Courtesy of Sadagopan I saw this 7 minute video on the process to produce the mammoth new Airbus. I love big birds. With all the travel I have done over my career, I still look forward to flights on Boeing 747-400s.
Of course, the A380 is even bigger (555 passengers in all double decker format) (click on this interactive site to compare it to the 747 or to a VW Golf and an elephant), can fly further (8,000 nautical miles), embodies more technology advancement (from composites to engine efficiency to over billion lines of software) and has more creature comforts (from entertainment systems to even showers). Read about them here and here.
A big annoyance: Not one major US airline has signed up as a charter customer. In the days when Pan Am was a dominant international airline, it was a charter for the 747. Nowadays, the global leaders are Singapore Airlines and BA while our majors struggle for survival.
Frequent flyer miles are not going to be enough to make me fly on a Delta 767 when the competing choice is A380. With the world getting flatter, the A380 is going to be the bus for the changing trunk routes around the world.
