Michael: October 2007 Archives

At last our chance to see inside!

First, a slight matter of jumping the queue (completely unwittingly), getting in the way of Louis Gallois’s official tour of the aircraft, and almost simultaneously getting thrown off for being on-board before the official press tour had even begun.

However vitally this was not before bagging the essential photos of the fabled double bed suites in First Class.

Here’s the single First Class cabin with separate bed and chair

And here are the two central First Class cabins which can have the divider removed to convert into a true double bed.

Lastly, Chew Choon Seng of SIA says some words, while accompanied by SIA’s finest selection of air hostesses.

He starts slightly confusingly when he appears to refer to the impending deliver of the “A330” (although my ears could’ve been mistaken), but he then cracks on by saying the A380 has been well worth the wait.

He says he’s proud of SIA’s roll in helping to set the performance and environmental agenda for the aircraft.

He goes on to reveal some details of the A380 cabin configuration – 471 seats in total, more leg room in all classes, usb and power plugs for every seat, personal on-demand IFE for every seat and the real coup de grâce – double beds in first class!

I’ve got to see that!

Sir John Rose of Rolls-Royce graces us with his presence.

His is just a short speech mainly paying tribute to SIA and their help in setting the standards for performance of the A380 and its engines.

He then talks briefly about the Trent 900.

The CEOs take turns to stand and deliver their messages.

First up is Tom Enders of Airbus.

He’s keen to tell us that this “gentle green giant” is the defining aircraft of its generation, and that, together with the A350, Airbus are moving the industry towards a new era in aviation.

The collective media are wowed by the “greener, smarter, quieter, bigger” A380 (model) that spins from the ceiling doused in a variety of easy-on-the-eye nature scenes along the lines of Airbus’s recent ad campaign.

The dolphins, who's pictures loom around us, look suitable impressed with the A380's contribution to their well-being.

Well, here we are along with the world’s press (and I mean just about everyone) taking over Toulouse for the official handover ceremony of the first A380 to Singapore Airlines.

It’s a bit of a bun fight but Kieran Daly (via his new blog Unusual Attitude) and I will endeavour to bring you as close to the action as we can.

Things are set to kick off in about 40mins and the ceremony is expected to last for a couple of hours.

The proceedings are to include speeches from Tom Enders (CEO Airbus), Sir John Rose (CEO Rolls-Royce), and Chew Choon Seng (CEO Singapore Airlines).