＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:https://skawa68.com/
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
1. Emirates’ “Flying Palace” begins service
News has come in that Emirates Airlines, a major airline in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has introduced the gorgeous super-large A380 (commonly known as the “Flying Palace”) on the route between Kansai Airport and Dubai in the Middle East, from last October 28th. The large double-decker plane, manufactured by European Airbus, will make one round trip per day.
The aircraft has a total of 489 seats, 38% more than the previous model. The first floor has 399 economy class seats, and the second floor has a total of 90 business class and first class seats. The fare for first class is about 840,000 yen one way.
However, no matter how cheap the fare for economy class is, the difference in the number of seats between it and “first class” and “business class” seems too big. The second floor seems to be clearly divided into “upper class” seats and the first floor into “lower class” seats, and for someone who is used to Japan being a “100 million middle-class society,” it seems like the severe disparity between rich and poor is being shown, which is likely to make me feel uncomfortable.
2. target business and affluent customers
According to a review by someone who has flown in the “Economy Class” of the A380, they found it to be “slightly better” than previous economy classes. However, when they boarded, there were many empty seats in economy class, so they took over four seats and used them as “flat seats.”
First class is completely private, and they have shower rooms and bar counters. However, if it is an 11-hour flight and you have important business to attend to after arrival, it seems like you can’t afford to drink…
What kind of people will be using this service? According to Emirates, the number of business travelers heading to the Middle East and Africa has been increasing in recent years, and the airline seems to be targeting these business travelers and the wealthy.
Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I’ve become more “anxious” recently. I’m amazed that such a heavy lump of iron can fly in the sky, but it makes me think of the “Japan Airlines Flight 123 Jumbo Jet Crash” that occurred on August 12, 1985, and the “Luxury Liner Titanic” sinking on April 14, 1912, when it collided with an iceberg during its maiden voyage.
I hope that the flight will operate safely and that it does not turn into a luxury flying hearse.