How to fly on a A380

argentum

I'm looking at going away for a long weekend from Dublin but no destination picked .I'd like to fly on an A380 so I know I have to transfer somewhere in Europe to fly some where else on one

Any idea on how to find these flights

TomSweeney

The A380 is used for long haul, so a long weekend could be difficult - unless you want to go somewhere like Dubai - Emirates use them.

But if you are based in Dublin I don't think Emirates use the A380 for DUB-DXB .. afaik they use a B777.

The Barcelona - Dubai route uses an A380 - I took it a few weeks ago and it was a fab flight - so quiet and smooth - and bloody huge!!!

So if you want to go to Dubai via Barcelona ???

endofrainbow

Firstly you'd need to determine which airlines use the A380 and work from there.

argentum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122424810#Comment_122424810

I know which airlines use it ,I was hoping not to have to go into every booking engine to look for them

ILikeBoats

You'd probably need to fly out of Heathrow to somewhere. BA do, Emirates do.

We did Heathrow to SFO in A380 but doubt you'd be doing that for a weekend.

Edit: Found this https://gotravelyourway.com/airbus-a380-routes

TomSweeney

Like I said … Dubai could be best bet, maybe could do that for 4 days … go via Barcelona .. or maybe Manchester - Dubai uses an A380…

paddydriver

Hi OP.. this is exactly my plans too as I am bit of an A380 nerd and plan a long weekend in Dubai with my wife sometime soon. My advice would be look at Heathrow > Dubai purely from the perspective that there are circa 8 x A380 flights each day and let's say you'd your heart set on an A380 flight and there was a technical issue then very likely the next flight is going to be an A380 too. Whereas if you do Barca or SFO etc then you could end up on an Emirates 777 as a backup - rarely ever happens; but it would be just my luck.

The schedule out of Heathrow is perfectly suited too for getting an Aer Lingus flight early into Heathrow and then connecting onwards with an A380 to Dubai, so you don't have cost of overnight in London. Just allow for a possible big transfer distance between terminals - but not certain on that.

One of the flights from Heathrow > Dubai had to turn back the other day so issues do occurs but 100% certainty those passengers probably got reaccomodated on another A380 aircraft.

Best of Luck on the planning.

argentum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122425111#Comment_122425111

Manchester rather than Barcelona sounds more appealing as does Heathrow

Now what the hell is there to do in Dubai

endofrainbow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122424972#Comment_122424972

Sorry - I was just trying to be helpful.😥

argentum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122425771#Comment_122425771

Sorry wasnt trying to have a go at you

TomSweeney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122425602#Comment_122425602

I was just there on the way back from Kenya … to be honest, I hated it, it was way too hot and just a phoney false place.

some people love it though - there is lots of indoor stuff to do and everywhere of course is air conditioned.

Also temperatures much more bearable in the winter … but then again high season there I'd imagine.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122428152#Comment_122428152

ignoring the temperature I also hated Dubai. Just full of criminal, drug lords, modern day slavery, prostitution, I found Abu Dhabi to be much nicer

EchoIndia

There are several sites that purport to list current routes operated by A380s of all operators of the type. I googled and several came up They may or not be accurate for the time you want to travel, as these things can change according to demand, season etc. You can also use FlightRadar24 search or filters to check whether a particular flight is currently operated by an A380.

Larbre34

I've been on the A380 many times. Economy and Premium Economy.

When you're boarding, you turn right, and once you're aloft, you cannot walk about and visit the top deck or any of the premium facilities anyway.

And so it feels just like any other aircraft 99% of the time. Not worth any premium or extra connection cost that you might pay just to access one

scooby77

Have flown Emirates A380 Business and Economy upstairs and BA A380 economy upstairs and downstairs. Obviously A380 business is top notch, but even Emirates economy far superior experience to BA.

BA A380 downstairs truly deserves the moniker "Cattle Class"- cramped and overcrowded.

xpletiv

I highly recommend Etihad from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi on A380. Fabulous aircraft and set up. But i dont think its in any way superior to the same thing on their B777.

Dublin airport cannot handle the A380 at all as far as im aware.