The World’s SHORTEST Airbus A380 flight! | ASIANA Upper Deck ECONOMY Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon!

The World’s SHORTEST Airbus A380 flight! | ASIANA Upper Deck ECONOMY Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon!

the Airbus A380 is a plane unlike any other with its massive size the airliner is designed to transport the largest possible number of people over long distances but what makes the A380 so unsuitable for short hall flights after all most of the world’s busiest air routes are fairly short an important factor is the turnaround time short hall planes are turned around multiple times each day and a densely configured Airbus A380 takes a long time to deboard clean and board making it an inefficient choice another contributor is that particularly for short flights the customer wants to be able to choose when to fly three flights spread out across the day are more convenient than just one flight on a massive plane gate size constraints and cabin layout invariability among others also hamper the A380 suitability for short hall service that raises the question why would you ever find an A380 on a short hall flight to answer that question you’ll simply have to look at what the shortest ever A380 flights were for back in 2021 Singapore Airlines briefly operated a flight from Singapore to Koala Lumpur with their Aeros A380 a route of just 300 km the Super Jumbo wasn’t used for its capacity but rather for crew training purposes after its pandemic era grounding at that point Singapore Airlines crews hadn’t operated the plane for a year and a half and needed to retrain on it for which short flights are simply the most efficient way to do so before that in 2016 and 2017 Emirates briefly used its A380 on a route just a 100 kilometers longer from Dubai to Doha among other reasons to bring as many transfer passengers as possible from Doha to Dubai for Emirates hub waves from slot constrained DXB both Singapore to Koala Lumpur as well as the Dubai to Doha A380 flights unfortunately don’t exist anymore leaving us with the current shortest A380 flight on the planet from Seoul to Tokyo aboard Azana after the pandemic only British Airways ANA and Aana Airlines brought back all of their original A380s with Azana having six in operation and with such a small number of planes filling the schedule efficiently with longhaul flights only is challenging in recent years Aana used its A380s on flights to Los Angeles and Taipei occasionally to Bangkok as well as down to Sydney during northern winter starting this summer though they’ll exclusively fly them to Los Angeles and New York JFK which unfortunately also means the end of the Super Jumbo’s short hall services including the flights to Tokyo so today let’s take the A380 from Tokyo over to Seoul while we’re still able to i’m glad you’ve decided to join me so let’s get going after flying from Osaka Kansai to Sol Inion on one of Aana’s final Boeing 747 flights a video certainly worth watching between Japan Japan and Korea too in contrast to the 747 flight we’ll travel in economy class today but still on the upper deck as Aana’s A380 has a fairly large economy class section upstairs after getting our ticket for the Narita Express which connects various parts of Tokyo directly with Narita Airport the one that’s quite far from the city center it’s time to get an iky bin this is my own little tradition when taking the hour-long journey to fly out of Narita icky ben are bento boxes made to be eaten on trains with iky meaning station and ben being short for bento watching the scenery of Tokyo pass by the train while enjoying one last Japanese meal always makes that hourlong journey to the airport just fly by aana Airlines like most Star Airlines carriers uses Terminal 1 at Narita Airport check-in was quick and easy because of how early I usually go to the airport there is really nothing wrong with Narita Airport and its terminals they are sizable easy to navigate and fairly modern however the Japanese government recently unveiled plans to rebuild the entire airport over the course of the next two decades unifying the current three terminals into one massive building as well as adding a third runway while I can see certain efficiency improvements over the long term I feel like this will cause quite a lot of construction related headaches at Narita in the short term over there you can see a third of ANA’s A380 fleet right next to 16th of Az more specifically the plane we’ll be traveling aboard today hotel Lima 7635 a 2015built Airbus A380 aiana now operates their super jumbos in a twoclass configuration with 78 business class seats and 417 economycl class seats originally there was also a 12 seat first class cabin which is still physically there only that Aana terminated its firstass service and now sells these seats as business suites with business class service on the ground and in the air but physical first class seats you can pay extra to be seated in we won’t get to see them though as we’re seated in the rear of the upper deck such people my friend who works at airlines thank you please here you can see Aana’s 121 configured regular business class featuring Stelia Solstice seats and all the way in the back is a 242 configured economy class section with our seat being 74A i am a big sucker for those upper deck economycl class window seats on the A380 as they basically feel like premium economy with all that extra space because the upper deck isn’t as wide there are only eight seats per row as opposed to 10 seats on the main deck which makes it easier to get out of your seat and thus has a less claustrophobic feel to it but most importantly the A380 has storage boxes built into its walls making use of what otherwise would have been dead space caused by the fuselage curvature these boxes are there regardless of what kind of seat is put next to it and not just gives you handy extra space to store things but also a flat surface next to you during the flight contributing to that premium economy feel is the generous leg room of Aiana’s long haul economy class being 180 cm tall this is phenomenal and there’s even a footrest installed universal power ports are available between the seats and inside the seatback pocket you will find a pair of complimentary headphones which is also generous for a 2-hour flight the tray table can be used halfopened or fully opened and each seat comes with an adjustable entertainment touchcreen a remote control is available too as is a USBA port to charge small electronic devices as well as a coat hook in the ceiling above you may notice there are no personal air vents and the reading lights aren’t adjustable the audio port is at the tip of the armrest and each seat has a headrest adjustable vertically as well as on the sides despite being almost a decade old these economycl class seats are holding up incredibly well especially because of the modern video on demand entertainment system made by Panasonic welcome aboard ladies and gentlemen we’d like to familiarize you with the emergency equipment and emergency evacuation of this aircraft as we are pushing back for departure you may notice quite a few other South Korean planes here at Narita Airport compared to before the pandemic South Koreans are traveling to Japan in notably increased numbers which also reflects on the numbers of seats offered across the Sea of Japan solenion to Tokyo Narita and Solenion to Osaka Kansai were the third and fifth busiest international air routes respectively in the world in 2024 and show significant increases compared to 2019 especially the South Korean’s demand for travel to the greater Osaka area also justified the Boeing 747 operation until just recently and the Inion to Kai sector also saw Aana’s A380 operating selected flights a route that’s just under 900 km so 400 km shorter than the one to Tokyo now it’s time to head out and I’ll need to stop talking for you to even be able to hear the A380s insanely quiet engines heat heat ha ha as we just have around 2 hours Between departure and descent let’s have a quick look around the cabin before lunch is served the lavatory is fairly standard it comes with a changing table and Aana also provides a generic facial and hand lotion seats in the bulkhead row need to be paid extra for and the crew makes sure nobody just sits down there during the flight this A380 is also fitted with a colored LED lighting system giving the cabin a cozy feeling on overnight flights while the hardware is state-of-the-art the software of Aiana’s entertainment system isn’t the newest anymore but still gets the job done a variety of movies and TV shows are available to watch on demand with a notable focus on Korean content the In addition to music and games there is also a dedicated kit section as well as an interactive mapping application the screens also come with a top layer making them appear dark when looked at in an angle so you’re not disturbed by what your neighbor is watching aiana’s A380s do not offer Wi-Fi so if you plan on staying connected during the flight you’ll need to travel aboard Aana’s Airbus A350 which is the only type in their fleet fitted with in-flight Wi-Fi even on this short flight a complimentary hot meal service is offered by default only this one option is available but you can pre-order special meals for free the meal service has a rather unique layout with a main dish being handed to you alongside this cardboard box and a beverage of your choice folded open you can then place everything together for the main course we’ve got bulgogi beef on a bed of steamed white rice with veggies an optional dab of kchu jang Korean red pepper paste on the side and it was served alongside some egg tofu a waffle a cup of water and a beverage of your choice where I went with some orange juice but a variety of sodas juices coffee and tea as well as alcoholic options were offered at no charge i flew from Tokyo Narita to Solenion Aana Airlines almost exactly one year prior as well aboard their Airbus A321 about which I’ve made a detailed video too and if you watched that review you might have noticed that the meal served today is exactly the same as the one I had a year ago down to the number of green beans and carrot pieces now there is a slim possibility Aana rotates their meal offerings based on the month or season and since both flights were in December I ended up with the same meal however the more likely scenario is that Aana never changed what meal is served on this route and that’s kind of boring however in the grand scheme of things this is an incredibly good complaint to have receiving a complimentary hot meal in economy class on a 2 and 1/2 hour flight isn’t all that common anymore and the meal was delicious enough that I didn’t mind all that much having had it twice ladies and gentlemen as we’re already starting our descent into Soul I have to say this flight was awesome especially these upper deck economycl class window seats are phenomenal for the amount of space they offer but I also enjoyed the entertainment system and appreciate the variety of charging opportunities available too and of course as an aviation geek because I got to try another Airlines Airbus A380 the plane isn’t manufactured anymore so its number is only going to go down from now and we travel on board and despite its age it’s still a wonderful option in economycl class in particular albeit only on a small number of routes aiana’s long haul economy class service is also fantastic to travel between LA and Seoul or in winter between Sydney and Seoul Aana’s A380 is a choice I highly recommend and you make use of for as long as it still exists so you made a With that welcome to Soul Inan International Airport special thanks to subscriber or simply stopping by for this one video thank you very much for watching and coming along if you’re down watching and safe travels

The world’s shortest Airbus A380 flight used to be from Dubai to Doha, temporarily it was from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, but right now, you can catch the Superjumbo between Seoul and Tokyo, a route operated daily by Asiana Airlines, and a flight that’s a must for aviation geeks.

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*FLIGHT INFORMATION*
Airline: Asiana Airlines
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Registration: HL7635
Flight Time: 2h 30min
Seat: 74A
From: Tokyo Narita
To: Seoul Incheon
Date: December 2023

*PRICE BREAKDOWN*
Total Price: JPY 31,590.00
Total Routing: NRT-ICN
Booked through: Asiana Airlines Website
Cost includes: Economy Class Ticket including 1 checked bag and free seat reservation
Booking made: August 2023

*VIDEO BREAKDOWN*
00:00 – Introduction
00:58 – History of the Shortest ever A380 Flights
02:50 – Intro
03:37 – Getting to the Airport
04:41 – Narita Airport
05:24 – Boarding
06:50 – Cabin and Seat
09:13 – Taxi and Take Off
12:02 – Inflight
12:36 – Inflight Entertainment
13:37 – Lunch Service
15:40 – Conclusion
16:52 – Landing
17:36 – Incheon Airport
18:03 – Outro

*COLLABORATION DISCLAIMER*
This video does not contain product placements. The airline was neither involved nor informed about the production of this Tripreport. The ticket fare was paid by ourselves.

*ANIMATED MAPS*
Created with: GeoLayers 3 for Adobe After Effects – https://aescripts.com/geolayers/
Map Data by: OpenStreetMap
Compiled with: Map Tiler – https://www.maptiler.com/cloud/geolayers/
Created: July 2024

*GRAPHICS ATTRIBUTION*
Seat Drawing in intro made by Aviation Volume
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Website: https://taihungilouie.wixsite.com/aviationvolume

*EQUIPMENT INFORMATION*
Cameras used: Canon R6 (Canon 15-35mm F2.6, Canon 100-400mm F5.6-8), iPhone 15 Pro Max, DJI Osmo Pocket
Additional equipment used: Rode VideoMic Pro+, Blue Yeti Podcast Microphone, Joby Bendipod, Joby GorillaPod 1K

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