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First superjumbo off to New York

DUBAI - The Emirates airline’s inaugural A380 flight to New York took off from the Dubai International Airport at 11am on Friday ahead of a weeklong promotional tour of the USA.

The flight follows celebrations in Hamburg, Germany, when the airline received the first of its 58 A380s in a ceremony attended by top Emirates and Airbus executives.

An A380 buzz had been whipped up and reached feverish pitch as the plane was revealed, equipped with onboard shower spas and a lounge, and pictures and news reports were witnessed by millions worldwide.The New York inaugural flight has been fully booked for some time and is arranged in a three class configuration - 399 seats in Economy Class, 76 fully-flat seats in Business Class and 14 Private Suites in First Class.

A number of senior Emirates' executives joined the A380 flight, including the airline's President Tim Clark; Keith Longstaff, Divisional Senior Vice-President, Commercial Operations Worldwide; Terry Daly, Divisional Senior Vice- President, Service Delivery; and Andrew Parker, Senior Vice-President, Public and Environmental Affairs.

The flight is expected to touch down at JFK at 5pm local time after a journey of around 12.30 hours from Dubai. In New York, invited guests and media will be part of a reception ceremony and have the opportunity to look around the carrier's 118th aircraft, kicking off a series of familiarisation events around the US.

On August 4, the aircraft will be on show at San Francisco International Airport before moving on to the Flight Path Museum in Los Angeles the following day. In both cities, guests and media representatives will be given the flight of their lives during a two-hour demonstration. Tours will also take place on the ground.

The A380 is the first long-haul aircraft to consume less than three litres of fuel per passenger over 100 kilometres (95 miles per imperial gallon.).

It is also considerably quieter than most planes, mainly attributed to the fuel efficient Engine Alliance GP7200 engines.

But it is the onboard features that are expected to garner the most attention, both during its promotional tour and on the inaugural flight.

The Emirates A380 is carrying 24 cabin crew members and for the first time, Emirates has brought in Cabin Service Assistants, tasked with keeping the Onboard Shower Spas meticulously clean for the exclusive use of First Class passengers.

Passengers aboard today's Dubai-New York A380 flight are the first fare-paying customers to see the airline's new look uniform which maintains the well-known beige and red theme of the previous outfit but is more business like.

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