Rocking party at 40,000 feet

SINGAPORE: Thomas Lee on Thursday became one of the first passengers aboard the world's largest commercial aircraft - again. In 1970, at the age of 17, Lee rode with his family on the inaugural flight of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet from New York to London aboard Pan Am's "Clipper Victor." This week he travelled with his wife and daughter to Singapore to be part of history a second time, joining the maiden flight of the new superjumbo Airbus A380 operated by Singapore Airlines to Sydney.

"The flight was spectacular, just truly awesome," said Lee, reached by cellphone as the plane pulled into the gate at Sydney Airport. "I'm thrilled beyond words actually. Just extremely excited. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd put it at 12." Lee had plenty of equally enthusiastic company, not least the management of Singapore Airlines. After almost two years of technical glitches and delivery delays that crimped capacity at a time of burgeoning demand for air travel, the airline was finally able to savor the hard-won distinction of being the first to fly the double-decker behemoth with paying passengers aboard.

Any rancour about the long wait seemed forgotten as the chief executive of Singapore Airlines, Chew Choon Seng, stood before passengers to cut the ribbon and open the jetway to Flight 380. "This is indeed a new milestone in the history of aviation," he proclaimed.

It was a milestone not lost on those 455 passengers, who had to buy their seats in a fiercely contested online auction, proceeds from which the airline donated to charity. Hard-core aviation buffs like Lee flew from all over the world for an experience that to many seemed to revolve not only around the A380's unique stature but also to find out what Singapore Airlines, an airline famous for pampering passengers, would do with it.

By all accounts, the airline did not disappoint. After a breakfast buffet at the departure lounge serenaded by a string quartet and a punctual 8 a.m. departure, passengers enjoyed a sumptuous in-flight brunch presented by not one, but two chefs. Fuelled by their excitement and 1996 Dom Pérignon Rosé, a festive atmosphere prevailed, passengers said, and flight attendants had their hands full navigating aisles clogged with passengers touring the new plane along with the journalists on board to chronicle the event.

"It was like a rocking party at 40,000 feet," said Julian Hayward, a British entrepreneur who placed the record bid for a seat on the flight - $100,380 for two first-class seats. "We gave it top marks, and I'll definitely be flying it again." Lee said the scene was reminiscent of his ride 37 years ago on the first 747: the lavish treatment, the reporters, the thrill among the mingling passengers exploring a brand-new aircraft.

"The most exciting thing then was a staircase to the upper deck. They had a piano bar up there," he recalled. "That was where I fell in love with aviation." Lee went on to a career in aviation. The A380 also has a spiral staircase, connecting the upper and lower decks at the rear of the aircraft. It can carry up to 853 passengers, with a maximum takeoff load of 560 tons, and can fly without refueling from New York to Hong Kong. Yet it burns about as much fuel per seat as an economy-sized car and has lower emissions than any other plane in the sky.

Lee and other passengers also confirmed the claim by Airbus that the plane is quieter and more maneuverable than the Boeing 747, taking off effortlessly and landing just as smoothly. Singapore Airlines, which has ordered 18 more A380s, will enjoy its exclusive ownership of the plane for at least 10 more months, when Emirates is scheduled to take delivery of the aircraft. After launching its Sydney service aboard the A380, Singapore Airlines plans to start flying to London next year, followed by flights to Tokyo, Hong Kong and San Francisco.

The airline raised $1.3 million for three charities, including Médecins Sans Frontières. Australians, perhaps not surprisingly considering the plane's destination, made up the biggest group of buyers, followed by Singaporeans and Britons. Most one-way economy-class tickets appeared to sell for roughly $1,000, though the least expensive sold for $560, according to the airline.

Others were simply die-hard aviation enthusiasts. "My friends thought I was crazy," said Nathan Fruchter, a scrap metal dealer from Long Island, New York, who settled for a $1,000 economy-class ticket when bids for the business-class seats climbed above $5,000.

The amateur pilots Richard Maxwell and James O'Neill flew to Singapore from London for the flight. "This is truly once-in-a-lifetime," said Maxwell. Comparing the A380 to the original Wright Brothers flight in 1903, he said, "The first flight was just over 100 years ago and didn't fly as far as this plane is long."

Some passengers wore their enthusiasm on their sleeves, literally. Tilo Kruger of Germany and his father Eberhard wore matching gingham shirts emblazoned with Singapore Airlines' A380 "First to Fly" logo. Chris Boxer had his "First to Fly" polo shirts made back home in Perth after using his lucky number to win two economy-class tickets in the auction for $2,727.27. "I love flying and it's great being a part of history," he said.

Another passenger even created a Web site commemorating the flight, www.sq380.net. Hayward, who after making a fortune during the dot-com boom turned to traveling to unusual destinations like Greenland and the Amazon and is now moving to Sydney, said he made his record-setting bid for the benefit of the charities involved. But perhaps the most fortunate recipient was Hayward's Australian friend Adam McLeod, to whom he gave his second first-class ticket.

Singapore Airlines certainly raised eyebrows with its first-class suite design: in addition to a fold-out bed, a partition between the two center suites can be pulled down to yield a double bed in a sort of high-altitude couchette. Being stuck in economy on the A380 was no hardship, however. With leather seats 48 centimetres, or 18.9 inches, wide, and 81.5 centimetres between rows, passengers said they didn't lack for room.

"I dreaded flying economy class, but it was spacious and wide," said Fruchter. He is already looking forward to the delivery of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner in late 2011. "If they do a similar thing with the 787, I'll be there."