I'm a hitching a ride tonight on the Airbus A380, the double-decker jumbo jet that somehow manages to the make the 747 look small. The plane is wrapping up its first U.S. tour ever, with stops at New York JFK, Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles (thanks to a separate plane, flown by Qantas), and next week, Washington Dulles. I'll be joining 500+ Lufthansa dignitaries and their friends for what will hopefully be a cocktail party as raucous as the one on the way over, and I like to imagine a cargo hold filled with case after case of Veuve Cliquot. Business class has its own bar, of course, and I'll need to hit it early and often if I'm to have any hope sleeping in a standard-issue economy seat.

Check back tomorrow for photos of the plane and its interiors, although there are some already circulating on the Web. Try not to feel underwhelmed if you were expecting something more luxurious -- tonight's plane is essentially a flying showroom, equipped with generic, factory-model interiors. When Singapore Airlines finally gets its hands on its first plane later this year, it will have installed its brand-new cabin interiors that features First- and Biz-class seats wider than even American laps. You might have to wait until 2009 to fly it yourself, however, as Singapore is likely to place its first A380s on its lucrative "Kangaroo Route" flights from Sydney to London. Lufthansa will be back by then, too. Expect a full trip report tomorrow.

Read more of Greg Lindsay's travel blog, IN TRANSIT.