More room in A380 Economy?
 

Hi, Guys. Wife and I to Kuala Lumpur in March, Malaysian A.380 from Heathrow. Wife is 5'2", I am 6'2".. Both had hip replacments this year. Long flight, done long haul before but not recently. It will be necessary for us to walk about from time to time, of course. Is this easy to do in the middle of the night without disturbing people alongside, or would it be necessary to get an aisle seat when the flight opens for booking?. Is there more legroom than normal, for this would make the aisle seat unnecessary?
Many thanks in anticipation. Cheers.

I have no personal experience with MH. However, you may find some of your answers by checking the seatguru site.

There's nothing particularly special about economy class legroom in the A380.

Like Hotel Tango I have no experience of the Malaysian A380, but a look at Seatguru shows that it does have some exit row seats with extra legroom in the Economy cabin. However, I have no idea what the airlines policy is on these, i.e. whether you have to pay a fee to reserve them or if there are any restrictions in terms of physical ability.

If you have to get up regularly to exercise, I think it's inevitable that you'll disturb your neighbours if you have to squeeze round them, so unless you can get an exit row I would go for the aisle seats.

Upper deck has pairs of seat by the window, that you can book in advance. Pitch is 32'' and you won't have to disturb anyone. As has been posted already, Seatguru is your friend.

The upstairs economy cabin is quite small and not suitable for going walkabout during the flight. Otherwise it is a cosy corner in a large aircraft.
Pre-booking of seats is an option for a fee of about 20 Ringgit, that's about three pounds.

Last time I flew Malaysian to LHR at the beginning of the year, the A380 was only about a third full in economy. (Crew indicated this wasn't unusual). Flipped up the arm rests and stretched out with 3 seats to myself. Seat pitch wasn't an issue but it didn't seem much different compared to Emirates. The only other things I remember about the flight was the economy breakfast was inedible and the service was so-so.

I think we know why Malaysian is running with empty cabins, even before they get a reputation for poor food and cabin service.

I don't have experience on Malaysian, but if the economy configuration downstairs is the same as Singapore Airlines, then you shouldn't assume there is any extra legroom. I was on a flight right at the back in economy last year; I had a window seat and there was absolutely no prospect of getting out of it without disturbing the people sat in the middle and aisle seats. I'm 5'3" so legroom per se tends not to be a problem for me (and wasn't) but it was far from roomy.

I've flown economy on A380s with Lufthansa and Air France to/from SFO. I'm 6 feet tall and found the seats comfortable, though no roomier than any other plane. But the cabin environment in the A380 is very good, lower cabin altitude (I think 5000 ft. versus 8000 ft) and the air didn't seem as dry as other aircraft. Also, the entertainment systems are pretty good for economy.

Malaysian seats ten across in economy, 3-4-3, over most of the lower deck (first class up front). And so your best bet is the aisle and adjacent seats in the center section. That way you have free movement without anyone else having to bother you to get in or out.

Hi, Guys. Many thanks for the information. Cheers.

We're on the Malaysian A380 in January - I'll let you know how we get on.

I thought Malaysian were selling their A-380's? (One careful owner, never raced or rallyed...)

For me about the only thing better compared to a 777 is they ARE a tad quieter. In Emirates the space in Economy is about the same as their 777's. The A-380 does seem to get bounced around a lot more in turbulence and disembarking from up the back in Economy is a pain, so stay forward if you can.

Another advantage (with Emirates at least) is the raft of unsold Business Class seats upstairs means frequent free upgrades for the Gold and Silver FF's.

Ironically, Malaysian 777's have more economy legroom than their 380's.