Flying Out of Houston
Inside the world's largest passenger jet: Airbus A380 brings air wows,house-sized bathrooms
The economy section of the A380 aircraft feels surprisingly spacious.Photo by Whitney Radley
Business class passengers can fully recline their seats for a comfortableresting position.Photo by Whitney Radley
Houston City Council members, Mayor Annise Parker, Lufthansa and Airbusrepresentatives performed a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.Photo by Whitney Radley
Those flying first-class get premium amenities and privacy walls.Photo by Whitney Radley
The waiting area outside of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's D-11 seemed an unlikely spot for a midday polka performance, but that didn't deter the crowd of media, city and corporate notables and, presumably, travelers, who lined up at the gate to celebrate the arrival of Lufthansa German Airlines' A380 on Wednesday afternoon.
Following a few Oompah tunes by the lederhosen-clad members of Alpenfest, representatives from Airbus, Lufthansa and the Houston Airport System (HAS) joined Mayor Annise Parker in singing the praises of the state-of-the-art, double decker plane that touched down around 1:50 p.m., after more than nine hours in flight from Frankfurt, Germany.
First class passengers get full fold-out mattresses, personal flat-screen televisions, privacy walls and restroom facilities that are very likely larger than the one in my apartment.
Preparations for the service began almost a year ago, and construction on IAH's Terminal D to accommodate the gigantic plane commenced in January of this year. Those expansions ended on time and under budget.
And it's brought what is touted as the "world's largest passenger jet." Houston is the first city in Texas to get the Airbus A380.
"Houston is already connected to the world. This just opens the door a little bit wider," said Parker, who noted that the strong economic ties between Houston and Germany led to $7.6 billion worth of trade last year.
The mayor reaffirmed her commitment to keeping IAH a flagship airport while expanding the reach of the other two facilities within the Houston Airport System.
Meanwhile, Jürgen Siebenrock, Lufthansa's vice president of the Americas, indicated the importance of the recently-snubbed United Airlines in making IAH an attractive connecting destination for the aircraft.
"We had 90 different [countries of origin]. It just shows that we are connecting the whole world with Houston and Texas," Siebenrock said.
What about the plane?
"It's great. Huge," announced Parker after her tour of the A380, a compliment accompanied by two thumbs up.
A personal tour proved her right: The spacious coach area is divided into compartments for surprisingly intimate seating, given that the bulk of the plane's 526 passengers are kept on the bottom deck.
Fore and aft stairways connect it to the upper deck, which is home to expansive first class and business class areas. Business class seats recline and are relatively comfortable for passengers who don't mind sleeping at an angle (yes, I tested).
But first class passengers get full fold-out mattresses, personal flat-screen televisions, privacy walls and restroom facilities that are very likely larger than the one in my apartment.
Siebenrock explained that the plane boasts unparalleled comfort, a humidification system that decreases jet lag by 20 percent and a quieter customer experience — plus it's fuel-efficient to boot.
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