British Airways Takes Delivery of First Airbus A380

British Airways has become the tenth operator to receive an Airbus A380 after taking delivery of the first of 12 aircraft the airline has on order.

BA is the first UK operator of the A380, and will start to deploy its new flagship aircraft on routes from London Heathrow to Los Angeles on 24 September 2013 and to Hong Kong on 22 October 2013.

British Airways’ chief executive Keith Williams said, “We’re delighted to be the first UK airline taking delivery of the A380. It is a great aircraft that has been developed with huge amounts of British engineering ingenuity and we believe it will prove very popular with our customers when it starts flying to its first destination of Los Angeles.”

British Airways’ A380s will accommodate 469 customers across four cabins. Customers in First will be seated at the front of the main deck. The cabin will offer 14 seats and is evolved from the current First class with 30% more personal space and 60% more personal stowage.

Club World (business class) customers can choose from 44 seats on the main deck, or 53 seats on the upper deck. These upper deck seats will feature a new, and somewhat surprising, 2:3:2 configuration across the cabin.

The 55 World Traveller Plus (premier economy) seats will be located on the upper deck while World Traveller (economy) customers can choose seats on both the main and upper deck.

The A380’s innovative design makes it much quieter during take-off, landing and during flight, and is 16% more fuel efficient than a Boeing 747.

British Airways has ordered 12 A380s for delivery by 2016. Three will arrive this year followed by a further five in 2014.

An ‘entry into service’ programme will see pilot and cabin crew training taking place at Manston Airport in Kent, customer service trials at Heathrow and short-haul flying for both aircraft, including flights within the UK.

All BA’s A380s will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.

“It is a very proud moment for everyone at Airbus to see our A380 in the livery of British Airways, one of the world’s most pioneering airlines. With this new flagship in their fleet, the British carrier opens a new era of long-haul flying and offers its passengers an all-new travel experience,” said Airbus President and CEO, Fabrice Brégier. “It is a special day for UK industry too, as a significant proportion of this amazing aircraft was designed and built at Airbus’ UK sites in Filton and Broughton, as well as at our many partners’ facilities across the country.”

The A380 is capable of flying 8,500 nautical miles or 15,700 kilometres non-stop. Airbus currently has 262 firm orders for the A380, from 20 customers.

To date, 40 million passengers have already enjoyed the unique experience of flying on board an A380. Every five minutes, an A380 either takes off or lands at one of the 30 airports where it operates today and the network is constantly growing.

See also: Inside Emirates Airbus A380 and Inside Malaysia Airlines A380