The Qantas Airbus 380

Currently, I'm sitting in the Qantas business class lounge at the Sydney airport. Shortly I'll be boarding an Airbus 380 which is the new giant in the skies, having bumped the venerable Boeing 747 into second place. The aircraft is parked at gate 9 nearby and I can view it out the window to my left. The beautiful Sydney skyline is in the background. The skies are blue, the sun is shining. I am giddy with excitement. I'm finding it difficult to concentrate on anything except the aircraft. I am in fact, obsessed. They'll be calling to board flight QF31 to Singapore shortly for a flight that takes 8 hours and 15 minutes.

Business class seats are all upstairs on the second deck in the first two sections of windows seen in the photo above. This is where I'll be sitting. The premium economy is also upstairs but in the last two sections of windows. First class is on the main deck, first set of windows followed by economy all the way to the tail on the main deck. It would have been my preference to fly the aircraft from the U.S. to Sydney and then again to Singapore, however, Qantas hasn't opened up trans-pacific airline award travel seats for this sector. Too bad, but I'm happy nevertheless. For me this is a highlight of the trip and the fact that the aircraft is parked at the gate and that it hasn't been swapped with a 747 is fantastic. For a glimpse of the experience I'm in for you can click here and check out the aircraft on the Qantas website. There's a virtual tour. Take it! I don't mind if you're jealous. To be sure, I'll have someone on-board take photos of me and post them sometime in future.

There is little doubt that the upcoming experience is going to be fantastic, but I'm sad about having to leave Sydney. My how the city has changed since I was here 28 years ago, though I have to confess I'm not exactly sure how it has changed. One thing I discovered: they added two new steeples to St. Mary's Cathedral since I was here last! The city is as vibrant as ever, the people warm and friendly. I could easily live here.

The flight has been called. Got to go!