Emirates has 81 A380s in service.
The plane: A handsome A380-800 (Why do I feel more secure getting on a big bird like this?).
Class: Comfortable economy.
Price: Just another leg on a round trip from Auckland to Stockholm, then out of Copenhagen home via Dubai and Singapore. Total cost $2400.
Flight time: A little over six hours, or in passenger-speak, "two movies".
My seat: 85K, a window seat, which I requested to see Scandinavia, Europe and the Middle East below, which can be spectacular on a clear day. However with low cloud about an hour out it was... two movies and dinner. Very comfortable seat, better than the hard encounter from Akl to Dubai on the way up.
Fellow passengers: A lot of healthy-looking young Scandinavians and their rather more portly older male counterparts. Holidaymakers for the most part but all well-dressed. No Jandals and shorts going to Dubai. Four young women I took to be either models or living some Sex and the City fantasy.
How full: In the concourse it looked worryingly crowded but there were some pleasant gaps, notably the seat by me.
Entertainment: You betcha. It was the start of a new month so new movies rolled up (the latest Star Wars instalment, The Big Short and others) Great selection. Apparently 535 movies in 34 languages.
The service: Typically professional.
Food and drink: Dinner included sumac chicken on rice with peas and peppers, or seared salmon with tagliatelle and sauteed spinach. I had the excellent salmon but liked the look of the chicken the guy two seats over had.
The toilets: Clean, tidy, small. In and out.
Luggage: Just a bag in the hold full of cold-weather gear and a small carry-on for an overnight stay in humid Singapore further down the line.
The airport experience: Established European cities like Copenhagen - train from the central city right to the door it seemed - have this thing down pat. So good I can't remember it.
Would I fly this again? Yes, and despite my disappointment this time I'd go for a window seat again because on a clear day you really can see forever at that altitude. And if you can't, there are more than 500 movies to choose from, right?
Desperate for a summer getaway but don't want the admin? Waiheke has the answers.