Re: Glossing a commercial turd
I can't see this being commercially viable. Bunks as shown in the photo would require a lot more "housekeeping" between flights if they are to remain pleasant to use, no quick dash round with a binbag & vacuum cleaner there, so turnaround costs go up. They can't be as economical to operate, or as pleasant to use, as a business-class seat even if squashed into the cargo hold.
As for the A380 itself, sure it's a nice quiet plane, but you still have the problems of arriving at imigration among 500 other passengers. As an example, BA operate an A380 LHR to SFO, and a 787 for LHR to San Jose (SJC). Unless I were actually going into SF city I'd always take the SJC option. Smaller plane, less hassle, shorter queues at arrival & less traffic on leaving the airport. All that far outweighs the minimal advantages of a slightly quieter aircraft. There's little other onboard advantage, the cattle-class seats are equally uncomfortable in both.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
