I have many fond memories of the 747 – even the ones where I arrived at my destination with a head full of dried snot after sitting next to a guy burping and scratching his nuts for 14 hours straight. Many have criticized the A380 for being the “wrong aircraft at the wrong time”. If you were to walk up to me and ask me ” A380 vs 747- which is better?” I would probably instantly respond with “747!” However, this is largely down to the fact that I flew the 747 when I was a commercial pilot! I consider the A380 to be ahead of its time. On the other hand, I prefer boarding the 747 if I’m a premium passenger on the upper deck. SANspotter.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. From London Heathrow? While the 747-8 is longer than the A380, at 79.75 meters, the A380 has a wider wingspan. The Airbus is wider in its cabin than the Boeing. The moniker “Queen of the skies” is a nickname often given to the 747, but it was not the first airliner to be called that. Yeah, she was getting old and crusty in her later years, but I didn’t mind a bit. It depends. They are disappearing fast, so there’s no telling what the future will hold…. Along with its MTOW, the 747 is a pushover: 575 tonnes vs. 412 tonnes. The 747 had a slight advantage when it comes to serving passengers. Haha! A proper A380 vs 747 comparison is something that I should’ve done a long time ago. The CEO was talking about the future of the A380, 744, 748 in the current climate, they said they would be parking the A380 for the foreseeable future, and the 744 was due to retire anyway. Asiana A380 business class flight from Los Angeles to Seoul, United business class flight from SFO to ICN, this article about aircraft cabin humidity. The A380 on the other hand looks like someone shoved a leaf blower up the arse of an A320. Before that, he was an F-16 pilot and later a 747 pilot before transitioning to being a 787 pilot. This is due to the extra 150 or so passengers on board. The A380 was first flown  in 2005, and was first entered into service in 2007, whereas the 747 was first flown in 1969 and was entered into service in 1970. It is also about 50% heavier than the 747 even when empty. The Airbus airplane that is designed to compete with the 747 is the A340. The Boeing 747 became one of the best selling airliners in history, with a total of 1,571 built and 1,557 delivered to customers. As much as I admire the A380, I just feel like it hasn’t been around long enough for me to build any sentimental attachment to. I personally disagree, thinking that it’s the perfect aircraft for large airlines who have hubs in severely slot-restricted airports (British Airways and London Heathrow airport comes to mind). Delta vs Southwest: is even it possible for two airlines to be MORE different? However in the early 1960’s, Pan American World Airways’ president, Juan Trippe, approached Boeing in search of a larger aircraft. Interestingly enough, I’ve never had that experience on A380. The second most important reason is that the 747 is graceful and looks eager to fly even when its sitting at the gate. Yes, upper deck passengers have to board the other main deck, but it’s especially fun because you’ll get to use the stairs on the inside of the aircraft to get to the top. The biggest difference between the two is size as the A380 is certainly much bigger than the 747. It’s a very loud airplane both in and out. Boeing claims the 747-8 has double-digit lower costs, to which Airbus indignantly says Boeing–not to put too fine a point on it–is lying. In nerdspeak, the difference between the two in pure mass is more than the total amount of fuel 747 carries on a long-haul flight. The A380 vs 747 boarding process is vastly different depending on which airlines are involved, because each airline configures their aircraft differently. I referred to the A380 as a “solid chunk of metal” in that last paragraph. A380 vs 747: comparing all the things passengers care about most, An oversimplified history of the Boeing 747, An oversimplified history of the Airbus A380, Stepping onto (and off) the 747 vs the A380. In our recent transpacific airline ranking, we assessed and compared the fuel efficiency of the top 20 airlines operating flights between the U.S., East Asia, and Oceana. Population growth is exploding everywhere. Ever. I just did a bit more research and it looks as if the maximum jet bridges is 3 for an A380 (2 is the most common). Whereas the 747 feels like a machine built from many parts and pieces, the A380 feels like one solid chunk of metal. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 747-400 stretch, Airbus A3XX competitor Boeing Pelican: 2002: 2,700 t Ground effect and medium altitude transport Airbus A380-900: 2006: 590 t Airbus A380-800 stretch, postponed in May 2010: TsAGI HCA-LB: 2010s: 1,000 t ground effect aircraft powered by LNG: Skylon: current: 345 t reusable spaceplane Back in the 1960s (when the 747 was being designed) there likely wasn’t enough data to know that arriving at your destination with a head full of dried snot (that remained caked in your head for days afterwards) is an inconvenient feeling. How is there the ability to attach 4 jetbridges to an A380?? They just want to be comfy and arrive at their destination not dead. Vultee P-66 Vanguard: The US’s Forgotten WWII Fighter. While waiting the ATC to get a takeoff clearance. Which of these two aircraft do flight attendants and cabin crew prefer? According to Bloomberg, Lufthansa will consider the retirement of the remaining Airbus A380s, most of the Airbus A340s, and all of its Boeing 747-400s next week at a board meeting. A380 galleys are much larger and better equipped than their 747 counterparts, and it’s far easier for them to work. Thus the Boeing 747 is a six-story construction whereas Airbus A380 is a 8-story construction. … Even though many will never to fly on either of these two aircraft ever again, there’s nothing wrong with doing some deep-dive reminiscing about how both of these mega-airplanes are different from one another. Whilst I may believe in a question of “A380 vs 747?” The 747 will always come out on top, there is surely a whole continent of people who’d disagree with me! We will not be focusing on items like comfort or the bigger windows on the 787, as although these are excellent for passengers, they don’t really contribute much to the airline’s bottom line. Christopher Harrow is the Editor-in-Chief for International Aviation HQ. Haha! I’m not a rocket scientist, but I do know one thing from experience: sitting in the back of a 747 in extremely choppy air over the North Pacific ocean in the middle of the night is an incredibly scary experience. Because I’m not a flight attendant (and I couldn’t even begin to guess what they would say), I reached out to a handful of my cabin crew friends on Instagram: Even though I’ve given the advantage to the Airbus A380 in this competition, it’s actually the 747 that I prefer. Boeing was in competition with Douglas, General Dynamics, Lockheed, and Martin Marietta for this government contract but ultimately lost. Due to the larger Lockheed Martin C5 Galaxy, the 747 was not chosen by the US government to go into production. The wing area of the Airbus A380 is much larger when compared to the wing area of Boeing 747. A380 vs 747- which is the true “Queen of the Skies”? The A380 does have a larger wingspan that the overall length at 79.8m / 261 ft 10 in. I’m going to try my best to prevent this from being just an AvGeek’s wet dream, but I’ve been known to venture wildly off track before…, As much as I want to say that both the 747 and the A380 have a long and glamorous history, that isn’t exactly the case. If there’s one thing that both the 747 to A380 have in common, it’s the ability to fill passengers with excitement just before boarding. The OP flew in the Autumn of 2015 and has not revisited this thread since. In terms of A380 vs 747 boarding processes, they were a little different. It must’ve been hell. I’ve been in that situation multiple times on both of these aircraft, and the A380 was far more stable each time. Logically, these passengers would actually offset the extra fuel cost to fly the same distance and allow the Airbus to be more profitable.Winner: Airbus A380 Your email address will not be published. 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