After returning from an exciting first experience at NBTA in LA, I was eager to see the Emirates A380 make its first successful landing from Dubai to JFK. It was a part of history seeing this jumbo jet, filled with 489 passengers, land safely on US soil.

From the Emirates First Class lounge at JFK, press, VIP guests and Emirates supporters enjoyed champagne and appetizers as we waited patiently for the A380 to appear out of the sky. At that moment, the dramatic music was cued and we all glued our faces to the window. With a wing span of 261 feet, the A380 resembled a friendly dinosaur. As it taxied its way to the gate, one of the pilots slid open his window and, like a teeny worm sticking out of an apple, stuck his head out and gave a thumbs up to the wide-eyed crowd of workers below.

As it takes a full 2 hours to clean the jet after the passengers exit, a press conference took place before we were able to tour the upper deck of the A380, which is solely for business- and first-class passengers. While the president of Emirates, Tim Clark, answered many questions about the plane, the pilot who made the historical flight stole the show; many of the questions were directed towards him as attendees wanted to know what it was like to actually fly the thing.

After the press conference, we viewed the 76 business seats, 14 first-class seats, lounges, showers and the bar on the upper deck. The technology and showers were most impressive, and the first-class suites, to me, resembled what I would imagine to be the ultimate luxury vanity table, complete with a 180-degree lie-flat bed. Everything needed and wanted for comfort is an arm’s length away in the suites. Business class is huge with 76 seats, but also is impressive and intimate with mood lighting.

-Courtney Centeno, account executive

I traveled to Zurich Tuesday night to attend a press conference for Swiss International Air Line’s new business class seat. I was able to fly over on the Swiss BBJ (Boeing Business Jet), my first experience on an all business class jet, but more on that in an upcoming review of the flight. With just a small amount of time in the city, I was not able to experience much of what Zurich has to offer, but we were lucky enough to stay at the newly reopened Dolder Grand, a truly magnificent hotel that reopened in April 2008 after a four year remodel! I also got a tour of the Zurich Airport with an extra special glimpse at the workings inside the airport tower!

But, as I said before, the real reason for the trip was the press conference. SWISS unveiled their new seat - which will begin popping up in the A330s and A340s in spring 2009 - and the revolutionary new seat technology they created in conjunction with Lantal, another Swiss company. The seats have replaced the old foam design with air technology, meaning lighter seats (which means lower fuel costs!) and adjustable comfort levels for the customers. As the presentation was going on, I was wowed by the product, but I couldn’t help wonder why airlines had not thought this up before. 

In addition, SWISS recently opened a brand new first, business and Senator lounge in Zurich Airport, which served as the setting of the conference. The press conference really offered a comprehensive look at the new seats and made available representatives from all departments of SWISS and from Lantal. SWISS passengers have a lot to look forward to next spring!

-Kimberly Krol, circulation and public relations executive

In this week’s eFlyer, I wrote about US News & World Report’s “airport misery” index. Based solely on delays and high passenger loads–which themselves contribute to delays, as anyone who has stood in an airplane aisle waiting for people to find a place to put their carry-on knows–they ranked Chicago O’Hare (ORD) “most miserable.”

I was in a mood to agree, having spent way too much time at O’Hare myself recently. At the same time, I know that it’s one of the great airports, ranked by GT readers as Best in North America. I have to say that United’s Red Carpet Club certainly helped smooth out my delay experience–I got work done, and then joined some friendly fellow passengers to Tampa at the bar.

And I have to say the delays weren’t all Chicago’s fault. Initially flights were backed up from a snowfall earlier in the day, but when that traffic cleared, the next delay was due to a ground hold for stormy weather in Tampa.

I have no one to blame but myself for choosing to transit O’Hare in midwinter. Weather happens. Unless you live there, the rest of us choose O’Hare as a connecting point because it’s such a massive hub and we can get just about any connection we need there; and sometimes, as in my case, we choose it because the fares are better than those for some of our other options.

I must admit that as I was in my sixth hour of waiting around, I started thinking that I had been penny-wise and pound-foolish for not spending the extra $500 to fly out of the South. That moment passed, though. Misery is in the eye of the beholder, and I’d rather be stuck at an airport that has a lot of flight options, plenty of bars and clubs and dining and shopping, than at an airport that is “less miserable” by virtue of having not so many flights and not so many passengers–and therefore fewer amenities to amuse them.

If you get stuck at Chicago and you can’t take it anymore, there’s even a hotel, the O’Hare Hilton, right in the terminal that has day rates. On my outbound flight, I’d booked myself a long connecting time to allow for weather, and had booked myself into the Hilton for the day. When I had to change my flight and wasn’t going to get a chance to use the Hilton, I called at the last minute and they didn’t even charge me for the cancellation. So I’ve stopped my grumbling; over all, O’Hare treated me well.

–Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer

Those close to me know I love to travel, as many of us do. What surprises many people, though, is that I also love the act of traveling. Of course, it makes it all better when I can do so in a premium cabin, but traveling is still more than a point A to point B process for me.

This weekend I took advantage of the holiday weekend and visited friends in Stockholm. I never leave much time for myself at the airport, but at Newark I had about 30 minutes to relax in Continental’s Presidents Club. It was like a party in the lounge as it was Friday afternoon and a holiday weekend. I took a seat at the bar and couldn’t help but eavesdrop. Most of the people were dressed casually, but were for the majority, business travelers. They had laptops and Blackberrys at the ready, but what impressed me most was not about the meetings they were recapping from earlier that day, but most of the conversations were focused on air travel, the new types of seats and different aircrafts airlines were buying. For example, one guy even asked his friend “Do you have your ticket yet on the new A380? Won’t you be flying Singapore Airlines next month”

Two weeks before I was in the Asiana lounge at JFK and, once again, couldn’t help but overhear two colleagues talk about all the different types of business class seats. This time I had to go over and introduce myself as I was intrigued by their conversation and wondered if they worked for airlines. They said no and were part of a small business, but the senior guy said he traveled overseas nearly every other week. In fact, they even chose to fly on this Asiana flight from JFK because if they flew the night before, the aircraft would not have been equipped with the new business and first class product. It was essential for this business traveler to have a fully flat bed on board in order to get a good night of rest. Of course, I pointed this business traveler in the direction of our business and first class survey as it is a handy guide for all business travelers.

Well, I suppose the moral of this blog is two fold - it appears the majority of business travelers know and understand the products they fly on almost as well as those actually in the industry and don’t sit near me in a lounge unless you want to start a conversation.

-Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher