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TOULOUSE, France : The first delivered Airbus A380 superjumbo, owned by Singapore Airlines, took off late on Tuesday from Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, southern France, bound for its new home in Singapore.
Singapore Airlines crew including pilots and technicians were onboard the 73-metre-long (239-feet) jet, which is to make its first commercial flight on October 25 between Singapore and Sydney.
An Internet auction for tickets on the inaugural flight raised US$1.3 million (910,000 euros) for charity.
A mystery bidder who paid more than US$100,000 for a ticket was unveiled on Monday as a thrill-seeking British Internet entrepreneur who sought a "little bit of history."
Tuesday's 13-hour flight comes only a day after Airbus delivered the jet, the largest passenger plane in history, to Singapore Airlines.
Rollout of the jet, which can carry up to 853 passengers, is a year and a half behind schedule because of production problems.
Although the A380 is capable of carrying more than 800 passengers in an all-economy configuration, Singapore Airlines has chosen to install just 471 seats to offer more space, particularly in business and first class.
The plane includes 12 private suites, each with a large, first-class size seat and a real bed with full-size mattress. Each suite has a 58-centimetre (23-inch) flat-screen television and sheets by French designer Givenchy.
The "suite class" seats on the Singapore-Sydney route, on which A380 flights will begin regularly from October 28, are to be 40-80 percent more expensive than first class on a Boeing 747, a spokesman told AFP.
The price of a suite on this route is to be about 8,000 euros (US$11,400), roughly 1,000 euros per hour of flying according to an AFP calculation.
Sixteen airlines have placed firm orders for the A380, with Dubai-based Emirates the leading client among a customer list that includes predominantly Asian, European and Gulf-based carriers. - AFP/de
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