A380! (posted from hotel in Singapore)

When we arrived at LAX to depart, we were checked in quickly, and directed to the business class OneWorld lounge.  It was great, with all kinds of light food and drink available, nice bathrooms with showers, free wi-fi, and other little perks.  It was a great place to wait, and about 20 minutes before takeoff, they called us to leave.  Despite being a huge aircraft, carrying around 500 people, we had no line to board, but just walked right on.  And… what a shock!  I had seen pictures of the business class cabin in the A380, but they really don’t do it justice.  The space between the seats is massive, allowing for full sleeper beds.  It really felt like we were isolated in our own little area.  We spent 30 minutes before takeoff just playing with all the buttons and gadgets – massager in seat, lumbar support, a little electronic divider, whatever we could imagine, plus even more.  The flight attendants treated us so nicely, and took our dinner order, etc.  And then, time for launch!  The massive plane lumbered down the runway, and it seemed nearly a full mile before we softly separated from land and took to the sky.

Once in flight, we were treated to a whole lot of luxury.  We had power for all our devices so we never had to worry about the laptop dying during a movie!  This plane was everything I hoped, and a whole lot more.  In fact, I booked most long haul legs in 747 deliberately, but realizing what a great machine the A380 is now, I would have booked the other available leg from Sydney to Singapore on that.  Next time!

We got a full 8 hours sleep, and the flight actually seemed just the right amount of time because of it.  We had a great dinner, watched a movie and played with all the toys onboard, hung out in the “lounge” for a while, then I donned my sporting super soft Qantas “jammies” they provide, slept a good night’s sleep, awoke refreshed, enjoyed a full breakfast, and before we knew it, we were making our descent into Sydney.  We got great views of the Opera House and downtown from the air, and had a nice soft landing.  Altogether, the flight was beyond all expectations, and a sheer joy!

Best shot we could get of the double decker A380, but you can see the two decks here.

Chilling in the LAX business lounge before the flight.  Free food!

Livin' large baby!!  Hard to see but there is like 6' of clearance between seat rows!

Dim night LED lighting in the cabin was cool.  Blue/purple...

Breakfast!

Obligatory shot of wing over sunrise.

Our route ended up going way north due to strong jetstream, actually north of Hawaii!  Then we took a sharp jog south of the equator to avoid a big thunderstorm too.

First sites of Sydney as we arrived!  There is the Opera House and famous bridge!

Sun breaking through the clouds just as we land...

Our sweet stewardess Edith offered us a tour of the aircraft since I told her how excited I was to be flying on the A380 for the first time.

Control panel!