A380 to Begin Flying Commercially on Oct. 25

Singapore Airlines will take delivery of the first customer A380 on Oct. 15, 2007 and will operate a special commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney with it on Oct. 25. All seats on the oputbound and return flights are being auctioned on eBay to raise money for charity. Credit: Airbus S.A.S. 2007/ExM Company/S. Ognier

The Airbus A380 superjumbo will take off on its first commercial flight on Oct. 25.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) will take delivery of the first customer A380 at Airbus' Toulouse factory on Oct. 15 and will fly it a few days later to Changi International Airport, Singapore for a short period of crew and ground-staff familiarization with the huge new jet.

The carrier will then operate the first A380 commercial service -- flight number SQ380 -- from Singapore to Sydney, Australia on Oct. 25 and will operate the return leg on Oct. 26.

SIA is springing a cabin-service surprise with the introduction of its first A380. The airline is introducing a new first-class service called "Singapore Airlines Suites: a class beyond First" on its new superjumbos.

The airline's A380s will be configured with 471 seats in three classes: Economy, Business and the new first-class Suites. India's Jet Airways introduced the concept of first-class suites in June with the delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER, which took part in the static display at the 2007 Paris Air Show. The first-class suites on the 777-300ER proved a star attraction at the show.

Singapore Airlines is auctioning all the seats on the first commercial A380 flight on eBay to raise money for four charities.

The auction will begin on Aug. 27 and will close Sept. 10. The auction will be for single, double and multiple seats in each class. All seats will be sold on a one-way basis, so people wanting fly on both legs of the first flight will need to bid twice.

One-third of the proceeds will go to Singapore's Community Chest, one-third will be split between the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, and The Children's Hospital at Westmead, both in Sydney; and one-third will go to Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders.

"The first flight promises to be one of the most exciting occasions in aviation history," said Chew Choon Seng, SIA's chief executive officer. "We are overwhelmed by the support of the community -- from all over the world -- for the charity auction.

Several corporate sponsors are helping SIA with the charity auction. "I would like to thank the many partners and service providers that have followed the lead of our fuel supplier, ExxonMobil, and eBay, in donating their services for the first flight's charitable causes," said Chew.

To participate in the auction, a bidder will require:

• An eBay user ID
• The names and passport numbers of those traveling
• Pre-qualification for bids on packages in the premium classes (Business & Suites), or bids over USD1,000 in Economy Class. SIA says this will ensure that bids are not artificially inflated and will give bidders confidence they are bidding only against genuine bidders.

Prequalification will be initiated online. Singapore Airlines' global auction management agency, Auctionwire, has developed numerous ways for bidders to pre-qualify and lodge security deposits for bids requiring pre-qualification.

All information on packages available, bid prequalification and how to get an eBay user ID is available on the Singapore Airlines website.

SIA will begin regular A380 scheduled service on the Singapore-Sydney route soon after the first commercial flight.

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