Forum Topic

A380

Anyone seen the arrival/departure of the giant A380 over Ealing?We've booked flights via Singapore Airlines to the Lion City for later in July. I do hope we get to fly the new leviathan then and not the clapped-out old Boeing747-400.

Gerry Tan ● 6818d22 Comments

So does the football stadium go at the back or the front?

Francis House ● 6818d

Remember Gerry, no hanky panky on board!http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7071620.stm

James de Vivenot ● 6818d

"Singapore Airlines has taken the unusual step of publicly asking passengers on its new Airbus A380 plane not to engage in any sexual activities."James, thanks you've made me smile, on two accounts.Firstly, that luxurious twin bed in Singapore Airlines' new A380 is only available to their so called Raffles Class customers. As I can't afford anything better than Economy Class, I'd never get the chance for any "hanky-panky" at 38,500ft!Secondly, at my age(I am, after all a septuargenarian), all that stuff is now a memory for me - sadly.  :-(PS: but I do have very happy memories!

Gerry Tan ● 6818d

"Anyone seen the arrival/departure of the giant A380 over Ealing?"I don't think it's flown to London since its first visit on 18 May 2007 ...It's a bit longer and wider but a lot taller than your "clapped-out" 747-400 ...And certainly bigger than this Airbus A319 ...(I took all those photos on the same day from the same spot with the same camera settings, so they are a good size comparison.)Gerry, according to the Singapore Airlines website, they are intending to use the A380 on the 11:55 departures from Heathrow (SQ317) and on the 23:30 departures from Singapore (SQ322) arriving here at 05:55.  The other two flights in each direction will continue to be 747-400s. (However, the first flight on 18 March will be a special inaugural one arriving here at 15:05 and departing at 18:55, but that's just for that day.)

Richard Jennings ● 6816d

Richard, thanks for the excellent photos. Did you use a sky filter - the clouds look great?Hurrah, we're confirmed as outgoing flight SQ317 dep 11.55am from London Heathrow - do hope you're correct about it's now being an A380 - I'd really like that! Thanks.  ;-)

Gerry Tan ● 6816d

But I fill prescriptions for you know what for octogenarians!

Graham Weeks ● 6816d

So is bigger better for you? As long as there is leg room I prefer smaller planes. More personal service usually.

Graham Weeks ● 6816d

Agree about better service from smaller airplanes. What's the tiniest plane you've ever flown in?

Gerry Tan ● 6816d

I don't believe it.  Wrinklies at eighty are completely spent...y'know, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans EVERYTHING!  :-(

Gerry Tan ● 6816d

"As long as there is leg room I prefer smaller planes. More personal service usually."It seems that British Airways agree with your first point ...Piper Warrior.  Crew 1, Passengers 3.... but the cabin service is non-existent!  This one's even smaller:Piper Tomahawk.  Crew 1, Passengers 1, or in this case Crew 2, Passengers 0.  I did my first solo in this plane, G-BMXL, in 1988.

Richard Jennings ● 6816d

Four passengers in Nigeria.

Graham Weeks ● 6815d

BOAC's Mosquitos weren't much bigger.Two crew in the cockpit, and the passengers, up to four, were carried in the bomb bay!

Alan Brainsby ● 6815d

"Did you use a sky filter - the clouds look great?"No, I didn't use a filter.  With a digital camera, I find that setting the white balance can usually give the desired effect, though in fact these were all taken with auto white balance.The camera is a little Sony DSC-P200.  I had it set to the "action program" which gives a faster shutter speed (1/1600 or 1/1250 for these photos) but otherwise sets exposure and speed automatically.Singapore Airlines have comfirmed that SQ317 will be an A380. Go to http://www.a380.singaporeair.com and click on "Latest news".

Richard Jennings ● 6813d

Excellent Richard - that's official then, as it's in writing on SA's schedule. I look forward to my first A380 flight in July and will report my findings on this thread when I return. Thanks again.

Gerry Tan ● 6813d

Excellent reports Richard..and I enjoyed seeing your pictures of the aircraft.So you did your solo flight 20 years ago in that attractive Piper Tomahawk.  That must have been fun.  Where would British Airways have used those mini planes? Island hopping in Scotland?

Jim Lawes ● 6813d

"Where would British Airways have used those mini planes? Island hopping in Scotland?"They are owned by British Airways Flying Club, which although it was owned by BA (until last November), has for many years offered membership to the general public.  The Tomahawks and Warriors are used only for training and for renting out by the hour to club members.  I sometimes got a few puzzled looks after landing a BA-liveried Warrior at little airfields like Bembridge, Shoreham or Rochester.

Richard Jennings ● 6813d

Where will you be sitting as you leave sunny England Gerry?http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Singapore_Air/Singapore_Air_Airbus_A380  don't know how to link, so its c&p!

Audrey Walton ● 6812d

Havn`t seen one overhead so far! The uncomfortable part of the journey will be the scrum involved with ground handling as the A390 Airbus (450 passengers)and Boeing 787 will push up potential throughput of passengers from 67 million passengers to 95 million per year at Heathrow even without a third runway.

Robert Darke ● 6812d

"A390 Airbus (450 passengers)and Boeing 787 will push up potential throughput of passengers ..."I think you mean the Boeing 747-8 with around 470 seats, rather than the 787 Dreamliner which is a medium-sized twin-jet with 200 - 300 passengers.(And the big Airbus is of course the A380.)

Richard Jennings ● 6812d

Richard, Thanks for keeping me on course! Obviously hope Gerry has a good and safe trip, as many of us do hopefully in moderation. (I heard tonight that some are flying practically every week).My instinct is that the A380/747-8 are getting too large for comfort and may worry many underneath the flightpaths of airports surrounded with built-up areas like Heathrow.Narita is forty miles from Tokyo and from memory Changi is built on reclaimed land with a sea approach.

Robert Darke ● 6812d

Hello Audrey!  No, I haven't booked a seat yet. Think I'll take "pot-luck" on the day at the check-in desk, smile sweetly and ask with a persuasive tone if the kind lady/young man would be good enough to up-grade us to Business class or better still a "mile-high love bed" for two!  ;-)

Gerry Tan ● 6812d

My sons Mother-in-Law is coming back again in March, too early for the first A380 flight in but could go back on it at Easter.

Peter Wright ● 6810d