Determined to get a seat on the first A380, I'd been following the
thread started by
BotB for some time, and thanks to rumours and speculation had booked one or two tickets, just in case
:
Luckily it looked like 2 August was the day, but that it would be the 06.45 flight.
eejp1007 and I set off at 04.30 to get to T5 in time (well, in time for him to have his first Flounge breakfast!).
Gate C63 was announced and there she was:
Somewhat disappointingly there was no fanfare, except a letter saying that you'd be on an A380 today. However, they were trying the three entrances (although you were only allowed through one!)
Having been greeted on board....
.... I settled down in 10A (first row of Club on the lower deck). It was a bit disappointing that they weren't using F, or the upper deck at all.
Standard Club World seat, I had a look to see how to get off in case of need
and raised the screen due to the person sitting next to me (sorry
BotB!)
Whilst taxiing we saw a few close relatives lined up
... and some of the distant family (one recently deceased, the other an Airbus A321)
... and then we were off!
VERY quiet inside the cabin, and almost with no sense of movement/banking. The wings do flex up and down rather alarmingly (upto 3 metres I'm told!).
In terms of cabins, First was shut off so as to be a surprise for those travelling to LAX.
Club World didn't seem to have m/any seats with loads of extra leg-room, but the middle seat upstairs may appeal if you are travelling by yourself.
The window seats upstairs have the same nice storage as the upper deck of a 747
World Traveller Plus looks quite good, with the new style seats
To be continued....