Paris - Dubai: Flying the A380

My gay friends always say that bigger is better….that’s why I have been wanting, ever since it went into service, to fly the Airbus A380 which is the biggest commercial airliner in service today. My choices are limited, as only a few airlines operate the type already : Singapore (the first to fly the A380), Emirates, Qantas, Air France and more recently Lufthansa.

Air France actually did short hops, for training I imagine, between Charles de Gaulle airport and London Heathrow on certain days and times with their then new A380. But my schedule did not fit their days. So, when I started looking for tickets for a holiday in Asia, Emirates via Dubai came up not only with the right price but also, from Paris to Dubai, a ride on the A380 ! I would finally get to fly on the biggest of them airplanes (joke among gays: what do you do when it’s too big….the answer : You hug it and cry).

The day when I was to ride the biggest of all came. I watched it land from Dubai from the terminal though because of the layout of CDG terminal 2 it pretty much got obsecured after the first few seconds. But I would be in this big bird finally. I got my boarding pass and was impatiently waiting to get on. Unfortunately, Emirates configure their A380 by putting all economy in the main deck and business and first classes in the upper deck…I would have liked to ride on the upper deck, but no matter. Yes, I remember telling my then 20 year old self that I would only fly in business class when I turn 30….how naïve I was (now, over 30 and still flying economy). The big plane sat at the gate with its huge wings…I mean huge. I must say, it does not look as pretty as the Boeing 747…in fact it looks stubby and resembles a Boeing 737 that's all bloated up on growth hormones.

Inside, it feels roomy of course as one would expect of such a huge plane…but economy class is

still economy class... the plane could be big but that does not mean that you get seats with lots of pitch, rather, you have the same space, but you’re with a lot more people (Emirates Y class can accomodate 399 passengers. Add to that close to a hundred business and first class pax). Things are much better (than in other planes) for 1st class pax who now can even take a shower in flight (in my gutter mind, I was thinking that the shower stalls would certainly facilitate joining the Mile High club!). Service in Emirates as usual is quite good, the entertainment system (ICE) is one of if not the best in the air, and the seats are comfortable enough. The flight took off and landed on time. The noise level indeed is amazingly low even at take off (and of course during cruise…which I am not sure I like as you could clearly hear babies crying, people clearing their throat or snoring !).

The mood lighting adds positively to the experience, loved the purple and the pink lighting that are easy on the eye and even put you in a gay (if sleepy) mood. The orange I guess simulates sunrise which would be useful when flying across many time zones.


The Emirates crew, as usual, is a motley collection of people from all over the world, all friendly and professional, speaking no less than 12 languages between them. In Dubai, I had about 4 hours before reboarding an Asia-bound flight…this time a Boeing 777 (300ER, also of Emirates) that I have always loved and appreciated for the nice pitch of their economy class seats (that I heard would soon be adapted to a couple inches less to be in line with the international stardard and the other types operated by Emirates….sigh). In these days of bigger and fatter people, it is amazing to see that airline seat in economy actually are getting smaller!