Air France A380

Originally Posted by PimTac
No doubt the A380 is a technical marvel. Airbus just miscalculated on what the future of air travel was going to be. Until the pandemic it was shifting to more direct flights instead of prioritizing hubs. That plus fuel costs which are always a gamble


Same thing happened to the Concorde, especially the fuel cost. It was a shame though!
 
Of the remaining 4 engine planes.

Flying the 380 is a great experience - until it lands and you are in contention with everyone else for customs clearance and to get your luggage.
Filling the 380 to make for a profitable flight seems exceptionally difficult. (Boeing was not surprised by this)
Having to board busses to get to interim gates that fit it outside the main terminal (like LAX) blows.
Wrong plane at the wrong time and a self admitted byproduct of ego vs. logic.

The 340-400 bends NOTABLY in turbulence - I noticed this and the Virgin Atlantic Stu said yes we all notice this.
Nice to fly on, expensive to operate and put out of business by the big twins namely the 777.

The 747-400 and newer 800 are simply gold especially if you can snag the upper deck -
The 400's are long in the tooth but I still fly them on KLM, but still spacious fast and comfy and
The 800 I flew on Korean air was awesome - it felt a big like an upsized 787

I know the big twins are incredibly safe and I love the trip7 and new 787.
Having been on a 777 that got turned back to Heathrow about an hour out for an engine warning light

There is something about the old school redundancy of quads puts my mind at ease when laying down to sleep on trans oceanic flight.
No ETOPS routes to bother - just point it to the destination and fly there.

At the same tie there is bit of sadness as the writing is already on the wall that the days of the monster 4 engine beasts is over.

UD
 
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I flew to Milan and back in the early 2000's on Alitalia 767's. Shake, rattle and roll were the order of the day. I sat looking at the left engine nutate (think wobbly rotate) continuously out on the wing. The occasional iceberg in the background and knowing how few pins actually attach an engine didn't do anything to *comfort* me while watching. Andiamo! Get me off this thing...... But it's not fair to complain when you're paying $450 round trip. It probably cost more to book passage on the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria.
 
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Amen brother ...
cheers3.gif
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
I could count on one hand the number of times I have flown , so I am no expert .

Being an American , I have always rooted for Boeing . And considering Airbus is subsidized by some of the European governments , not for me .

We would never do something like that!
 
Originally Posted by DeepFriar
I flew to Milan and back in the early 2000's on Alitalia 767's. Shake, rattle and roll were the order of the day. I sat looking at the left engine nutate (think wobbly rotate) continuously out on the wing. The occasional iceberg in the background and knowing how few pins actually attach an engine didn't do anything to *comfort* me while watching. Andiamo! Get me off this thing...... But it's not fair to complain when you're paying $450 round trip. It probably cost more to book passage on the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria.

Alitalia was always "special" experience. But pizza they were serving? Better than ANY American pizza chain.
 
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