First-class passengers have their own staircase to the A380's upper deck.
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Analysts like Aboulafia see a future that favors Boeing's smaller, lighter 787 (assuming it ever gets delivered). Airbus is developing its own not-so-jumbo jet, the A350, for that reason. But Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon is sticking by his hub strategy. The skies are getting crowded, and he'd rather have the A380 collect passengers in Paris from all over Europe and deliver them to places like New York City and Johannesburg. "It's just like the big cities today," he says. "It doesn't make sense to add a lot of small cars. You need to add buses."
To the jetizens aboard the A380 as it made a somewhat wobbly landing, the arguments about economics and hub-and-spoke miss the point. The A380 is new, massive, filled with technology, and right now only Air France's flies the Atlantic's most glamorous route. They booked passage on this inaugural flight to catch a glimpse of better days, when flying was still an adventure, even if it will never cease to be a chore.
Global Dispatch
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