I’ve only ever seen an A380 parked at the gate, and found it ugly. It reminds me of a whale.
They are not pretty aircraft, not at all. The nose is ugly, it’s too short, the wings are weird. But it is big.
Oh yeah. Have ridden them twice (LAX-Sydney, Australia) and Sydney to DFW), both in coach and on both decks. They are pretty large inside too, pretty good legroom even in coach. Been watching some You Tube vids on Singapore Airlines First Class Suites and once I’ve hit the lottery, I’m going to ride on that… Here’s my favorite one–13 Hours in Singapore Airlines First Class Suite (London to Singapore) - YouTube
Yes the A-380s look ungainly and awkward, not beautiful like the 747s.
In their defense, the -380 model we all know was intended to be the smallest of the bunch. If you stretched it another 75 feet or so it would not look quite so much like a loaf of bread that’s been dropped on its head.
They had to do a lot of magic to cram enough lift into wings as stubby as they are. They’d have much preferred longer wings, but that would have necessitated all new airports to fly in and out of, which wasn’t going to happen. So massive aerodynamic compromises were made. Which harmed efficiency. And makes the thing funny-looking compared to airplanes not so constrained.
That’s really what’s “wrong” with its looks. Airplanes, and especially long-haul airplanes, are supposed to be lithe and graceful. This thing is built like the proverbial barrel-chested fireplug of a bouncer. Not like a ballet dancer.
Boeing is now making loud noises that their next new airliner will be a variation on the truss-braced wing concept. Whatever else we can say about them, I have no doubt they’ll be mighty weird-looking to all of us raised on airliners in the B-7xx and A3xx mold.
That design, with the wing atop the fuselage, reminds me of regional turboprop planes. It’s definitely a different look.
Yes.
The other thing is the wing is about twice as long as you’re used to, and far more slender. More like the look of a sailplane than an airliner.
On the ground the wing will fold straight up just outside where the brace meets the wing. While taxiing they’ll vaguely resemble those trucks used by windows contractors to carry big slabs of glass upright. Or the old WW-II Navy aircraft carrier planes. Or those seabirds that like to hold their wings up high to dry while walking around.
I was a passenger on the last Eastern Airlines prop flight, New York to Boston. They sent me a commemorative paperweight, with my last name spelled wrong.
It’s worth bearing in mind the unofficial airline industry motto:
We’re not happy … until you’re not happy.
Cheers!
There are some hockey players whose names are misspelled on the Stanley Cup. That’s gotta suck.
Oh yeah that’s really gotta suck. In Google when I enter ‘names misspelled’, Google pre-fills ‘names misspelled on the Stanley Cup’ as the very first option.
And… here are some, including that great 1980-1981 team, the New York Ilanders:
You had one job …
Informative piece on the A380’s current status and future.
Global Airlines, the startup planning to fly A380s only, flew its first plane from the US to Scotland where it will be refurbished for it’s new role. So, they have a plane.
Might as well drop this here, too. The Airbus A340 is nearly gone from fleets as well. There are only 64 left in service, and no cargo version to keep them flying in other roles.
I’ve flown it a few times, on Lufthansa. I thought it was interesting how you had to go downstairs to use the bathrooms.
I’ve flown an A380, too. It was surprisingly comfortable. And going downstairs to use the restrooms gives a nice excuse to stretch your legs, without needing to squeeze past the other passengers extra times if you want to get in a little extra movement.
I don’t like flying huge jets. I am more psychologically comfortable on a nice Embreair. But I’ll take the A380 over the B747 any day.
(I wrote above about the probable origin of my antipathy towards the 747.)
I’m pretty sure the downstairs lavatories were unique to Lufthansa’s A340s. Other airlines have (had) them on the the same level as the rest of the cabin. My impression of SAS’s A340 was that the cabin was pretty much identical to the A330.
Since this thread has morphed to cover all large aircraft, the Beluga fleet now has its own airline.
Without the A380 and 747, this is the new largest plane in production.
And while we’re at it, I was doing yard work yesterday, heard a loud growl in the sky, and spotted BA213 coming in to land at Logan Airport. Man, those things don’t look like they should be able to stay in the air.
