I find it quite silly when I here the Airbus guys/gals referring to the 777 as "agricultural" or the "John Deer of the skies". Yes my aircraft is approaching 19 years of age but comparing the A380 to the 777 is like comparing apples with oranges. If we are going to compare the two aircraft then lets be reasonable:
Firstly the A380 has been around since 2005 as opposed to the 777 which had its first flight in 1994. So 11 years difference.
Secondly, a quick look at the EK CCI pages shows me that the A380 cannot do an RNAV Visual Approach into Dubai and cannot do an RNAV RNP Approach into JFK/DFW. Pretty ironic considering the A380 is supposed to be more technologically advanced than the 777 yet cannot do modern approaches?
Okay, I hear you say "we have a sidestick". Ok, lets look at this one more closely. Yes you have more room to cross your legs, you even have a certain weight restriction on the table which would probably hold most of the 21yo cabin crew but hang on, what about the dual input warnings I see on a weekly basis in the ASR's? Seems to me that most Airbus guys need to intervene on a regular basis! This is something you will rarely if not ever see in a Boeing.
Secondly, wasn't the A330 Air France incident attributed to the pilot pulling full back pressure on the sidestick and the other two pilots had no idea? Again, you would never see that on a Boeing.
Ok, the A380 has the OANS (Onboard Airport Navigation System) Yes this seems to do well when you consider the taxiway infringement in Sydney and the recent Brisbane taxi lights incident. Then we also have the famous MEL incident which I will not go into here.
A380 has autopilot TCAS. Ok that sounds like an improvement in the right direction. I'll give you that one.
BTV....Well considering the company notams on this one, I think I'd prefer to use my brain in judging my runway exit considering my weight and the airfield conditions.
If you take an average of the DOW's and ZFW's of the A380 you will also find out that the A380 can only carry 10 tonnes more payload than a B777-300ER. That doesn't seem much considering the takeoff weight is almost 220 tonnes heavier than a 777
Cross-trained Cabin crew complaining that the A380 is not a nice aircraft to work on
CRC that is probably better suited for the carriage of animals...
Don't get me wrong, I think the A380 is a fantastic aircraft and has literally changed customers expectations of travel overnight. I am however very dubious as to the claims that this is a more modern aircraft. Until you can legitimately paint 1000th aircraft on the side of the whale than I think you should continue appending every radio call with Super, and I might add that it is only a requirement to say "Super" on the initial call. Seems quite silly to hear you guys on delivery and ground frequencies calling "Emirates 203 Super". After all, aren't we really alerting an approach controller of the required wake turbulence separation?
I have actually put my name down to transfer. I may not have the seniority but I am looking for lifestyle and if thats what EK are offering then I will take it. Sure beats the hell out of working in the B777 Training Department. Secondly, a 6 year seat lock will do just fine as the 777 x-series comes on-line around 2021.
Cheers