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A380 Makes Milestone Flight

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By GILLIAN WONG, The Associated Press

Published: October 26, 2007

ONBOARD FLIGHT SQ380 - The world's largest jetliner made aviation history Thursday, completing its first commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney, Australia, with 455 passengers, some of them ensconced in luxury suites and double beds.

The Airbus superjumbo lifted off safely from Singapore's Changi Airport and landed about seven hours later in Sydney. Also on board Flight SQ380 were a crew of about 30, including four pilots.

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

The double-decker A380 ends the nearly 37-year reign of the Boeing 747 jumbojet as the world's most spacious passenger plane. It European manufacturer, Airbus SAS, also claims that the A380 is the most fuel efficient and quietest passenger jet ever built.

The A380 was delivered to Singapore Airlines on Oct. 15, nearly 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 plane's sole operator for 10 months.

'This is indeed a new milestone in the timeline of aviation,' said Chew Choon Seng, chief executive of Singapore Airlines 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, is capable of carrying 853 passengers in an all-economy class configuration.
Singapore Airlines opted for 471 seats in three classes - 12 Singapore Airlines Suites, 60 business class and 399 economy class.

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