I experienced my 1st Airbus A380-800 flight, a Lufthansa flight from FRA to SIN.

The Lufthansa service was as usual flawless (classy and pretty FA, it is NO Emirates over-luxurious but it is efficient) and at US$ 688, I call this a hell of a deal !

The cabin was extremely roomy, you sensed there were a few extra cm everywhere over the Boeing 747, the seats were about 3cm wider and you had a good 10-20cm between the armrest and the wall (the later would squeak when you leaned against it... huh).

My comfy seat was no 50K which I am mixed about (very 1st seat row in the Economy section so right after the flight deck section : no seat in front so great knee room but not much to extend my long legs because of the bulkhead).

You could barely hear the lovely, sorry, LOVELY Trent 970 roar during the take off roll, which appeared to take ages. I was quite surprised at the acceleration which felt quite swift, given the MTOW and A380 inertia.

Speed gained quickly but FL350 took like 1 hour. Again, so quiet, Trent 970 roar almost inaudible in flight, so were aerodynamic noises.

All in all a fine experience...

but...

can someone explain to me why I still prefer the 747-400 , which has a more cramped seats, is a little noisier, usually has no PTV (at least on LH airframes) ?

I really liked this A380-800 flight and am a honest Airbus fan (ok, lets say 40% Airbus/60% Boeing) but next time, it will be a 747-400 or a 777, sorry.

pa747sp I think you're onto something! This might get me shot around here, but sometimes I appreciate flying an RJ (esp F in the CRJ-900) because you actually are feeling a lot of it.

PMG, I think it's near-unanimous here, while the A380 is great, etc etc, the 747 takes the cake for grace and beauty.