Not directly related, but I flew the A380 on that route the other day, Melbourne Abu Dhabi, cattle class.
The 380 is nice. The passenger area seems to have smaller compartments, making it quieter. The screen was responsive as was the remote control. Choice of movies seems slim though. Toilets seemed slightly larger than other planes, or better designed and easier to use. I had an empty seat next to me, which helped a little with feelings of space, but legroom seemed poor. Food not bad at all, though on these long flights I often am hungry in between meals. It's probably a little quieter for engine and air noise than other planes, but of course doesn't measure up to the Dreamliner at all on that score. Some odd cabin service - a woman with small child wanted a row to herself, and the cabin crew moved people around like a 3D puzzle to try to satisfy her, even lying to some young women near me about why they were being asked to move!
Followed by a A320 to Dublin. Seemed shabby in comparison. Legroom better than the 380, but I suspect this was actually because the seat base is smaller! Food good. Oddly, different choices on IFE because although it was Sunday 4th June, it was still running the May programme. Works for me because I watched movies I know won't be available to me later in the month! IFE the usual frustratingly unresponsive touchscreen with a basic remote that I end up using more than the screen because the screen does the wrong thing so many times. Toilets the usual cramped affair (not, not literally affair), and I'm not especially tall or broad. Quite an empty flight, so I managed to score a row of 4 seats to myself, and got a bit of rest. But such a short seat base made it difficult to stay on and comfortable!
Somehow whatever I did, I seemed to have tripped the Silver status again, so although I paid for access to the Al Reem lounge so I could have a shower (that's an expensive shower), I'll get it for free on the way back.
I didn't bother paying for access to the lounge in Melbourne. For some reason I didn't feel like using it at the time, even though I had over 4 hours to wait. Had Hungry Jacks instead - they did a good trick. Made me wait 10 minutes for the "fast food", which was then mostly cold when I got it. That's some trick.
Melbourne international terminal is a bit of a mess at the moment, and I couldn't even find a decent sized newsagent that stocked the magazine I wanted.
. You can only get into Residence by forking out $. No upgrades/redemption and apparently they also never op-up their Top FF's from the Apartments into Residence.
