Airbus A380 takes off on first Singapore flight
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Airbus A380 : The single suites class seat inside of the first
Singapore Airlines superjumbo Airbus A380 in Singapore.
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The world's biggest jumbo jet lifted off safely from Singapore on its
long-delayed first commercial flight, as part of Singapore Airlines'
daily service to Sydney.
Watched by hundreds of airport staff and passengers who gathers
around the airport lounge with their pocket cameras and camera phones,
the Airbus' A380 superjumbo took off from the city-state's Changi
Airport on a seven-hour flight.
"I'm a big airplane freak and I love everything about planes," said
Ernest Graaff, an A380 passenger as he waited to board the jet among
beaming Singapore Airlines flight attendants. Graaff paid $40,000 for
two business-class tickets on the jet. "I'm excited about being a part
of history." The aircraft will return to Singapore on Friday.
Passengers paid between $560 and $100,380 to be on the inaugural
flight, after bidding for the tickets as part of a charity auction to
drum up publicity.
Airbus' new aircraft which boasts two passenger decks and, in
Singapore Airlines' version, first-class suites with proper beds
suffered two years of delays caused by wiring glitches, which pushed the
planemaker into a loss and led to 10,000 lost jobs.
Singapore Airlines is to take delivery of another five A380s in 2008. |
