On October 25 at 8 a.m. local time, Singapore Airlines flight SQ 380 took off from Changi Airport to Sydney, with 455 passengers on board. Special feature: this is the first commercial flight of the Airbus A 380, the largest civilian aircraft of all time. The culmination of a technological challenge and an economic saga of over ten years. While waiting to see it land on the Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle tarmac (it will be necessary to wait even more than a year), Routard.com explains to you how the new giant of the air is making the difference.

October 25, 2007: a historic day for civil aviation

Almost eleven years after its launch, the Airbus A380 project has become a reality: the largest civil aircraft ever designed made its first commercial flight between Singapore and Sydney on October 25. Despite multiple twists and turns, a delivery delayed by 18 months and a political-financial saga that has not said its last word, the sky liner, built in Toulouse, has finally taken off to become the giant tunes.

The 455 happy fewof flight SQ 380 will no doubt remember this historic day for a long time. Singapore Airlines has put the package. Caviar, duck breast or wok beef cooked on board by two chefs, Dom Pérignon rosé 1996: the dishes were at the height of the event. It must be said that the places put up for auction on E-bay have been snatched up at the price of gold. Passengers in fact paid amounts ranging from $ 560 to $ 100,380 (or € 392 to € 70,366). The lucky ones who have traveled in the (already!) Famous suites of the 1st class have each spent tens of thousands of euros. The operation raised $ 1.3 million (some € 911,000) which will be donated to charity. Nice publicity stunt!

On October 28, the very large aircraft carrier of Airbus will definitively enter the world aerial landscape. Singapore Airlines opens a regular service on the A 380 to Australia.

The aircraft of all records

Designed to compete with the Boeing 747, the Airbus A380 is the aircraft of all records. As the figures are (sometimes) better than long speeches and are (always) more eloquent than superlatives, here is a small list of the characteristics of the A380 that really make the difference:

Very large carrier …

– Length: 73 m.

– Height: 24.10 m, i.e. an 8-storey building.

– Wingspan: 79.80 m.

– Wing area: 845 m2, enough to house 2,800 people.

– Surface area of ​​the two bridges: 550 m2, i.e. ten squash courts. It is the first aircraft to have a full double deck.

– Volume: 1,570 m3, enough to transport 35 million ping-pong balls.

– Empty weight: 276,800 kg.

– Maximum takeoff weight: 560,000 kg.

Very long-haul, further, higher …

– Crossing distance: 8,000 knots-Mach (about 15,000 km).

– Cruising speed: 560 knots-Mach 0.85 (approximately 1,040 km / h).

– Maximum speed: 590 knots-Mach 0.89 (approximately 1,090 km / h).

– Cruising altitude: 10,700 m.

– Operational ceiling: 43,600 feet (approximately 13,100 m).

Powerful and economical

– Motorization: 4 Rolls Royce Trent 900 reactors or 4 Pratt & Whitney / General Electric GP7200 reactors with 30,410 kg of thrust.

– Take-off thrust: 280,000 pounds, the equivalent of the power generated by 2,500 family cars.

– Tank capacity: 310,000 liters of kerosene.

– Materials: approximately 1/4 of the aircraft is made of advanced lightweight composite materials – 22% of composites based on carbon fibers, glass or quartz and 3% of GLARE (aluminium and fiberglass laminate). Composite materials allow a reduction in mass, therefore lower fuel consumption and emissions.

– Consumption: the A 380 consumes 2.9 liters of fuel per 100 km per passenger compared to 3.1 liters for the Boeing 747, or 12% less. Advantage: a significant energy saving, while the barrel of crude reaches 80 dollars.

– Crew: 2 pilots (only) + the commercial crew.

– Cost: 12 million euros.

– Human resources: more than 6,000 engineers and technicians participated in the creation of the A 380.

And what about the passengers?

– Capacity: 525 passengers (maximum 853). Singapore Airlines limited itself to 471 seats. The A 380 offers a hundred more seats than the Boeing 747 and 200 more seats than the 777. Advantage: the A 380 allows better profitability on routes where supply has difficulty meeting demand, without having to increase the number of flights. Experts estimate that 20,000 seats are missing every day in booming global traffic. According to Airbus, “passenger traffic is expected to increase by around 5% per year over the next 20 years; 70% of very wide-body flights will be concentrated at 25 airports. “

– Comfort: space above all else, since the lower deck has a surface 50% larger than that of the Boeing 747. The A 380 allows a distribution in three comfort classes (first, business, economic) on two decks, one a dozen suites for the privileged, around sixty business seats and around 400 for the eco class. Its layout is flexible, so each company can decorate it in its own way. Singapore Airlines has created the “suites”, a super first class, at 50% higher fares. The A 380 has sofa beds.

Soon at an airport near you

Eager to discover the joys of the A 380? In early 2008, the very large carrier will land in Europe: Singapore Airlines should then put into service a flight between London and Singapore. As for Paris, Roissy-CDG airport could welcome it in 2009 under the colors of Emirates, bound for Dubai.

The companies Emirates and Qantas will start to be delivered from the summer of 2008. Air France should receive its first copies in 2009.

Airbus totals to date 189 firm orders and options for the A 380, coming from 16 companies and lessors ‘planes, including, against all odds, the charter company Marsans.