My first A380 flight

I took my first flight on an Airbus A380 a few weeks ago. It was a Lufthansa operated flight – and a long one – from Johannesburg (JNB) to Frankfurt (FRA). The flight was 5,380 miles long and pretty much goes across the length of the entire continent of Africa, over the Mediterranean and then on to Germany.

Now, on to the A380. Yes, it is massive. You can see pictures of the plane below. One of the first things you realize when you get in is the sheer sense of size. Even in Economy, where I was, which is the lower deck, the ceilings seem higher and the cabin just seems bigger than any I have been in. The larger windows add to the feeling of size. A point to note on that – while the windows are larger, they are only larger on the inside. The actual glass portal on the ours of the plane did not appear to be much larger than regular planes (see picture below).

The flight I was on was full – a flight attendant said that there were less than 20 seats open in Economy. That is a lot given the Lufthansa A380 has 420 economy seats in this configuration (with no premium economy). Seatmaps can be found here.

The flight itself was extremely comfortable. There was hardly any engine noise. There was significant turbulence, which I am told is not unusual for this route, going over the Equator, several mountain ranges, and an ocean.

Looking forward to flying a 787 and a A350 soon.