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Art Vandelay · Sep 10, 2009, 11:42 PM

Anyone flown on Qantas' new A380s? Anyone flown first class?

ctt1wbw · Sep 11, 2009, 07:02 AM

Is that the double decker? The nicest plane I've been on was the new Boeing 777. Very nice.

Art Vandelay · Sep 11, 2009, 04:03 PM

Yes, it's the double decker.

OreoCookie · Sep 11, 2009, 04:22 PM

I'm very eager to fly the A380 … it's just awe inspiring just to look at the plane!

ctt1wbw · Sep 11, 2009, 08:04 PM

How many US airports can those things land at?

Art Vandelay · Sep 11, 2009, 08:06 PM

Qantas flies it out of LAX to Sydney and Melbourne.

dowNNshift · Sep 11, 2009, 09:10 PM

There are only two US airports the A380's service, just LAX and JFK. Quantas serves LAX and Emirates serves JFK.

First class would be a dream, but only if I won the lotto

Heck, if I was going to Sydney I'd splurge and go for the Premium Economy for the 14 hour flight. But that plane alone has made transcontinental flight extremely affordable.

Art Vandelay · Sep 11, 2009, 09:35 PM

I've got the miles for a free first class round trip. It would cost about $24000 for that trip otherwise.

imitchellg5 · Sep 12, 2009, 12:09 AM

Haven't taken it but I've heard that the service is great... Any A380 service should be top-notch.

chabig · Sep 12, 2009, 12:43 AM

Originally Posted by imitchellg5

Any A380 service should be top-notch.

Why do you say that? It all depends upon the airline and how much you pay. I guarantee the seats in coach are the same as every other coach seat in the industry.

iM@k · Sep 12, 2009, 01:17 AM

For more info on the A380 (or any commercial aircraft for that matter) experience, check out the trip report section at airliners.net

It's my "other" forum

moonmonkey · Sep 12, 2009, 03:47 AM

From what I hear its not that good, nowhere near as good as Singapore airlines A380 service.
Qantas have a very bad reputation at the moment both on safety and the quality/age of their fleet, adding a big new aeroplane doesn't make the rest of the fleet any safer, it just lowers of the average age of the fleet.

tooki · Sep 12, 2009, 04:26 AM

Qantas? Bad reputation?

Like seriously, are you joking?

Qantas has one of the best reputations in the industry, and hasn't had a fatality since 1951.

The age of a fleet doesn't much matter, in terms of safety. Provided they are maintained properly (which is always, indisputably in the interest of the airline, since losing an aircraft means losing a TON of money), airplanes can easily last for 50 years or more. The reason you don't see older jets (for example, MD-11's) in passenger service any more isn't because they're worn out, it's because they are less economical for passenger service than newer planes, and/or don't offer the amenities of newer aircraft, such as quieter interiors and creature comforts, which are important in terms of competition. What happens to all those jets? They get converted into cargo planes for FedEx, DHL, and UPS, and continue flying for another couple of decades.

Anyone who's interested in this needs to start reading askthepilot.com (click for the salon.com column).

Phileas · Sep 12, 2009, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by tooki

Qantas has one of the best reputations in the industry, and hasn't had a fatality since 1951.

In all fairness though, Quantas has had a number of near misses recently, the most spectacular one was the side of a 747 blowing off. That that didn't end in disaster was a near miracle.

tooki · Sep 12, 2009, 03:55 PM

Random stuff happens. Nothing has happened yet to show me that Qantas has somehow slipped; no airline certified to fly in any civilized country is bad enough to be even remotely worthy of concern.

moonmonkey · Sep 12, 2009, 11:17 PM

Hi Tooki, my observation are based on me working with pilots and ground staff in Hong Kong for the past 3 years.
Qantas's reputation here is bad, many Australians are selecting other carriers, this was unthinkable a few years ago (Aussies like to buy Aussie).

Also in 2008 two major Australian banks recommended all senior management to avoid Qantas as their fleet is considered too old by (read older than everybody else).

Sure nobody has died yet, but you think its good the planes are so old?

tooki · 05:28 AM

Given what I just told you, that airplanes actually last significantly longer than their typical passenger service lifetimes, no, I would not be concerned. As I already said, after an aircraft leaves passenger service, it goes on to start a new life as a cargo plane, simply because newer planes are better (not: safer) for passenger service for economic and creature comfort reasons.

Let's suppose Airline A has an average fleet age of 5 years, and Airline B has an average of 25 years. Yikes! Airline B's fleet is 5 times as old.

But given that an aircraft's lifetime is about 50 years, a 25 year old plane gives me no reason to worry about safety at all. (Besides, unlike humans, or even cars, airplanes are ultimately pulled from service BEFORE they can fail catastrophically. Only a tiny fraction of aircraft end their lives in a crash or significant failure. Normally, they are just eventually deemed to be uneconomical to keep aflight, so they're mothballed and sent to the Nevada desert to be parted out. With continued maintenance, an airplane could probably fly longer than 50 years, it's just not economical to do so.)

What the comparison of airlines A and B does tell me is that Airline A is more likely to have quieter planes with more amenities, such as superior personal TV screens.

No airline wants to lose a plane, because they are extremely, extremely expensive, and crashing makes for bad PR, so they all maintain them well. It's not in an airline's interest to slack off on maintenance, because nothing good comes of it. Almost every case of bad maintenance I've read about a) involved a third-party maintenance company, AND b) was a result of human error, not malice or willful negligence.

I don't really look at what the masses think, because in most cases, the masses (including the boards of those banks) don't know what they're talking about, and worry senselessly about things that aren't real issues, while ignoring the things that are important.

Edit: see
http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/...74/index1.html
http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/...275/index.html

OreoCookie · Sep 13, 2009, 06:10 AM

A properly maintained aircraft that is flown within its limits is safe.

Of course, aircraft maintenance doesn't say anything about their service or reputation in other areas and I don't know how Quantas fares here, I've never flown with them.

moonmonkey · Sep 13, 2009, 08:06 AM

Yes but my point was about the reputation not about the actual risk of incident (of which they have had a few recently).

Originally Posted by tooki

I don't really look at what the masses think, because in most cases, the masses (including the boards of those banks) don't know what they're talking about, and worry senselessly about things that aren't real issues, while ignoring the things that are important.

If you think customers opinions about airlines are not important then I hope for your sake you don't work in the industry.

I have had conversations with real people in real life about this, my observations are not based on things I read on the internet, so sorry I can't post any URLS.

imitchellg5 · Sep 13, 2009, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by chabig

Why do you say that? It all depends upon the airline and how much you pay. I guarantee the seats in coach are the same as every other coach seat in the industry.

As a flagship, the A380 will generally have the highest-seniority and most well-payed crew in the respective airline.

chabig · Sep 13, 2009, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by imitchellg5

As a flagship, the A380 will generally have the highest-seniority and most well-payed crew in the respective airline.

True, but that says nothing about the quality of service!

Andy8 · Sep 14, 2009, 12:43 AM

Singapore Airlines is way better inside the cabin, than Qantas could ever dream of being.

badidea · Oct 7, 2009, 08:12 AM

I just came back from a trip to Thailand and my return flight from Bangkok to Dubai (with Emirates) was also my first flight with an A380.

Boarding was incredible! Even though the plane was completely booked out there was no line at all!!! I didn't have to wait a second! Well done Suvarnabhumi Airport!

The engines are so quiet that you can only hear them at take-off! In flight you only hear the airflow outside and the aircondition!

Best airplane ever!

chabig · Oct 7, 2009, 08:27 AM

Are the engines quiet or are you sitting so far away?

ShortcutToMoncton · Oct 7, 2009, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by badidea

The engines are so quiet that you can only hear them at take-off! In flight you only hear the airflow outside and the aircondition!

Best airplane ever!

badidea · Oct 7, 2009, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by chabig

Are the engines quiet or are you sitting so far away?

I was sitting on the lower deck (upper deck was first and business only with Emirates) and right over that huge wing (not much too see when looking down). The engines are very quiet!
The only thing that I found a little disturbing is the landing gear! It's so huge that you get quite a lot of shaking at take-off and especially at landing! Not very nice if things like that can make you nervous!

mduell · Oct 7, 2009, 12:01 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

But given that an aircraft's lifetime is about 50 years, a 25 year old plane gives me no reason to worry about safety at all.

Used to be, not so much anymore. They're already scrapping <20 year old A320 series (due to the cost of a wing skin AD, IIRC).

chabig · Oct 7, 2009, 10:08 PM

My airline has 152 A320s, all less than 20 yrs old. We're not scrapping any, and I'm unfamiliar with any wing skin AD. Do you have any more information, or is that just something you "heard"?

Phileas · Oct 7, 2009, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by badidea

Not very nice if things like that can make you nervous!

I thought you helped design that plane?

Art Vandelay · Oct 7, 2009, 10:23 PM

My partner and I are booked for two round trip tickets in first class on flights QA11 and QA12 next Aug/Sept. It retails for ~$54,000 US. We only paid $130 for taxes and processing fees. I'll tell you how it is in about a year.

imitchellg5 · Oct 8, 2009, 12:09 AM

Originally Posted by chabig

My airline has 152 A320s, all less than 20 yrs old. We're not scrapping any, and I'm unfamiliar with any wing skin AD. Do you have any more information, or is that just something you "heard"?

Could United afford to fix it if they were having problems? They certainly can't afford to get rid of anything, taking forever to ditch the B733.

badidea · Oct 8, 2009, 04:26 AM

Originally Posted by Phileas

I thought you helped design that plane?

Not design but otherwise yes, I worked on that plane. Why are you asking? I wasn't nervous - my girlfiend was and I told her that all that shaking is normal...we had 20 wheels under our butt...

mduell · Oct 8, 2009, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by chabig

My airline has 152 A320s, all less than 20 yrs old. We're not scrapping any, and I'm unfamiliar with any wing skin AD. Do you have any more information, or is that just something you "heard"?

I didn't say all A320s under 20 years old are being scrapped (that's a ridiculous interpretation), rather that there are A320s under 20 years old that are being scrapped (compared to tooki's 50 year aircraft lifetime figure).

I'm referring to AD 98-22-05 covering the lower surface of the center wing box.

olePigeon · Oct 8, 2009, 12:58 PM

I'm taking my first trip outside of the U.S. to Ireland & Britain. I wonder if I can fly out of LA and take an A380 over there.

PER3 · Oct 10, 2009, 07:13 PM

I'm Australian and would never fly Qantas on any international route if I had a choice.

For one, the food is second rate. Not to mention the decor of the cabins.

Secondly, there is something about our country's vaunted "egalitarian" spirit that makes efficient and humble service almost unattainable.

As a result, I stick to the better Asian airlines when flying out of Australia.