Report on the Airbus 380

First, this is just a gigantic airplane.  Our first A-380 flight was last night from Frankfurt to Johannesburg on Lufthansa.  Lucky us, we were in business class, upstairs, where there are 92 business class seats and 8 first class seats, not all full.

The downstairs holds over 400 economy seats--crowded conditions even in this huge aircraft.  Because we entered on a jetway attached to the upper deck, I didn't have the chance to see what things looked like downstairs.

Unlike most U.S. long haul flights, and even most of the European carriers I've flown on overnight in business class, this plane has very unconfortable seats in business.  They don't fold down quite flat, instead prodruding at a downward angle under the console in front of you so that your feet are considerably lower than your head.  It is like trying to sleep on a concrete slab set at an angle.  I don't understand why the design is like this because there is room to have a comfortable flat seat.

I have flown Lufthansa's subsidiary, Swiss, to Africa several times and loved it.  Comfortable seats and really good service.  Excellent food.  Not so on this flight to Johannesburg last night.  Though the flight crew was exceptionally helpful and cordial, the food was awful as were the choices of food.  Nonetheless, the high quality of the crew made up for the annoyance of paying a lot of money for another bad meal and miserable seats.  Next time Lufthansa orders a 380, I hope they'll consider better seats for their passengers.  If they're this bad in business class, imagine what they're like in economy.

Now, we're in Johannesburg awaiting our flight to Walvis Bay, Namibia, to see the Skeleton Coast and the huge dunes Namibia is famous for.  If I can get this blog program to work even marginally, which it prefers not to do on an iPad, I'll add lots of photos to my blogs and commentary about what we're seeing and doing, what local people are thinking and talking about, and great places to visit and stay.