelt sign was lit, followed by both a pre-recorded message and one from the FA. Seeing the wings flex up & down in the turbulence was incredible, one of the best sights on the trip. I tried capturing this on a video but it doesn�t show as well. There was one bad impression on this trip as well; which was some of the passengers. As all the passengers consisted of adult LH & Airbus technical staff + employees, journalists and VIPs I had expected a bit more professional attitude from them. Already during boarding some people skipped lines, ignored the called row numbers, etc. Now during turbulence some didn�t bother sitting down despite the captain�s request and stayed chatting. As they were chatting right in front of me I could both see and hear that they were not exactly conducting any tests.. Anyway, turbulence was soon passed and lunch service began.

The food presented was plentiful and very well tasting, equal to or better than what I�ve been served in intercontinental business on other non-named airlines. Only thing missing was a refill of the bread. After lunch the immigration cards for USA were supposed to be handed out. While the other aisle received theirs, �my� FA stood chatting with the cards in his hand and then missed to give one to my row prompting me to go after him to get one.. Soon there was an announcement on the speakers that as this was a test flight mistakes could happen, and the one on this flight was that not enough cards had been loaded. Thus I was left without the green card, just a minor issue.

Later in the flight the captain came on again with the following message �On the left side is a small Boeing 747 from British Aiways that we are about to overtake�, followed by laughter and applause. As the flight progressed a survey was handed out and journalists interviewed passengers. The survey asked about temperature, noise level, IFE, overhead bins, etc. Every seat had an in-seat screen by Panasonic. On it was some info about the A380 and videos from its first flight. If my memory serves me right, the first flight was done with wheels down, yet this first flight video showed scenes with wheels up. The entertainment system was provided by Panasonic and had movies, television, music, games, flight info and airport info. There were roughly 30 movies and the same number of television episodes to choose from. As there weren�t that many appealing unseen movies I watched a bit of TV and read instead. Unfortunately, the audio part didn�t work. With the second serving of food all passengers� participation were required for IFE tests. As we received the instructions at the same time as the meal was served I forgot to take a photo of it. The aim of the IFE test was to stress the IFE system, therefore we were all asked to switch to the same movie at the same time, and similar tasks. One annoying detail with the IFE system was that the handset was out quite a bit from the armrest in the seat. I am pretty slim but still managed to unintentionally push the buttons there several times when moving in my seat.

Approaching JFK the captain again gave us technical details such as which runway we would use, this was interested to hear. He also told us that we were still too early and had to circle about 10 minutes for ground staff and press to get in place. Soon it was time though and plane landed pretty hard on the runway, followed by soft breaks and applause. Looking out through the window I was amazed to see so many people standing watching the plane as we were taxiing, there were also a couple of helicopters flying above us. I had expected the fire trucks to welcome us by spraying the plane with water, but to my disappointment they didn�t. We taxied on to the terminal area but had to wait a couple of minutes for the tow truck to connect properly with the plane.

Immigration went fine, however customs had me go back with the comment �Oh boy�, apparently the immigrations officer had forgotten some stamp. After clearing customs we were let loose in the terminal. Except for a press conference there was no special reception for us. I made my way to the airtrain to hop over to the DL terminal instead. It always amazes me at JFK that instead of having clear signage at the platform for the train between the terminals they have an employee telling everyone which train to choose.


JFK-BNA
DL 5095
14:27-16:11
CRJ

In case there would be any delays with the LH flight I had originally booked myself on the flight departing at 19:55. Seeing that we were well on time I paid the $25 same day change fee and got myself on this earlier flight, saving me 5 hours of waiting time. When I arrived at the gate it had two employees working but was blocked off. There were no signs at the gate monitors about my flight, only two other flights were listed. When there is only 30 minutes left to departure I approach the gate agent anyway, asking if our this was the correct gate. Being not in a friendly mood, the agent simply said yes. Asking if the flight was delayed I got the short answer �yes�. Showing my boarding pass I asked if row 1 or 2 was available, without looking at the computer the he says no. Going back to the waiting area I start talking to a family who had been stuck in JFK for two days because of the snow. They had no seats assigned yet and were worried if they would get on the flight.
20 minutes delayed boarding finally begins. I board last and find that the family has been assigned row 2, what is more, row 1 AB is empty. After asking the FA I take one of these seats and am soon joined by another passenger next to me. She was nice talking to but had the annoying habit of putting her feet up on the bulkhead. Now don�t get me wrong, I do this as well, however putting your shoes (or socks for that matter) at the same height as my eyes is simply annoying.


Nashville

The Days Inn chain has a price guarantee on their homepage. So I booked the Days Inn at Nashville airport, and as I had found a better on a competing website I received a confirmation that my night in BNA would indeed be free. After arriving in BNA I call the motel (not included in the courtesy phone) and they say they will send over the shuttle. 25 minutes later the �shuttle� arrives, it is a standard station wagon with two seats taken out giving you more legroom. It had not been cleaned during the last two years for sure. I try in vain to make some small talk with the driver (who later turned out to be the manager) who is pretty surly. We arrive at the motel and after tipping the driver I go the reception. The receptionist (not very friendly either, not a single smile) gives me a paper to sign, the rate is listed as $0 + $0 taxes. Knowing that taxes are not supposed to be free and wanting to pay for what I rightfully should pay I point this out the receptionist. He goes to the back office where I hear the manager say something in the lines of �Is that him!? No, he is wrong. He can not stay here with that rate!�. I hear him call his customer service and argue with them for about 10 minutes. He is upset and saying things like �That is not right, what should I do with him, he is already here. He used my shuttle, that can�t be right. Let me talk to your supervisor�, etc. Finally he says something to the receptionist who gives me my key. He never says a word to me.

The morning after I wake up early (no problem thanks to the jetlag) to check out at about 04. The manager is waiting in the shuttle and I check out with another receptionist. He simply takes my key and says that is all. I ask for receipt but he says there is none. I had given them me credit card details with my reservation I did not trust this motel anymore. Seeing that he is holding the paper I signed the evening before I ask for a copy of that. He says that is impossible and goes out to talk to the manager. When he returns he refuses to talk to me and directs me to the manager. The manager tells me the same thing, receipt is not possible, I can�t get anything at all to prove the rate or my stay there. Not wanting to be stranded at this motel at that hour I get in to the shuttle and we begin the drive to the airport. In the shuttle I am treated to a 10 minute lecture on how I had got this night for free, that I should be happy and stop complaining (something I had not done, nor had I been rude in any way), he would like to have things for free as well but he pays for his things. I want to start an argument but afraid not being driven to the airport I resign to tell him I am simply following their rules and stay quiet the rest of the time.


BNA-ATL
DL 506
06:00-08:00
MD80

Thanks to the time difference I still wasn�t tired at all. I got the usual comment from the check-in agent about my detour to Washington. With my gold card I try to enter the Delta lounge but am denied access as I don�t have a same day international flight, they are perfectly right in this and so I stay in the gate area instead. Even with the early hour the flight is almost full. It is a short flight with only 36 minutes in the air, so no cabin service was offered. I read some in the Delta in-flight magazine and can only confirm what I learned many previous times; there is nothing to read in it. Perhaps I am spoiled with the good in-flight magazines flying SAS and CSA for example.


ATL-SNA
DL 651
09:15-11:13
B757

Always hoping for a bump I was sorry to learn that my flight was pretty empty. As to tease me, the flight to DFW at the next gate was desperately calling for volunteers. I�ve never flown the B757 in Europe but when I�ve flown it in USA I have always thought of it as a very comfortable plane. Still, I have my hesitations about travelling on it transatlantic like CO does (I believe AY was even planning to use a B757 for HEL-NRT, don�t know if that happened or not). Previously when I have had Delta reservations I have been able to select the preferred seats online thanks to my Elite plus status. For some reason that didn�t work with this trip, even though they tried taking my number out and putting it again. My card showed Elite plus in the system still, so I was able to reserve these seats over the phone. Thus I sat in an exit row seat on this flight. The plane was equipped with live tv and pay per view movies. Because of all the commercial breaks I don�t enjoy watching tv in the states and instead read most of the way. I noticed that the Delta audio selection was exactly the same as on the A380 I flew! Though I don�t expect much on shorter flights, some kind of meal on a transcontinental flight would be nice. The cracker selection Delta offers wouldn�t even satisfy a hamster.

I had read about Orange County airport that it had a very short runway, and was located in a densely populated area. This makes for steep take offs and I was expecting our plane to come in high and then make a quick descent. If this was done I did not notice, but we did brake hard and used most of the runway for braking.


SNA-SLC
DL 1769
13:34-16:24
MD80

Nor this flight needed any volunteers, though it was close. And of course CO was calling for volunteers on their IAH-flight at the neighbouring gate. A fellow passenger and I spent a couple of minutes together trying to find a power outlet for our computers, but none were found in the gate area. Soon the call for boarding came and we pushed back on time. With the short runway I was expecting a powerful take off, and I was treated to this as well. The captain revved the engines up before rolling down the runway, we then had a steep ascent up into the clouds as well. That was fun! Service was the usual small snack and soft drink. As I find usual in SLC, we had a bit of turbulence while descending.


SLC-IAD
DL 1598
17:23-23:20
B737

In Salt Lake City I was let into the lounge and was helped by a very friendly attendant who spontaneously reassigned me to a better seat with no neighbour (excellent service). Sitting in the lounge I finally got to drink my beloved Amarula. I first tried this in a DL lounge with a friend about a year ago and I was instantly hooked. Though I usually don�t like liqueurs very much this one I simply can�t stop drinking. Telling myself I needed them to sleep more easily to IAD I had both one and two refills.

I had the exit row window and at the aisle sat a both talkative a nice man from SLC. We had a nice chat about the SLC area before I inflated my pillow, put on earplugs and eyemask and slept the whole way until IAD (actually, I did start watching the in-flight movie Rocky Balboa, but soon had no control over my eyelids). There is something magic about landing during the night. All the lights are different, there is a cosy feeling and daydreams seem much closer making such landings a bigger pleasure.


Washington

Through Priceline I had booked a night at the Extended stay Dulles airport. As is the case with these hotels, there is no airport shuttle, breakfast or free internet. The taxi ride was only $10 though and the staff were still in the reception when I arrived. I guess being too tired to charge me, they gave me internet access for free. I slept very well and ate my DL snack box as a small breakfast the next day. When I checked out I asked them to call a taxi for me. This was easier said than done and the taxi took 35 minutes to arrive, strange with such a long waiting time,


IAD-JFK
DL 5278
11:03-12:21
CRJ

As usual my flight was not overbooked and we were soon pushing back. In the row behind me I had two brothers, about 4 and 2 years old. They were funny because the older brother screamed with the bumps, and the younger imitated this, not seeming to know why they were screeming. Arrival in JFK went fine but I couldn�t spot the A380 waiting to take me home. Having read that the JetBlue terminal offers free internet I headed over there but never managed to connect to it.


JFK-FRA
LH 8945 (operated as AIB 102)
22:00-10:30
A380

* 1A PLANNED FLIGHT INFO * LH8945 9 WE 21MAR ASM
APT ARR DY DEP DY CLASS/MEAL EQP GRND EFT TTL
JFK 2200 WE FAOCDZIRYBM/R 380 7:30
HXQNVWS/R
FRA 1030 TH 7:30

COMMENTS-
1.CHARTER FLIGHT
2.JFK FRA - COCKPIT CREW LUFTHANSA
3.JFK FRA - CABIN CREW LUFTHANSA
4.JFK FRA - H/ RESTRICTED BY MARKET
5.JFK FRA - OPERATED BY AIRBUS INDUSTRIES
6.JFK FRA - 9/ NON-SMOKING
7.ENTIRE FLT- PLS CHECK SPECIAL RULES FOR CABIN BAGGAGE
8.ENTIRE FLT- PLS SEE TI DFT/IAD/VI

CONFIGURATION-
380 F 12 C 64 M 443


Check-in didn�t open until 16.30 so I had a bite to eat and waited and waited. Wanting to secure a good seat again I went to the check-in line around 15 and was first in line. I read my book and the line behind be filled up slowly. This time they had 7 desks opened and when I was called I asked for an emergency window on the second floor. Not possible unfortunately but I was given an emergency aisle on the upper floor. My boarding pass had a boarding sequence number of 400+, something I found odd seeing that I had been the first to check in. After inquiring I was told that all passengers had been pre-checked in. Kind of strange I think, that must make it hard for LH to keep track of any missing passengers at check in.

After this I made my way to the LH lounge, which is located before security. Not knowing if my flight (classified as charter) qualified for lounge access I was happy when I was granted access with my gold card. For some reason * Gold passengers are directed to the business lounge instead of the senator lounge in JFK. Can anyone offer an explanation as to why? I checked the LH webpage directory and that one says the same. There were a lot of passengers waiting for a severely delayed CA flight to Beijing in the lounge, I made some small talk to one of them and had a bit to drink and eat.

Soon it was time to proceed to the gate. As more and more passengers accumulated there it got really warm and pretty full. When the A380 finally arrived at the gate the windows filled with people, many passengers but also staff coming from the shops, lounges etc. to take a look at the plane. The aircraft was escorted by flashing police cars and had a lot of bystanders outside as well.
Boarding began late and was not very organised. Firstly, the signs indicating which lane you should choose were big enough but placed on the floor meaning only the people next to them could see what was written, for the passengers further back they were impossible to read. Second, the calls for boarding were done in German first with the English call not following until several minutes later. Business class was called first, followed by the economy starting with the back. Then came first class and finally lower level economy. Because of the confusion with the boarding calls as well as poor signage boarding, as is too often the case, was a zoo.

My first impression this time was again how bright the cabin looked. On this level the seats were green but otherwise similar to the lower level. I was happy to find an amenity kit on every seat. The kit was a big blue nylon/leather bag containing a pillow and blanket marked with A380 and a toiletry bag with more than I would ever need for toiletry. Someone was already in my seat and we agreed on switching, putting me in his window seat. Having never sat on the upper level of a B747 this was my first time on the second floor of an aircraft. There were big storage bins between the seats and the windows, really helping the window passengers a lot. As I had the exit seat I had none, but instead was blessed with unlimited legroom. The configuration was 2-4-2 and again the seat next to me was marked with �Staff only�, however with a senior Airbus staff member sitting there. As we talked it turned out he was responsible for the cabin crew, especially if they were to encounter any problems during the flight. A member of the Lufthansa staff soon approached me saying that I was in his seat. Turns out I had been assigned a blocked seat. Seeing that I had been in line long before it opened and was first to (officially) check in I was in no mood to trade away my exit row seat. The steward asked me to move to another seat so the Lufthansa staff member could stretch his legs before he continued on the next A380 flight to HKG. I politely argued that the Airbus guy next to me wouldn�t be in his seat except for take off and landing, so the guy could sleep there. Eventually the LH person was given a bulkhead seat in the next section, so everybody ended up satisified.
Because the emergency exit was so close to my seat the wall intruded in the space at my seat, just about 5 centimetres from my forehead.. At first this gave me a claustrophobic feeling but after a couple of minutes in the seat I didn�t notice that anymore. This time view from the window was very restricted. In the seat FRA-JFK I had been able to see a lot by bending my head backwards, here I saw little but sky when I looked out the window. This was partly because of the curvature of the plane, but also the window being further back in relation to my seat, and of course this being the second floor.

The overhead bins were again large, and I noticed they were larger in the economy section than in the business class section. The bad thing about this though was that it was easy to hit your head in the bins when they were extended, a downside to having big bins I guess. It was already dark outside and for take off the lights were dimmed. This was really cool with a very gradual darkening of the cabin. Noting this to the flight attendant he told me there was a ton of settings for different kinds of lightning in the cabin. As we pushed back I noticed two wing walkers on each side of the plane, don�t know if this is standard or if they simply wanted to avoid every mishap.

The window in the emergency exit door had a magnifying glass built in to it, making it possible to see what happened on the ground from the jump seat. For my part I was left to watching the tailcam on the monitors instead. Sitting on the second floor, not being able to see much in the darkness outside in this huge plane I hardly noticed the push back. The only hints were a few shakes from uneven ground. On the runway we had a different take-off this time. The plane powered up first and then let go of the brakes creating a powerful take-off. The acceleration was impressive but apart from this I hardly noticed I was flying. As an aviation nerd I want to know I am flying; I want to hear the engines (a little, I�m not talking the last seat on a MD80), I want to feel the shakes and I want to see what is happening outside. In this seat I didn�t experience much of either of these. For the normal passenger this would be a great seat, but for me I preferred the lower level seat.

The reading light at my seat had a strong cold tone to it, still it was very weak. It was sufficient for reading, but I definitely prefer the usual lights with a warm and cosy yellow tone to them. Most probably these lights were designed not to disturb your neighbour but instead I found them too artificial to use. Having previously endured a SFO-CDG flight were none of the in-seat buttons worked I was happy to see this plane featured back-up buttons overhead as well. Usually when you�re seated at the exit row you will soon have very cold feet. This time that didn�t happy though and I must say it was a most comfortable ride. [My notes here say �Sleep tray � tray�, I have no idea what I meant by that. If anyone of you have any ideas please let me know!]. After yet another excellent meal I slept the whole flight through. Often the blankets provided on planes will force you to leave either your chest or feet without cover. For once though the blanket provided was big enough to cover both, thank you for that! Breakfast was served but I was too tired to eat much but the fruit. We approached Frankfurt and had a very soft landing. What amazed me all the four times I was taxiing in the plane was how the airport around us just seemed to stop. Although the A380 had already visited FRA there were people lined up all along the way from the runway to the gate. I was simply flabbergasted by all the attention this plane got from the bystanders. It seemed like everyone took a break to come see our plane and lined up nicely as close as they could get. I also saw a KLM Cityhopper captain open his window to lean out and take a photograph of our plane.

A disappointment came as we reached the gate. Again all these aviation employees ignored requests to sit down and started gathering their things long before the seatbelt sign was off. Simply annoying. Certificates for having taken part of this flight had been handed out during the flight and those without were informed we could collect them at the gate. Having deplaned it seemed like I was the only one trying to queue in an orderly manner. Come on people, we are colleagues, there is no need to push! In the gate area there was a press conference but unfortunately only invitees were able to attend. My Airbus 380 flights were over. Happy to have taken part of this unique experience I was now mostly focused on getting back to DUB.


FRA-DUB
LH 4982
16:00-17:00
A320

I had a 5 hour wait before my flight to Dublin would depart. Thus I made my way to the Senator lounge and spent my time waiting there. I watched a movie, had some very nicely painted easter eggs and drank Apferlschorle again. As time came for boarding I proceeded to the gate area for the non Schengen flights; B50-53. Having waited for the slow extra security check and hardly getting through all the contents of the newly acquired amenity bag I sat down by the gate and waited. I was surprised to find that this waiting area had no toilet. Strange as you would have to exit security to go to the toilet, seems like something you�d find at CDG, not a decent airport like FRA. Boarding finally commences and the gate agent finds it appropriate to get upset and yell at the Prague-bound passengers trying to board as well as the gate monitors say the Prague flight is boarding at the very same gate.
Service onboard was the usual small sandwich and chocolate. The flight is uneventful and my nice housemate is very kind to pick me up at the airport. I fail to go to bed early as planned and arrive a bit too tired at work the next day�


Summary

I used four vacation days for this trip and was really happy got on the very first flight of the three (JFK, HKG and IAD). Though passengers had been on the Airbus 380 before this was the first time it flew an actual route with passengers and it was also the first time in USA. It was worth it to be part of this experience. Though I was a bit disappointed on the way back since I had a hard time understanding I was actually flying, I am sure most other passengers will enjoy this aircraft. It does not look very good but was more impressive on the inside. I do recommend you to fly with it but frankly don�t see what the big deal would be from another widebody. Perhaps it is harder to see the difference when you don�t find any flaws? It is a good aircraft.

Thank you for reading this far. Please feel free to ask any questions, any comments are appreciated! Pictures are posted on the link at the start of this page.

I've been waiting for this report! Great read for the Easter holidays! Thank you!

Thanks for the report! One question though. I like how you mentioned the boarding process, but what about the deplaning process? Did it take substantially longer to offload an A380 than a 747?

Cool trip, Gnopps! ^

Thanks a lot for the report. Also, congrats on winning the seat on the 380, it sounds like quite an experience.

Thanks for the report Gnopps and thanks for all the pics as well ^ ^
I can imagine it must have been a great experience!

Otherwise I didn't think the A380 looked that much different on the inside from existing aircrafts, did you get a feeling how large the aircraft actually is when being onboard?

Nice report! Thanks for sharing! Really enjoyed reading it

Thank you for this trip report.

Great report, Gnopps!

Thanks for sharing

Gnopps:

Thanks for this report!^

I went through security in terminal 2 and proceeded to gate E5 and the awaiting Airbus 380.

This is very unusual ... LH at terminal 2. Will the LH A380 in the future depart at this terminal?

The captain came on the speakers and told us we would be flying slower than normal not to reach JFK too early
Later in the flight the captain came on again with the following message �On the left side is a small Boeing 747 from British Airways that we are about to overtake�

Is the A380 faster then B 747, B 777

Thanks again

Hi Gnopps,
Thank you for your trip report and sharing your flight experience on this new plane. You were one of the lucky few passengers able to fly on the Big Bus before all of us / everybody else.

I have found another trip report of someone who was on the same flight as you, who is (like I am) a A.netter. We can all compare from reading about the other flyer's experience. I have not had time to read his trip report yet. I certainly will.

http://www.airliners.net/discussions...ad.main/97350/

Thank you for all your nice comments! To answer your questions:

Deplaning wasn't done freely but with people getting off depending on which group they belonged to. Therefore it is difficult to say if the deplaning process takes longer, it didn't in my opinion.

I noticed that the curvature was different, and the plane was more quiet. Otherwise it was hard to get a sense of how big the aircraft is, I wish it would have been possible to move around a bit to get the feel of it..

I don't know which terminal the A380 will depart from in the future, I guess the people over in the LH forum wil know better what the FRA plans are. As to which plane is faster I don't know either. Strange that we overtook the B747 as we were supposed to be flying slowly.

The trip of a lifetime. Thanks for sharing and taking us along for the ride. Superb report with great pictures. ^