Flight SQ380, the first ever commercial flight of Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380 landed today at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport. All of its passengers are in agreement: the amount they paid for were well worth it, and that the superjumbo was surprisingly quiet.
Some trivia about the first passengers of the maiden flight:
- The youngest customer is a 10 month-old boy from Singapore
- The oldest is a 91 year-old man, also from Singapore, travelling with his family. His son bought the Singapore Airlines Suites ticket for him in the charity auction;
- Mr Julian Hayward bought the first Suite on the flight, paying US$100,380 for him and a friend to travel from Singapore to Sydney;
- Among passengers is Mr Thomas Lee, from California, who was a passenger on the world’s first Boeing 747 commercial flight between New York and London in 1970.
- Also travelling is Ms Isabelle Chu, a travel agent from Perth, who is flying in both directions on the A380. Ms Chu flew in both directions on the first Singapore Airlines A340-500 flights between Singapore and Los Angeles, and Singapore and New York, non-stop in 2004, with just time for shower between flights. This time, she will enjoy an overnight stopover in Sydney.
- The passengers represent 35 different nationalities, with the largest group being Australians (28%), then Singaporeans (14%), then Britons (11%) and Americans (8%). Those who have come furthest for the first flight are 4 Norwegians.
- The most common first name of passengers is David, with 11.
- The ratio of male to female passengers on board is 7:3.
Source: Singapore Airlines Website
The A380 goes into regular service on the 29th of October between Singapore and Sydney. Flight 221 leaves Singapore at 8:30 in the evening, arriving in Sydney at 7 am the following day. SQ232 from Sydney to Singapore leaves Kingsford Smith Airport at 12:45 pm, touching down in Changi Airport at 5:40 in the afternoon.
Head on to the Singapore Airlines A380 website for a virtual tour of the A380’s interiors. The Sydney Morning Herald has pictures and videos of this momentous event.
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