A380, world’s largest passenger airliner takes to the skies

Its comparative lack of noise was the result of demands by customers that Airbus make the plane even more quiet than it already was, a process that took six months. The A380 is designed to carry 555 passengers in three classes, but it can be expanded to 800 seats. The plane intends to stay within 100 miles of Toulouse, in southwest France, and maintain relatively low altitudes. Takeoff weight was 421 metric tonnes, compared with the current maximum takeoff weight of 560 tonnes.

The six-man test crew, dressed in orange jumpsuits, climbed into the plane at 8:40 A.M.

The A380 is about one-third larger than its next-largest competitor, the Boeing 747, which sold well for 35 years but is now down to only a few sales a year. So far, Airbus has 154 firm orders for the A380, 27 of them for the freighter version. The plane is scheduled to enter service for Singapore Airlines in the second half of 2006.

By far the largest order is for 43 of the planes by Emirates airline, based in Dubai.

No American airlines have ordered any A380s, and none is expected to do so any time soon. This week, Air Canada said it had firm orders for 32 new Boeing jets, including 14 787’s, with a list value of about $6 billion, and Air India announced plans to order 50 Boeing jets worth $6.8 billion.