The last A380 to enter service? It is not the last one to be produced and took off in recent days

Videos, photos, web and newspaper articles. On the evening of Dec. 16, 2021, the 251st and last A380 built by Airbus will take off from Hamburg Airport (bound for Dubai and in Emirates livery). was, rightly, celebrated in a big way. It was, in a way, the end of an era for the greatest passenger plane of all time, which we will still see in the skies for at least another 20 years or so.

However, That Emirates A380 was not the last superjumbo to enter service with an airline for the first time. There was, in fact, one example of the world's largest aircraft that, although delivered by Airbus in October 2020, instead of taking to the skies, was parked for the next three years. First in Toulouse and then, from October 16, 2021, at Tokyo Narita Airport.

These were. One of three A380s ordered by Japan's All Nippon Airways. for the specific purpose of connecting the Japanese capital to Honolulu. Hawaii's capital is a favorite destination for Japanese tourists, and ANA, at the end of last decade, had decided to dedicate a dedicated fleet to this important market.

In fact, the three A380s dress in a special livery named Flying Honu which graphically recalls the turtles of the Hawaiian seas. The design is the same, but declined in three different colors: blue, green and orange.

The first, Flying Honu - Lani (Blue Turtle)., had entered service in March 2019, followed in May of the same year by Flying Honu - Kai (Green Turtle). Third, Flying Honu - ra (Orange Turtle) had arrived at the height of the Covid pandemic, and ANA, due to downturn in the global aviation market, had parked it waiting for demand to return to justify its use.

That moment finally arrived on October 20., when the Orange Turtle took up service operating flight NH182, which departed from Tokyo Narita at 9:24 p.m. and landed in Honolulu at 9:31 a.m. Friday morning. Like its two 'twins,' Flying Honu - ra has a cabin configured with four classes of service for a total of 520 passengers: the main deck is entirely dedicated to economy class (with 383 seats), while the 'main floor' (upper deck) contains a First with 8 suites its two rows (each 1+2+1), a 56-seat Business (1+2+1) and a 73-seat Premium Economy with rows 2+3+2.

Unfortunately, there are no The Suite and The Room cabins installed on board the A380s-the two revolutionary products that ANA offers aboard a few 777s.

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