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Old 25th Apr 2021, 19:32
  #192 (permalink)  
tdracer
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 68
Posts: 4,410
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Another issue with the A380 that is largely ignored is that only a relative handful of airports are really prepared to handle it - now that it's OOP that's not going to improve.
For example, Seattle has become a major hub for operations from North America to Asia (it's significantly closer than either San Fransisco or LAX). However, while it's an approved alternate for A380 operations - it's not equipped for regular service. If I want to fly an A380 somewhere, I need to connect somewhere - not particularly desirable if I can take a non-stop from Seattle. I did that once because I wanted to fly on an A380 - flying two hours to LAX, sitting around for another few hours, then flying an A380 to Korea (which passed within 100 miles of Seattle about two hours after takeoff). Yes, the A380 was a very pleasant passenger experience (business class on Korean), but I could have taken a 777 non-stop from Seattle and saved over six hours of travel time. Not many people will intentionally add several hours to their travel time just to fly on an A380...
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