Singapore Airlines' A380 Makes History

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 took off on a historic journey Thursday — the first commercial flight by the world's largest jetliner, which boasts luxurious suites enclosed by sliding doors, double beds, a bar and the quietest interior of any plane. With 455 passengers, some of whom paid tens of thousands of dollars for a seat in aviation history, the superjumbo left Singapore for Sydney at 8:16 a.m. on a 7 1/2-hour flight that launches a new era in air travel. Also on board flight SQ380 are a crew of about 30 including four pilots. Passengers clapped as the plane left the gate on schedule and taxied to the runway that was widened and lengthened to accommodate the plane. More cheers broke out 16 minutes later as the double-decker aircraft, powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines, lifted smoothly into the nearly cloudless sky tinged pink by the light of the early morning sun. Flight attendants handed out champagne and certificates to passengers. "It is huge in here and very comfortable, even in economy, although the seats are a bit narrow," said Chris Billowes, 59, of Sweden, as he sipped champagne, leaning against the bulkhead near the emergency exit. Also among the passengers was Swedish electronics engineer Ralf Danielsson, 58, who took the first Concorde flight in 1979. "Twenty-eight years later, I thought it would be fun to do something like that again," he said. The A380 ends the nearly 37-year reign of the U.S.-made Boeing 747 jumbojet as the world's most spacious passenger plane. The A380 is also 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 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.