Airbus A380 Delivery Ceremony
-
On now LIVE @ CNA... 10.35am over in Toulouse France now.
Talking bout the design, problems, new features...
Remember to check out the SIA girls behind SIA's CEO
The Senior VP speaking about the cabin interior funny sia.
-
never ask me to
and cut ribbon
-
-
Damn... at work now. Cannot see
-
Bluff say got tummy ache la... @ work?! What are you doing here then?Originally posted by polarsnake:Damn... at work now. Cannot see
Damn swee sia, esp the boarding gates... Glass panels one... -
Pffft... The video so yaya. Singing so horrible, confirm SG production one.
Did i mentioned SIA's CEO mistakenly mentioned it as Airbus A330 during his speech?
I thought i posted in Chit Chat? Mod must have moved it here... hmm... -
At work can surf net de mahOriginally posted by wonderamazement:Bluff say got tummy ache la... @ work?! What are you doing here then?
Damn swee sia, esp the boarding gates... Glass panels one... -
Wahlao... should have moved it to the new Aviation Forum. I'm one of the mods thereOriginally posted by wonderamazement:Pffft... The video so yaya. Singing so horrible, confirm SG production one.
Did i mentioned SIA's CEO mistakenly mentioned it as Airbus A330 during his speech?
I thought i posted in Chit Chat? Mod must have moved it here... hmm...
http://sgforums.com/?action=forum_display&forum_id=2559 -
Hoho... Got new and old?Originally posted by polarsnake:Wahlao... should have moved it to the new Aviation Forum. I'm one of the mods there
http://sgforums.com/?action=forum_display&forum_id=2559 -
the old one activity rating cmi... too old alreadyOriginally posted by wonderamazement:Hoho... Got new and old? -
New one got effect meh?Originally posted by polarsnake:the old one activity rating cmi... too old already -
Reuters - Thursday, October 18
Airbus eyes Asia orders, Singapore phases out 747
SINGAPORE, Oct 17 - Airbus expects to receive new orders for its A380 superjumbo by the middle of next year from Asian airlines such as Air India [AIN.UL] and Air China , the planemaker's chief salesman said on Wednesday.
Airbus also expects more orders from Singapore Airlines , which took delivery of its first of 19 A380s this week and said the arrival of superjumbos means it expects to phase out its Boeing 747s within four to five years.
"The next one who is going to make a decision is probably Air India. We've been in discussions with them about the airplane. We have been in discussions with Japanese carriers, we have been in discussions with Chinese carriers," Airbus sales chief John Leahy told reporters.
"I would like to believe that we should have new orders by the middle of next year."
Singapore Airlines on Monday was the first airline to receive the A380, after a delay of nearly two years that lost planemaker Airbus billions of dollars in a crisis leading to thousands of job cuts and a management reshuffle at the Franco-German group.
Some of Singapore Airlines' 747 aircraft will be converted to freighter planes for use by its air cargo business, said executive Bey Soo Khiang at a news conference on Wednesday.
An airline official told Reuters the company operates 19 Boeing 747s.
Earlier this week, Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Chew Choon Seng said the B747, the biggest passenger aircraft for four decades until the arrival of the A380, was a plane based on outdated technology.
A spokesman said the airline, the world's biggest by stock market value, had decided against ordering the updated version of Boeing's 747, the B747-8. It has made firm orders for 20 Boeing's B787 or Dreamliner, as well as 20 Airbus A350 XWBs.
It has an option for an additional six A380s. The plane has a list price of $300 million but airlines are usually given deep discounts.
"I think they want to get the airplane into operation now but I think it's inevitable that Singapore will have return orders," Leahy said.
The carrier has turned the A380 delivery into a huge celebration, unveiling a new cabin with individual first-class suites, a welcome party with Singapore's prime minister, and a charity auction for seats on the first regular flight on Oct. 25.
Airbus parent EADS's 12-billion-euro programme to produce a new class of mammoth plane hit various technical problems, most recently in fitting each jet's 500 km of wiring. -
Channel NewsAsia - Thursday, October 18
Touch down! SIAÂ’s historic A380 at Changi Airport
Singapore laid out the red carpet for the worldÂ’s first super jumbo, the Airbus A380, which touched down at Changi Airport Terminal 3 just after 6.40pm on Wednesday.
The 471—seater Singapore Airlines plane arrived from Toulouse, France where it had been formally delivered to SIA on Monday in a grand ceremony.
Some 400 guests, including Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong were on hand to welcome the A380 and its crew after its 12—hour flight.
Many more excited Singaporeans lined the beach off Changi Airport to witness the new pride of Singapore make its way to its new home. — CNA/sf -
AFP - Thursday, October 18
Countdown begins for Airbus superjumbo's maiden commercial flight
SINGAPORE (AFP) - - The first Airbus A380 superjumbo landed in Singapore on Wednesday, as the countdown began for next week's maiden commercial flight of the biggest passenger airliner ever built.
The Singapore Airlines (SIA) jet touched down at 1040 GMT -- 10 minutes late -- at Changi Airport, where hundreds of guests in business suits gathered for a champagne reception to welcome it.
The A380 arrived from France where Airbus officials finally saw off the giant plane after 18 months of delays and billions of dollars in cost overruns.
Production problems on the double-decker behemoth embarrassed the European manufacturer, a bitter rival of US firm Boeing, but SIA stuck with its initial order of 10 planes and later ordered nine more.
"This is perhaps one of the most anticipated events in aviation history in this century," Bey Soo Khiang, the airline's senior executive president for operations and services, told dozens of local and foreign journalists ahead of the plane's arrival.
The A380 will make its first commercial flight on October 25 between Singapore and Sydney.
Seats on that flight were sold in a charity auction on the eBay online marketplace. Regular service on the route begins on October 28.
The superjumbo is enormous -- each wing could hold about 72 cars, and each plane contains more than 500 kilometres (300 miles) of wiring. It could carry 853 passengers in an all-economy configuration.
But in what could be a trend, Singapore Airlines has installed just 471 seats to offer more space, particularly in business and first class.
SIA's version has 399 economy seats, 60 business seats, and a "Suites" class of 12 compartments with 58-centimetre (23-inch) flat-screen televisions, sheets by French designer Givenchy and a full-length bed behind sliding doors.
"This week, the game changes and we in Singapore Airlines are very proud to be the launch customer," Bey said.
"What you see tonight is not just a step but a quantum leap in the standards of air travel."
Reporters were shown mock-ups of the three new cabins, complete with SIA stewardesses in their trademark figure-hugging uniforms.
SIA, which early on began advertising that it would be "first to fly" the A380, had expressed disappointment with holdups in the superjumbo.
But all was forgotten Wednesday as the airline took out full-page advertisements in Asia to herald its Suites class and trumpet the arrival of the plane.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, SIA chairman Stephen Lee, and Airbus chief executive officer John Leahy were to give welcoming speeches at the airport ceremony before the prime minister toured the aircraft.
The A380 problems over the past two years provoked management changes as well as a politically sensitive cost-cutting plan at Airbus.
Even as it celebrated delivery of the A380, the European aerospace group EADS, the parent of Airbus, announced Wednesday that delivery of its first A400M military transport plane to the French airforce would be delayed by at least six months.
The A380 was also recently at the centre of an insider-trading scandal, with top managers and key shareholders suspected of selling shares in EADS before the A380 production problems were made public.
But 16 airlines have placed firm orders for the A380 -- which some analysts have called a "white elephant". Dubai-based Emirates is the leading client on a customer list of predominantly Asian, European and Gulf-based carriers.
Airbus says the A380 will offer the lowest cost per passenger of any airliner, will emit less carbon dioxide per passenger, and significantly reduce takeoff and landing noise.
"The big step coming with these aircraft is the economics of it, the efficiency of it," said Tom Ballantyne, chief correspondent for industry publication Orient Aviation.
The A380 will allow the phasing out of SIA's Boeing 747 jumbos over the next three-to-four years, Bey said.
"More than simply a big airplane, the newest industry flagship will change forever the way the industry operates," the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation consultancy said in a report.
Ballantyne said SIA will have the A380 market to itself for almost the next year, until Australian carrier Qantas takes delivery of its first superjumbo.
"It's a Singapore Airlines thing, being first," Ballantyne said. "It gives them a huge marketing edge." -
Channel NewsAsia - 1 hour 5 minutes ago
SIAÂ’s historic A380 arrives in Singapore
A new chapter in SingaporeÂ’s aviation history has been written, with the arrival at Changi Airport Terminal 3 of the worldÂ’s first superjumbo bought by Singapore Airlines.
The Airbus A380 touched down at approximately 6.40pm (Singapore time) on Wednesday after a 12—hour flight from Toulouse, France.
Some 400 guests, including SingaporeÂ’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, were on hand to welcome the A380 which was brought home to land by SIAÂ’s Chief Pilot, Captain Robert Ting.
Speaking at the welcome ceremony, Prime Minister Lee said SIAÂ’s success is a triumph of the ingenuity, hard work and spirit of its people. It is also a source of pride for all Singaporeans and a symbol of the nationÂ’s relentless drive for excellence.
But being a top airline alone is not enough, said the Prime Minister, it also needs good airport infrastructure to complete the travel experience. "In this regard, the launch of the A380 is a milestone not just for SIA, but also for Changi Airport. Changi is the first airport in the world to handle commercial A380 operations."
ChangiÂ’s preparedness, said Mr Lee, will stand it in good stead as a key international air hub and strengthen SingaporeÂ’s position as a gateway to the Asia Pacific.
SIA has purchased 19 Airbus A380 planes in all and five are expected to be delivered next year. The double—decked aircraft offers greater efficiency, lower fuel emissions and less noise compared to existing long—haul jets.
The new A380 planes are expected to replace SIAÂ’s fleet of 14 Boeing 747 jets, which will be phased out in three to four years.
The superjumbo will be flying to Sydney on 25 October on a charity flight, which has raised some S$1.9 million through an auction of the seats onboard.
SIA will then use the A380 to operate a daily service between Singapore and Sydney. Come next year, A380 planes will also be used to launch a daily service to London.
A big welcome party, that took almost 18 months to organise, was laid out for the arrival of A380 at Changi Airport Terminal 3, a S$1.75 billion facility that will open its doors to the public only in January next year.
The 380,000—square metre terminal is seven storeys high and located directly opposite Terminal 2.
Its main feature is a unique roof architecture which allows natural light into the building. There is also a five—storey vertical garden called the ’Green Wall’ which spans 300 metres.
Terminal 3 will have some 100 retail, food and beverage outlets, and service concessions.
It will handle 22 million passengers annually, bringing Changi Airport’s total annual passenger handling capacity to about 70 million. — CNA/sf/so -
Channel NewsAsia - 1 hour 2 minutes ago
First A380 plane delivered by SIA pilot Robert Ting
SINGAPORE: A top flight crew has been entrusted to bring home the first A380 plane and the chief pilot behind the historic flight is Captain Robert Ting.
The 56—year—old Singaporean, who has been a pilot for 36 years and has 15,000 flying hours under his belt, joined the Singapore Airlines in 1971.
Captain Ting is certified to fly eight different types of aircraft. He spent 21 years of his career as an instructor pilot and 14 years as a management pilot.
Married with two sons, the captain said no special preparation is required to fly the jumbo jet.
"Although itÂ’s bigger and heavier, the A380 does not pose any special problem that the pilot has to cope with the extended conversion and training on the ground with the airplane should suffice."
He added: "It’s a good feeling... it’s a nice aeroplane. It’s fantastic in its response. Despite its size and its weight, the aeroplane is very agile. It has a fantastic engineering design." — CNA/so -
hi folks
have 1 question what is SIA policy on having Sex in the plane now that it has Beds? -
sex in public view is against the law...Originally posted by Arapahoe:hi folks
have 1 question what is SIA policy on having Sex in the plane now that it has Beds? -
its a no-no.Originally posted by Arapahoe:hi folks
have 1 question what is SIA policy on having Sex in the plane now that it has Beds? -
they advertised Rose petal and Champagne on the bed. what message r they giving.Originally posted by mhcampboy:sex in public view is against the law...
When u r in international Air space which law can you impose? when u put a bed in planes everyone is talking about having Sex in the plane so it is a matter of reality it will happen. Anyway hollywood is already talking about it.
but i really pity the air steward they have to change sheets and linens everytime the plane dock more work. -
dude, there r ground staff cleaners to do tat.Originally posted by Arapahoe:
they advertised Rose petal and Champagin on the bed. what message r they giving.
When u r in international Air space which law can you impose? when u put a bed in planes everyone is talking about having Sex in the plane so it is a matter of reality it will happen.but i really pity the air steward they have to change sheets and linens everytime the plane dock more work. -
yeah lorr look at the turn around time they have to make the cut before ready for next flight.Originally posted by monoslayer:dude, there r ground staff cleaners to do tat. -
I suggest invite the Malaysian Yesornot (astronaut) to be a passenger. Malaysian Government willing to pay pretty high price to be passenger.
-
no plane pics or ceremony ones?