The changeover at Frankfurt was very smooth, although we had to go through security again and Graeme got stopped suddenly because the bag he has been using without any problem suddenly seemed to have sprouted a metal bar in the case lid which other security systems have never picked up! The security man finally nailed it down to that and let him go through. Then it was time for a beer and a blog update. It was all so calm round the boarding gate that suddenly we were being told that it was the very last call for our flight, so we decided we had better get on!
When we got on board, our jaws dropped. It turned out that we were to be on the world’s largest passenger plane – the Airbus A380, taking 518 passengers along at around 600 mph and at 39,000 feet. Its engines are made by Rolls Royce and its wings in North Wales and it was very quiet indeed.
It was something like 14 seats across the main cabin (3 + 8 + 3), but we overshot our seats when boarding. We were on row 58 which we had assumed would be somewhere near the back. In fact, it seems that the first 50 rows are in the upstairs first class area, so we were only about 9 rows from the front. As plebs, we weren’t allowed anywhere near the first class area which apparently included a lounge area and full size washrooms as well as the usual seats which reclined into full beds.
Service was once again excellent and, this time, as well as the range of drinks we had been offered on the commuter flight, we were also offered complimentary beer, wine or sparkling wine – heaven! The only disconcerting thing about the staff was that one of the Japanese flight attendants was wearing a face mask – something we were going to have to get used to on this holiday, it turned out. The in-flight service was even better than on Emirates, but the in-flight entertainment wasn’t as good. The best film that Graeme could find was Master and Commander which he had never got round to seeing when it first came out on tv and Elizabeth couldn’t find any films at all that she wanted to watch.
The food offered was excellent – very tasty – and we were regularly offered copious amounts to drink, including a choice of free brandy or Bailey’s at the end of our evening meal. There was plenty of legroom and the seats were as comfortable as one could expect in economy class on what was an almost 11-hour flight. We flew over Eastern Europe, the Baltic States then right across the top of Russia. It never got dark and we experienced something of a never-ending twilight where the sun never went below the horizon.
What a sinister expression dad!
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