The Hindu : Front Page : Superjumbo on song

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 26, 2007
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Superjumbo on song

Airbus A380 completes its maiden commercial flight

— Photo: AP

TOP TRIP: Australians Tony and Julie Elwood on their double bed in their suite aboard the Airbus A380 on Thursday.

ON BOARD FLIGHT SQ380: The world’s largest jetliner made history on Thursday, with its first commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney with 455 passengers, some of them in luxury suites and double beds.

The Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 took from Singapore’s Changi Airport and landed about seven hours later in Sydney to launch an era in air travel. On board Flight SQ380 were a crew of 30 with four pilots.

Passengers clapped as the plane disengaged from the dock on schedule at 8 a.m. (0000GMT). Cheers broke out 16 minutes later as the double-decker plane, powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines, soared into the cloudless sky, tinged pink by the morning sun.

Flight attendants handed out champagne and certificates to passengers, some of whom paid tens of thousands of dollars in an online auction for seats.

“I have never been in anything like this in the air before in my life,” said Australian Tony Elwood, reclining with his wife, Julie, on the double bed in their private first class suite. “It is going to make everything else after this simply awful,” he said, sipping Dom Perignon rose after a lunch of marinated lobster and double boiled chicken soup. He paid $50,000 (about Rs. 20 lakh) for the two places.

The double-decker A380 ends the nearly 37-year reign of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet as the most spacious passenger aircraft. The A380 is the most fuel efficient and quietest passenger jet ever built, from inside and outside, according to its European manufacturer, Airbus SAS.

It was delivered to Singapore Airlines on October 15, two years behind schedule after billions of dollars in cost overruns for Airbus. Still, the wait was worth it, says Singapore Airlines, which got the exclusivity of being the sole operator with the aircraft for 10 months.

“This is indeed a new milestone in the timeline of aviation,” said Chew Choon Seng, chief executive of Singapore Airlines, or SIA, in a speech before the departure.

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet generally carries about 400 passengers. The A380 — as tall as a seven-story building with each wing big enough to hold 70 cars — can carry 853 passengers in an all-economy class configuration.

However, Singapore Airlines , recognised as one of the best in the world, opted for 471 seats in three classes — 12 Singapore Airlines Suites, 60 business class and 399 economy class.

Each suite, enclosed by sliding doors, is fitted with a leather upholstered seat, a table, a 58-cm flat screen TV, laptop connections and a range of office software. A separate bed folds up into the wall. Two of the suites can be joined to provide double beds, one of which the Elwood couple occupied.

On the upper deck, business class seats can turn into wide flat beds, while the economy class seats on both decks will enjoy more leg and knee room, the carrier says. Business class passengers have a bar area.

Francis Wu, a San Francisco student who turned 22 on the flight, was updating his journal on the in-flight computer system when airline crew surprised him with a white chocolate cake and a song. “This is the best birthday I have ever had in my whole life,” he said. — AP

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