KEY POINTS:
TOULOUSE - The first A380 - the world's biggest commercial jet aircraft, has been delivered to its first customer - and New Zealand travellers won't have to wait long before they can fly in it on their way to Europe.
Singapore Airlines was officially handed over its new plane at a ceremony in Toulouse, France last night - more than two years later than planned.
The interior of the aircraft has been a closely guarded secret, with even Singapore Airlines' own publicity workers heard muttering that they were denied any decent advance look at the new cabin.
With a new plane of such scale, Singapore Airlines has been working hard to dispel any consumer fears of being crammed into giant aircraft like sardines. Despite having the capacity to fly more than 550 passengers, Singapore will only have 471 in each.
The A380 has caused more than its share of problems for European plane maker Airbus. The company knows that it cannot afford to have any further delays - the first one has now been delivered but now the challenge is to maintain its delivery schedule, if it is to avoid further upsetting the world's airlines.
Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders said keeping up with deliveries was the company's "number one priority".
The A380 would be "the defining aircraft of its generation" he said, with those airlines that flew it able to be "a class apart" from their rivals.
That said, the plane was not some kind of luxury addition to their fleets, but a necessity. "They don't just want it, they need it - fast," said Enders.
Delays in delivering the first plane had been due to a lack of effective integration between the different parts of the Airbus business (parts of the plane are built across the world, but Germany and the UK are the primary non-French construction locations).
The company had underestimated the complexity involved in building the aircraft, particularly its electrical systems, which had lead to the delays.
Singapore Airlines chief executive Chew Choon Seng said while the airline had been inconvenienced by the production delays, one advantage had been the delivery of a more "mature" aircraft, one that had been flight tested and proven across different routes more than other new planes usually were.
He would not comment on what kind of compensation the airline had got from Airbus as a result of the delays. The new plane was "a new queen of the skies," he said
Company spokesman Stephen Forshaw told Herald Online that New Zealand travellers flying to Europe on Singapore Airlines should be regularly travelling on the A380 in the first quarter of next year. Research had shown that people understood, and were interested in the new plane and there was no question that they would realise they were flying on something special.
Passengers would not be asked to pay anything extra to fly on the new plane, he said.
FACT BOX
* Singapore Airline's A380 has 471 seats in three classes - 12 premium first class suites on the main deck, 60 business class seats on the upper deck and 399 economy class seats across both decks.
* In the downstairs deck, seats are laid out in a 3-4-3 configuration. Upstairs, economy seats are 2-4-2. Its 60 business class seats - all upstairs are laid out in a 1-2-1 format, meaning each passenger has clear access to the aisle.
* The airline says its first ten A380s will be laid out this way.
* Singapore Airlines has firm orders for 19 A380s and another six on option.
* The first 10 planes will be powered by Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines.
* The first flight with paying passengers will be on October 25, when the A380 starts flying between Singapore and Sydney. When Singapore Airlines takes delivery of its second and third planes early next year, it will begin using them on the Singapore - London route.
* Airbus is touting the new plane as much more environmentally friendly - its engines and aerodynamics mean it is quieter and burns less fuel per passenger than existing aircraft.
Chris Daniels traveled to Toulouse as a guest of Singapore Airlines.
