We flew the A380 from New York to Milan.
There was a very special reason we were taking this flight. Toby was the purser on this flight and it was his last trip with the airline after 15 years. It was an honor to fly with him one last time in uniform, and I know we will take many more trips together.
One of the fifth freedom flights is between New York and Milan. It's difficult to get an award in first class on these routes, but we were able to get one just a few days before we left. There are two passengers in first class.
The New York to Milan flight leaves at 10:20PM and arrives at 12:1PM.
The itinerary cost 85,000 Skywards miles and $68.10 in taxes. Fortunately, surcharges remain low on flights between the U.S. and Europe.
You can't beat the value of this, especially when you consider how easy it is to get to the airport. Skywards is a transfer partner with all major points currencies.
We spent a lot of time in the lounge prior to the flight. The lounge is connected to the upper deck jet bridge, which made it possible for us to board the plane from there.
The only downside to this system is that those in the lounge who are in economy need to go down the staircase once onboard, while those in first class need to go up the staircase. The lounge has direct boarding from it.
40 minutes before departure boarding began. We were brought to our seats after we disembarked from the plane.
For what it's worth, we were flying on the A380 with the registration code A6-EEX, a roughly eight year old jet that joined the fleet in 2004. The newer the jet, the more bells and whistles it has, which is why this matters.
There are 14 seats in the largest A380 cabins in the world. There are four rows along the windows and three rows in the center of the building.
The real estate allocated to this cabin is tight. Singapore Airlines has six first class seats in the same space as the A380. It is one of my all-around favorites. I like the design very much. Would I like my house to be like this? For a period of up to 16 hours, I enjoy the glamor of Las Vegas.
Selecting one of the window seats will give you more privacy and a view out the window.
If you are travelling with someone, you should choose the center seats. Being able to sit next to a companion is an issue with some of the most cutting edge first class products. There is a camera at the back of the cabin in the black box.
The center seats in the last row were assigned to us. If you end up next to a stranger on a plane, you have a privacy partition between the seats.
Chances are that most of you are familiar with the first class product of the airline. There is a large entertainment screen at the front of the seat.
There are a number of products from Byredo underneath the Vanity.
There is a stationery set with a diary. I don't know what purpose that serves, but it's oh-so-Emirates.
There is a snack basket with a variety of choices. This is at the seat for all phases of flight except takeoff and landing, as it has to be taken away by the crew during certain times.
An AC power outlet is located at the front of the seat. This is easy to access since some airlines hide them.
Water and soft drinks can be found further down in the room.
The tray table is huge in this area.
All of the suite's functions can be controlled from the back corner of the suite on a tablets. You can change your seat, close your door, or order room service from here. One of the air nozzles at the seat is underneath this.
There is a storage compartment past that.
Each side of the seat has an armrest. There is a compartment on the other side where you could store glasses, but I can't figure it out. If you want to recline the seat, you can use the basic seat controls on this side of the seat.
There are two air nozzles in the top corner of the suite.
The A380 first class cabin doesn't have a lot of storage. It makes sense that there are no overhead bins in the cabin. You can see the space by your feet if you look at the seats differently. Carry-ons can be slid under your seat.
The lovely first class crew asked if we were familiar with the suite and they were all topnotch.
Drinks were offered before we left. Since Dom Perignon isn't served on the ground in the US, I had a glass of sparkling water.
We were offered the typical amenity kits, which include everything from a comb and dental kit, to a shaving kit, to body lotion and shaving cream.
The tote is exclusive to the A380. It is intended to be able to take things between your seat and the shower suite.
We were given pajamas, an eye mask, and slipper.
According to the airline, its pajamas are good for your skin. I don't know what that means, but I do find them to be pretty comfortable, and also to be fairly absorbent.
The slipper are made of a soft material and are pretty comfortable.
We were given headphones to wear during the flight.
We were offered Arabic coffee and dates close to departure. We were able to get a refill so that we could stay up.
Toby came by our seats to greet us and give us the menu and wine list for the flight.
Even though it was a nearly full flight, boarding was easy. The captain informed us of our flight time at 10:30PM. He said there would be a queue for takeoff as we pushed back.
Only five of the 14 first class seats were occupied. We had a bit of room to ourselves because the three other first class passengers were in the first row.
We didn't get very far given the line for takeoff, but we started our pushback at 10:20PM. The return of rush hour at JFK is a good sign.
There is something amazing about being able to watch a giant like the A380 in action.
We were cleared to take off at 11PM. You almost don't feel like you're taking off when you fly on the A380. I think we weren't close to our maximum takeoff weight as we had a quick takeoff roll.
With an endless selection of movies, TV shows, music, and more, the ICE system is one of the best in the sky.
There are so many movies and TV shows to choose from. There are box sets with entire seasons of shows so you can watch them all at once.
The airshow and camera features are just as enjoyable as the entertainment.
The normal pricing is for the A380s with wi-fi.
If you are a Skywards member, you will only be able to use the free wi-fi in first class.
It is one of the most slow wi-fi in the sky. Don't expect that you'll be able to get any work done, but instead expect that it'll be useful for messaging, and maybe refreshing your email on your smart phone.
I think this is a blessing in disguise, as it encourages me to not be in touch with reality.
It's possible to eat what you want in first class. Dinner and breakfast are available on the flight. The menu can be found below.
Wine, cocktails, mocktails, spirits, and more are included on the drink list.
It is important to maximize the first class experience on a short flight. You have to enjoy the food, drinks, bar, and shower in order to get some sleep. We decided to have a light dinner after we left the airport.
Dom Perignon was the first thing we ordered. buffalo mozzarella with pea cream and smoked olive oil was one of the items included.
We decided to order a double portion of caviar because it was the best part of the dining experience. We enjoyed this presentation so much that we wanted to eat it.
We decided to split the Arabic mezze into hot and cold ones.
This was the perfect meal for me. The rest of the food is not very good, but the mezze is really good. Warm towels and chocolates were given to us at the end of the meal.
The onboard bar is a must see on the A380. On this route, where the bar talk is basically "what, you also live on the Upper East side?", it presents a challenge because I don't want to socialize with strangers. Do you plan to go to Lake Como? It's not possible, what are the odds?
We went to the bar when the meal service was about to start in business class because they don't have dine-on-demand. The A380 cabin is large. The main cabin is there.
There is a small cabin at the back.
There is a bartender on duty at the A380 bar, with a couch on each side of the bar.
There is a large television on the back of the plane. Business class service is performed from the rear galley and there are lavatories in the bar.
There are a lot of self serve snacks at the bar.
Ford and I shared a slice of the cake on the main portion of the bar.
We thought we had to have a champagne cocktail. It was really good.
After chatting with a friendly South African flight attendant at the bar, we headed back to our seats to get some rest.
The beds were made by the time we got back to the cabin. There are more spacious first class suites out there, but I like the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere. There are two air nozzles and I like the stars on the ceiling.
I can sleep on a plane, but I can't sleep in first class.
The crew turned off all the entertainment screens in the cabin and closed all the window blinds to keep the cabin as dark as possible. It is appreciated.
I fell asleep just over two hours after I took off.
About 2.5 hours before landing, I woke up. I got 2.5 hours of very solid rest that night.
It was time to go to the bathroom. When I woke up, the crew was happy to move the shower appointment forward because I had originally been denied. One shower suite can be found on each side of the staircase in the A380 shower suites.
I wrote a guide to the shower suites on the A380, so I won't go into much detail in this post. The shower suites have a toilet, a walk in shower, heated floors, and a moving map feature.
You can choose from a huge selection of VOYA products.
I don't usually get excited about showering, but when I'm on the A380, there's nothing quite like it.
There is a bar at the front of the first class cabin, which can change several times during the flight. It has a basic water feature before taking off.
A bar is set up after the plane leaves the runway.
It is once again transformed into a water feature when it is close to landing.
Even if you don't shower, the shower suites can be used as lavatories. There is a smaller bathroom behind the first class cabin if both are occupied.
The towel and fruit plate that I was offered at the conclusion of the meal was always placed at the seat after showering.
I ordered an Americano after that.
I had a fruit plate and some yogurt to start my day. I was served a basket of pastries.
The waffles were made with cherry compote and maple syrup. The waffles were wet and hard. It meant that I didn't finish them.
Ford wanted to have without hollandaise. The better dish was that one.
The service on this flight was excellent. Toby was the purser and I have to acknowledge my biases. Toby was the purser on my first flight almost a decade ago and I remembered him for his professionalism.
The reality is that the purser mainly manages the entire cabin crew, so he wasn't serving us the whole time. The ladies working first class were personable, attentive, and fun. It was easy to provide great service with only five seats occupied as the three other passengers in first class slept the whole way.
The captain told us that we were 260 nautical miles from landing, that we were just passing Lyon, and that we were heading over the Alps towards Torino. He told us that we would be landing around 45 minutes later.
The sign for seatbelts was turned on. We landed at 12:14PM, which was much earlier than predicted. The tail camera went all the way to the gate.
We arrived at the stand at 12:20PM after taking a taxi for 10 minutes. I had never seen the plane in the flesh before we parked next to it.
It was an incredible flight. At just 85K Skywards miles per person in first class, the A380 is a great value. A visit to the bar is one of the highlights of first class. Toby was the leader of this flight.
The only complaint I have about this flight is that it isn't long enough to enjoy all the A380 has to offer.
What was your experience on the A380?
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