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Concorde Crash...The Nerdy Details

I don't know if it was a repositioning flight, for crew compliance, or just covid, but we flew to Zurich from LHR on a 787 last week. I've got to say that was quite impressive. Sadly it was an A320 on the way back.
 
I once flew on a 787 with BA from LHR to ARN, in a Club World seat no less. The plane was brand new, and they were essentially taking it for a test run on a short route.
 
The only thing to come close to the 747 upper deck is a private jet. I have never had the pleasure but my wife used to travel on one a couple of times a year.
Private jets are quite uncomfortable IME as the cabin is so low (small fuselage diameter); the upper deck of a 747 is much, much more comfortable. It's OK if you have the President's seat at the front or are in a top-of-the-range plane with a wider fuselage, but anything else is cramped. The seats in the back face each other, unpleasant if you have long legs and the flight is longer than an hour or two. The main benefits IMO are the direct flights to wherever you want to go, and no messing around airport terminals.
 
Private jets are quite uncomfortable IME as the cabin is so low (small fuselage diameter); the upper deck of a 747 is much, much more comfortable. It's OK if you have the President's seat at the front or are in a top-of-the-range plane with a wider fuselage, but anything else is cramped. The seats in the back face each other, unpleasant if you have long legs and the flight is longer than an hour or two. The main benefits IMO are the direct flights to wherever you want to go, and no messing around airport terminals.

The one my wife flew on was a 20 seater with full galley service to the US, very impressive and I remain very jealous. She did say that the speed of boarding and customs was her biggest impression.
 
The one my wife flew on was a 20 seater with full galley service to the US, very impressive and I remain very jealous. She did say that the speed of boarding and customs was her biggest impression.
Ah yes, different category...
 
I used to love the A380 on the KL-LHR run. The airline love to serve a meal over the Andamans and the coast of India. The turbulence there is reliably strong and the A380 was the only aircraft stable enough that you didn't end up wearing your supper

I've booked a flight to Oz from Dublin on Emirates and they still run the A380. Never been on one as usually use Etihad but they run Dreamliners with shitty 3+3+3 seating configuration so nothing 'dreamy' about them now (they were originally designed for 2+4+2 so greedy fooks).
 
I think I have flown on all the main airliners other than Concorde. The A350 business class suite on Qatar from Singapore to Doha and then to Heathrow was a fav, highly recommended lots nicer than the 787 Dreamliner. .

Definitely my best airline experience, I've flown a fair bit of business class and I think that is the only plane I didn't want to get off when we landed! I do like the Virgin Upper Class lounges though, more casual and relaxed than many others.
 
I got to fly on this on few years back. Admittedly it was only a round trip of Newbury from Farnborough as part of an open day, but still. They are very cramped inside. There's also a 'toilet seat' for an extra passenger apparently.
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I've booked a flight to Oz from Dublin on Emirates and they still run the A380. Never been on one as usually use Etihad but they run Dreamliners with shitty 3+3+3 seating configuration so nothing 'dreamy' about them now (they were originally designed for 2+4+2 so greedy fooks).

Yep, been on a Westjet Dreamliner with the 3+3+3 seating. Not a pleasant experience.

You'll love the A380 though. I flew Korean Air from Seoul to Paris on one. The best flying experience I've ever had.
 
No one's mentioned any Douglas aircraft yet. DC9s and their derivatives were the definitive "cattle car with wings". Cramped, rough-riding, cheap furnishings, just an unpleasant experience overall. The DC10 was a much better experience, but still not up to the standard of an equivalent Boeing.
 
No one's mentioned any Douglas aircraft yet. DC9s and their derivatives were the definitive "cattle car with wings". Cramped, rough-riding, cheap furnishings, just an unpleasant experience overall. The DC10 was a much better experience, but still not up to the standard of an equivalent Boeing.
Both of those models (and/or derivatives) have been involved in some interesting crashes too.
 
I've booked a flight to Oz from Dublin on Emirates and they still run the A380. Never been on one as usually use Etihad but they run Dreamliners with shitty 3+3+3 seating configuration so nothing 'dreamy' about them now (they were originally designed for 2+4+2 so greedy fooks).

I didn’t think Dublin could cope with the A380, never saw one when I was flying very frequently from there pre-pandemic.
 
Just to clarify, they run a 777 from Dublin to Middle East then a A380 for the long 14 hour segment from their to Oz.

I had a similar 2 leg trip with Malaysian airlines, from Heathrow to Singapore. An A380 in business class from LHR to KL, then swapped to a 737 to bring us back down to earth!
 


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