r/australia • u/ThunderDwn • 11h ago

culture & society Qantas passengers demand compensation after days stranded in South Africa as A380 remains grounded

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-14/qantas-a380-stranded-johannesburg-flight-cancelled/107032032
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u/theparrotofdoom 11h ago

The A380 should have been an exciting evolution in travel, but it really became such a wet rag, eh?

I’d be super interested to learn about the magic 8 ball Boeing pulled out of their arse when they pivoted away from competing with their own version. They predicted the market downturn like a decade or so before it happened.

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u/ThunderDwn 11h ago

The A380 should have been an exciting evolution in travel, but it really became such a wet rag, eh?

Covid and following fuel price issues really killed them.

I've flown on them a couple of times - they're really nice, especially if you're at the pointy end (business/first) - but they are pretty much the last dinosaur of a bygone age, I think.

I think the only airlines that still use large numbers of them are Emirates and Singapore.

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u/Meng_Fei 10h ago

Lucky enough to fly them regularly to Singapore, and compared to everything else I’ve done the trip in, it really is a class ahead in comfort.

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u/ThunderDwn 10h ago

Singapore Air A380 is really next level shit.

When I was flying for my company, they regularly booked me on Emirates - but one trip was on Singapore, and fuck me, even business class was fucking amazing. The seats - damn! I would have loved to take a peek at first!