SIA to fly its first Airbus A380

Finally, the wait will be over soon. With 3 months to go before SIA starts flying the Airbus 380, the carrier’s first fully-fitted and painted superjet glides out of the factory in Hamburg, Germany, set for its final test. SIA will be the first of 15 airlines to get deliveries in October 2007 after a delay of almost two years. Follow by Qantas and Emirates in August 2008.

The A-380 is designed to carry 853 passengers in a single class configuration or 555 passengers in a three-class configuration. But SIA will be fitting its 19 A-380 with 480 seats to enhance passenger comfort. It is heard that the airline plans to use its first aircraft on its Singapore- Sydney route and subsequent deliveries for Singapore-London, Singapore-Hong kong-San Francisco, as well as direct flights to Paris and Frankfurt.

Did You Know…..

1. The A380 is the largest passenger airliner in the world.
2. In November 2005, the A380 embarked on a tour of Southeast Asia and Australia for promotional and long-haul flight testing. Singapore was one of its stops.
3. The same aircraft, serial number 001, flew to Singapore again in 2006 to participate in the Asian Aerospace exhibition, in full Singapore Airlines livery.
4. The A380 has a 50 percent lower cabin noise than a 747, and a lower cabin altitude of 5000ft, both features are expected to reduce the effects of jetlag.
5. Different parts of the aircraft are built in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom and brought to the assembly hall in Toulouse in France by surface transportation due the their massive size. After assembly, the     aircrafts are flown to Hamburg to be furnished and painted.
6. Emirates made the largest order of 55 A380, second in line is Qantas 20 and followed closely by Singapore Airlines 19. In total, 174 Airbus A380 has been ordered.
7. There is ONE unidentified VIP customer, who made an order of one A380 for personal use. And the VIP is not me.
8. There are 16 exits on the A380. On a evacuation drill conducted in 2006,  one man broke his leg and 32 other people suffered minor injuries when undergoing the evacuation drill. Despite the injuries, the plane passed its test, where they managed to get all the 853 people and 20 crew out of the aircraft in 78 seconds, using only 8 of the exit doors