Monday newsletters always feature top 10 travel lists to inspire.
Today: Top 10 things I like the most about the A380
My favorite aircraft to fly as a passenger is the double-decker Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial airplane. The iconic A380 has flown over 800,000 flights carrying more than 300 million passengers since its entry into service in 2005. A wonder of modern engineering, every flight on a A380 is an experience that can never be forgotten, as I experienced myself on multiple occasions:
However, no matter how much the A380 aircraft inspired awe among passengers and aviation enthusiasts, it put serious pressure on airline accounts. The fuel-guzzling jet also faced powerful competition from dual-engine long-range aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and A330neo, and the Boeing 787 and 777 families, all of which made more financial sense for carriers. Since the airline industry was clearly making a decisive shift away from giant aircraft to smaller, wide-bodied jets, Airbus decided to stop the production of the A380 in 2019 (only 242 were built). The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the world in the same year, made things even worse as the prospect of flying a huge number of passengers in a single mammoth plane made the A380 temporarily obsolete: dozens of Airbus A380 aircraft were sent into storage, accelerating the demise of the world's largest commercial airplane.
However, after the pandemic ended, the iconic double-decker plane made an unexpected comeback as airlines around the world were scrambling to cope with booming travel demand, shortage of staff, and delayed delivery of newer aircraft models (such as the Boeing 777X). As a result, the A380 found new favor with airlines and returned to the air, mainly on busy routes. As it stands, the total number of A380s back in service rose to more than 140 (up from a low of just four when the pandemic hit in April 2020). That's good news for passengers since the A380 remains an iconic aircraft that is unrivaled in terms of onboard experience. Here are the 10 features which I like the most about the A380.
Which one is your favorite aircraft to fly and why? Leave a comment.
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10. CLEAN AIR & HIGHER CABIN PRESSURE
Air quality on board the Airbus A380 is better than on most other (older generation) aircraft. The highly advanced air filters recycle cabin air every two minutes, continually renewing and humidifying it to give you the cleanest most refreshing breaths you can have at a cruising altitude of 40,000 ft (12 km). The air is also pressurized to the equivalent of being at a lower altitude than most aircraft. Typical passenger planes keep the cabin pressure at 8,000 ft (2400 m) above sea level, an altitude that lowers the amount of oxygen in the blood by about 4 percentage points. But the A380 (like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the A350) can keep the cabin pressure around 6,000 ft (1800 m). For passengers in good health, that means less fatigue and headaches, so you'll arrive at your destination feeling fresher than usual. For those with certain cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, it reduces the risk for a potential medical emergency.
9. FEELING OF SPACIOUSNESS
The double-decker A380 achieves a level of spaciousness that is simply unparalleled, mainly because it is the widest of all passenger aircrafts. Higher ceilings on the lower deck and an Economy Class configurations that (sometimes) use fewer seats per row also contribute to a more airy feeling, with 15% more space for hand luggage storage per passenger compared to other aircraft. In addition, the A380s two wide staircases - on in the front and one in the back - are completely unique and transform the cabin with their space and elegance. Finally, the feeling of spaciousness is further enhanced by LED lighting in the cabin that changes according to the time of day, so it can mimic a morning sunrise or a sunny afternoon, and then offer a gentler light as evening falls. These special lighting effects are designed to gradually alter your natural wake/sleep cycles according to your destination and help to reduce jet lag.
8. LESS TURBULENCE
Because the Airbus A380 is so large and heavy, you'll mostly get a smooth ride without feeling much turbulence. This may sound as a paradox since - compared to smaller planes - the A380 will more frequently encounter turbulent air because of its sheer size, increased surface area, and larger wings. However, in most cases, that will not result in the passengers feeling more turbulence, since the aircraft's weight dampens the effect of turbulence and its large wing surface is better equipped to withstand the effect of disrupted air flow. So, a column of rough air has to deliver much more energy to shake up a big airplane like the A380. That said, the A380 is not the smoothest plane in the air; that honor goes to the B787, which has a "gust suppression system" that is supposed to reduce certain types of turbulence greatly; in addition, the B787 is built with composites, which disperse shocks more before they get to your seat (compared to aluminium airframes).
7. QUIET CABIN
The Airbus A380 has one of the quietest cabins ever built. It's so quiet that even on takeoff, you almost don't hear the aircraft accelerating, especially when you are seated on the upper deck far above the four powerful engines. The typical ambient noise level in a A380 cabin at cruising altitude is around 60 decibel, about equal to the volume of a normal conversation. The relative quietness of the A380 has been much talked about since the aircraft took to the skies almost 20 year ago, but not everyone is a fan: the A380 is so quiet that it's stopping pilots from sleeping during rest breaks on long-haul flights. The constant buzz of engine noise usually drowns out the sounds of passengers in the crew's rest area, but not in the A380, where some pilots says they are being kept awake by crying babies, flushing toilets and call bells.
6. TAIL CAMERA
Cameras are being installed on more and more jets these days, either sitting on the cockpit glareshield, mounted atop the vertical stabilizer or tucked into the aircraft belly. They provide live images of the plane to the passengers via the entertainment system and help pilots to navigate airports. The tail camera is one of the A380's most loved features, and some passengers (count me in) prefer watching the camera display over the inflight entertainment for hours on end. Located in a housing atop the vertical stabilizer, it provides a wide-angle view of the massive aircraft from above. While the Airbus A380 wasn't the first aircraft with a tail camera (that honor goes to the A340), it has one of the highest quality tail cameras (surpassed only by the A350). Unfortunately, not all A380 operators have it installed; for example, British Airways and Singapore Airlines make the footage of the tail camera only available to the cockpit crew (not to the passengers).
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