Superjumbo completes maiden flight
Amid cheering from those on the plane and from those gathered at Singapore and Sydney Airports, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, today successfully completed its first commercial flight.
Champagne and fine wines flowed as the Singapore Airlines’ flight covered the 4,000 miles from Singapore to Sydney.
Singapore Airlines chief executive Chew Choon Seng described the flight as a new milestone in aviation history.
The 455 passengers aboard, who had paid more than £600,000 (€859,316) for the privilege of being on the first flight, Certainly thought they had been a part of something special.
All were impressed with a plane that is the height of eight storeys and weighs 361 tonnes.
Most thought the plane remarkably quiet, others liked the extra foot room and one couple even showed off the cosiness of the first-class suites by obliging watching media with a cuddle in the two beds that they had pushed together to make a double.
It all added up to a spectacular first flight of a multi-billion pound project that has been beset with difficulties.
Deliveries of the new aircraft have fallen many months behind but all this was forgotten as workers at Singapore’s Changi Airport noisily waved off the aircraft as it left for Sydney just after 1am UK time today.
Once in the air, passengers were plied with food and drink with the first-class passengers getting – among other things – Dom Perignon Rose 1996.
As the plane headed Down Under it soared to more than 38,000ft and, with keen tailwinds, reached speeds of more than 650 miles per hour.
Passengers, whose ticket proceeds went to charity, ranged from a nine-month-old child to a 91-year-old Singapore man.
The man who paid the most for his seat today was former dot.com supremo Julian Hayward.
Now a retired millionaire living in Sydney, Mr Hayward paid around £50,000 (€71,618) for one of the first-class suites.
Even those “slumming it” in economy class today enjoyed more legroom than they would normally and, given the nature of the flight, were able to consume as much food and drink as any person could possibly manage in the course of a seven-hour flight.
Stewardesses were happy to allow passengers to roam the different parts of the plane.
The only woman in the first-class suite area was Julie Elwood who gamely posed for pictures with her millionaire Australian husband Tony, 76, as they cuddled in the double bed they had created from the two suites that Mr Elwood had paid £25,000 (€35,805) for.
The Elwoods’ suite was one of 12 on board which contained 35“ screens, a storage cupboard for coats and various other top amenities.
Those not engaged in serious eating and drinking today were able to dip in to the massive 1,000-item in-flight entertainment programme including films, TV programmes and computer games.
