Singapore Airlines Flight 380

Singapore Airlines Flight 380 was the first commercial flight of the Airbus A380 [ [http://www.a380.singaporeair.com/content/aircraft/index.html Singapore Airlines A380] ] , flown on October 25, 2007 between Singapore Changi Airport and Sydney Airport. The flight number was used only for the inaugural flight, and the airline has used flight numbers SQ221/SQ222 [Check [http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/Pricing/index.jsp Book a Flight] section on Singapore Airlines website for detail.] on subsequent A380 flights.

Inaugural flight

The first Airbus A380 commercial flight was widely publicised in the international media, with newspapers from all over the world reporting on it. 75 journalists from all over the world joined the flight, adding buzz to the event. The first commercial flight followed nearly two years of delays, largely attributed to the complexity of production.

Sale of tickets

The sale of the tickets was conducted on an online auction on eBay. Bids raised ranged from a few hundred to a hundred thousand dollars. The highest bid was at US$100,380, from an Australian named Julian Hayward. He snapped up the "Suite Class package" which included two one-way tickets for the inaugural flight and the chance to "join SIA as guests for the historical delivery of the first Airbus A380 at Toulouse", as claimed by Singapore Airlines. SIA also announced that all proceeds from the flight, which amounted close to $2 million, would be contributed to various charities. [ [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/03/a380_flight_tickets/ Aussie stumps $100k for Airbus A380 tickets | The Register] ]

Flight

A total of 455 passengers were on board the inaugural flight from Singapore to Sydney. The plane took off at 8 am Singapore time (+8 GMT), and departed from Gate F31 at Terminal 2 after a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony officiated by SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng. [ [http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Singapore/STIStory_170339.html SIA A380 superjumbo lands in Sydney] ]

The passengers enjoyed a party atmosphere on the flight. The passengers, who came from 35 different countries, were treated to champagne and caviar by the 30-strong crew. The plane carried two top chefs, one from Singapore and one from Sydney, who cooked up duck breast, lobster, wok-fried beef and noodles for the passengers. [ [http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2007/gb20071025_054721.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+page_top+stories A380 Maiden Flight Reaches Sydney] ]

At the airport in Sydney, hundreds of airport staff and aviation enthusiasts lined the fences outside the airport in Sydney to watch the plane land and passengers disembark. Seven hours after departure, at 3 pm, the plane landed safely at the airport.

External links

* [http://www.sq380.net A website dedicated to this flight]
* [http://www.e-aviation.net/sqa380.html One of the many trip reports regarding the flight]

References