Emirates' A380 makes US history

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ATN's photographer captures Emirates' first A380 touching down in Dubai.

Emirates Airline made history last month when the carrier’s super-jumbo embarked on the first ever A380 commercial flight to the Americas.

The airline took delivery of its first double-decker from Hamburg, which touched down in Dubai before jetting off to John F. Kennedy International Airport where it arrived at approximately 4.35pm on August 1.

The 13.5-hour flight took off earlier that day at 11am Dubai time with 489 passengers and 24 cabin crew on board.

Emirates Airline then showcased its aircraft later that week on August 4 and 5 in San Francisco and Los Angeles as part of a number of exclusive tours the aircraft has planned for the United States.

The gigantic plane is arranged in a three-class configuration -399 seats in economy, 76 fully-flat seats in business class and 14 private suites in first class - and is also equipped with onboard shower spas and a lounge. But despite its colossal size, the A380 is among the most environmentally considerate aircraft ever built and offers better fuel economy per passenger mile than most hybrid passenger cars.

Emirates is due to receive five of the super-jumbos in the current financial year. After being incorporated into the airline's twice-daily service to New York, the quieter, greener aircraft will be deployed on the London Heathrow route from December 1 and on the Sydney and Auckland services from February next year.

In the meantime, to give UK passengers a taste of things to come, Emirates installed a giant model of an Airbus A380 at the gateway to London Heathrow Airport on the roundabout plot where a large model of the ill-fated Concorde once stood.

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Cold shower
Posted by Graham Plater, Munich, Germany on Monday 8 September 2008 at 12:35 UAE time


Don't ground the A380 - I have the answer to the problem. Cold showers! What better way to come to your senses after flying across a dozen time zones?

AB380 'grounded by shower'
Posted by skyobserver, London, uk on Monday 8 September 2008 at 09:39 UAE time


The AB 380 is making history in the UAE if the rumours are to be believed !

Seems that the introduction of showers on board is causing major problems with the avionics ! (something to do with the electronics in the heating elements causing interference).

Drop the arrogance EK & AB and tell the travelling public the real issues!

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