Janny Staeck popped open bottle after bottle of champagne in the upper-deck galley of business class and passed round sausage rolls and salmon puffs.
“I had tears in my eyes when we took off; this is airplane history,” said the 27-year-old Lufthansa flight attendant. “The aisles are wider and easier for us to work in and the air is really fresh. It feels like totally different air to a Boeing 747.”
The long-delayed Airbus A380, the world’s biggest passenger plane, took its first public flight on Wednesday as more than 200 journalists and company bosses took off from Toulouse on a two-hour flight over the Pyrenees piloted by British and German captains keen to show off the plane’s much publicised “quiet, smooth and fuel-efficient ride”.
It was the 2 000th take-off for the superjumbo, which has already flown around the world on a series of tests, passing the north and south poles and stopping off at air shows. But it was the first time the media were able to film the spacious interior of the â,¬230-million double-decker, which some airlines are considering fitting with a gym, shops, bars and showers.
The most complex passenger plane ever built, with a production line stretching between France, Britain, Germany and Spain, the A380 project has been beset with problems since engineers struggled to install the 480km of wiring, setting off a spiral of delays that led to boardroom turmoil, executive resignations and the wrath of airline buyers who are currently negotiating compensation.
The head of the A380 programme on Wednesday said costs were under control despite a spate of recent profit warnings that drove Airbus into loss last year and which will see a restructuring plan unveiled later this month.
Executives on Wednesday declined to talk figures and instead focused on the champagne celebration on board.
“This is the biggest thing since the dawn of the 747 in the late 1960s,” said Chris Stonehouse, vice-president of the customer programme, standing at the top of a sweeping, purple-carpeted staircase as the plane cruised at over 40 000ft.
The A380 has a capacity of 840 people, but as airlines compete to give premium passengers more space for more money, it will likely hold an average of 525, compared with around 360 on a Boeing 747. When it launches for Singapore Airlines later this year it could have features such as a gym, cocktail bar, nursery, and private first-class cabin suites with their own sliding doors, desk and bed.
The digital entertainment systems will aim to offer up to 80 films on demand at any time, as well as live TV and potentially on-board internet. The seat-back screens, at around 45cm by 25cm, are almost twice the size of screens on today’s planes.
On Wednesday, the plane’s “magic lighting” and “programmed mood scenarios” included piped classical music and a blue hue in business class.
But with the widest cabin in passenger airline history, and 50% more floor surface than the 747, the economy seats are 2,54cm wider than on current jumbos and stressed travellers will benefit from seeing more space above their heads, more room to stretch and to walk up and down stairs.
On the upper deck, Kieran Daly, editor of the Flight Group magazine, who had tested out seats in all classes, told the Guardian: “It’s startlingly quiet. We knew it was quiet from outside [on take-off], but inside it’s dramatic. I was right in line with the engines for take-off, but, having a conversation, I didn’t need to raise my voice at all.”
Airbus programme managers call the plane the “green giant” for its comparative fuel efficiency and relatively low carbon emissions. On departure in rainy Toulouse, it was also clear that it requires 10% less runway to take off than a 747 and can rise higher faster.
By 2011, around 70 airports world-wide will deal with A380 flights. The superjumbo can fly non-stop for 14 880km, taking it between destinations such as London and Hong Kong without any problems with cargo or windspeeds. But, as one British official said before take-off: “Europe to Oz is still the holy grail.” – Guardian Unlimited Â