Airbus A380 lands in Sydney on first commercial flight

By Michael Smith

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The world's biggest jumbo jet landed safely in Sydney on Thursday, completing its long-delayed first commercial flight from Singapore.

The double-decker A380 emerged from low-lying cloud and flew across Sydney's famous harbor before touching down on time, a contrast to two years of delays which pushed its manufacturer Airbus into a loss.

Watched by hundreds of airport staff and aviation enthusiasts lining fences outside the airport, passengers on the inaugural Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight disembarked without a hitch.

The wet Sydney afternoon did nothing to dampen passengers' enthusiasm.

"It was just an incredible flight. The people onboard really turned it into a party," said passenger Ross Greenwood, a journalist for Australia's Channel Nine television network.

"The food was luxurious in first class, but even those people in economy were fed fillet of beef and it was beautiful," he said. "The aircraft is incredibly quiet and spacious."

Passengers paid between $560 and $100,380 for seats on the inaugural flight, after bidding for the tickets as part of a charity auction to drum up publicity.

During the flight, first-class passengers reclined in suites modeled on luxury yacht interiors and slumbered in proper beds which the airline said can be converted into doubles.

French design house Givenchy designed the bedding, while passengers ate off fine bone chinaware and drank from crystal glasses bought in by the same designer.

The A380 can seat more than 800 passengers although Singapore Airlines, the first airline to take delivery of the plane, has configured the aircraft to seat 470 over two decks, hoping to attract more top-paying passengers.

It replaces the Boeing 747 jumbo as the world's largest airliner in service.

Hundreds of airport staff and passengers armed with camera phones earlier watched the take-off from Singapore.

"I'm a big airplane freak and I love everything about planes," said Ernest Graaff, an A380 passenger as he waited to board the jet among beaming SIA flight attendants.

Graaff paid $40,000 for two business-class tickets on the jet. "I'm excited about being a part of history."

The aircraft will return to Singapore on Friday.