TANKS Travel Tales - a travelogue.......

All Nippon Airways (ANA) currently has two A380-800s in service as of the date of this blog post. Deliveries of the new A380 Superjumbo began in March 2019. A total of three of this aircraft type will eventually be in the service of the Japanese airline. Each ANA A380-800 comes in a 4-class configuration featuring 8 seats in First Class, 56 seats in Business Class, 73 seats in Premium Economy and 383 seats in Economy; a total of 520 seats. The aircrafts currently only serve ANA's route from Tokyo to Honolulu, with flights departing from Narita Airport. I was overjoyed to see one of these A380-800 in its special Turtle Livery at Narita Airport on 9 June 2019 and again on 17 June 2019.  Airbus A380-800 with Turtle Livery at Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan (2019) Airbus A380-800 with Turtle Livery at Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan (2019) Airbus A380-800 with Turtle Livery at Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan (2019) Airbus A380-800 with Turtle Livery 1/200 scale

Of all modern wide body airliners, none is arguably more impressive than the Airbus A380-800.   And its not just the aesthetics that made the A380 the favourite airliner for most travellers. The interior of the plane is spacious and grand. More importantly, it does not gives one the claustrophobic feel. Take offs and landings are usually smooth and turbulences encountered in-flight are typically  less disturbing to the passengers, probably due to the size and bulk of this massive aircraft. The cabin is also relatively quiet as the plane cruises to its destination, providing a good ambience for the passengers to rest or catch up on some sleep, especially on those red-eye flights. Personally, the A380-800 is my number one choice when it comes to flying. This is especially so during long haul flights. Whenever possible, I usually try to select flights serviced using the A380 when booking my flight tickets. I will even go as far as to give up the so-called premium flight schedules

Emirates operates the largest number of the massive Airbus A380-800 passenger planes compared to all their peers in the airline industry. At the time of the writing of this blog post, Emirates reportedly had 96 of these magnificent planes in operation with a further 46 on order.  The A380-800 is also my personal favourite. When booking my flights, if the flight schedules, plane availability and budget permit, I will usually select those flights operated using the A380. The comfort level of this plane, its relatively spacious interiors and its good handling of turbulences are exceptional. And of course, this plane looks absolutely beautiful. A marvel of engineering! I have never flown on Emirates before and thus have not had any chance to experience the A380s operated by this reputable airline. I had however flown on the A380-800 numerous times on flights operated by Singapore Airlines and thus got to experience the comfort of this plane in both 'J' Class (Business) and

Airplanes are synonymous with today's notion of traveling. Whenever I am at any airports waiting for my flight, I always enjoyed watching planes took off and land. During such moments, I have never failed to marvel at the incredible engineering feat that enabled such big machines to literally lift off almost effortlessly from the ground and into the air! Amazing isn't it? As part of my aircraft watching past time, I usually took photos of these planes; using my iPhone as that is the most convenient camera that I have on hand. Here is a picture of a Thai Airways Airbus A380-800 taxying along one of the runways of the Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH). Thai Airways Airbus A380-800 at the Chek Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong, China (2012) See also other  Airplane Pictures  in this travel blog