First flight of Airbus A-380 to India takes off

SINGAPORE: An Airbus A-380 of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) today took off from here for Delhi, marking the maiden flight of the superjumbo to India.

Another A-380 would take off two hours later for Mumbai, as part of SIA's plans to launch daily flights of this large fully double-decker airliner that can carry 471 passengers in a three-class configuration.

The Southeast Asian carrier became the first global airline to launch the operations of the superjumbo to India, after the government lifted restrictions on the flights of the 'big bird' this January.

Major Gulf carrier Emirates would become the second airline to deploy these Airbus A-380s from Mumbai in July.

The SIA's aircraft has a total seating capacity of 471 seats with 399 in economy, 60 in business class and 12 First Class suites.

"The A-380 has received an overwhelming response from the Indian travelers. This reiterates our belief in the Indian market and their aspirations to travel the world which has been the key factor for Singapore Airlines' growth story in India," SIA general manager David Lau said at the launch of the superjumbo operations to India.

Of the 6,000 seats per week allowed in the bilateral air services agreement between India and the Southeast Asian city- state, SIA is estimated to use about 5,800 from Delhi and Mumbai, he said.

SIA had earlier this month announced the deployment of A-380 on the Singapore-Delhi and Singapore-Mumbai routes, replacing the Boeing 777-300 Extended Range aircraft from this month.