Superjumbo jet aims to be a runway success

IT’S set to be the luxury cruise of the skies. The world’s biggest passenger aircraft - large enough to incorporate bars, shops, gyms and casinos - will be shown off for the first time tomorrow.

The 555-seater Airbus A380 “superjumbo” will be displayed to the public in France. Dwarfing the Boeing 747, this plane has a wingspan that is four-fifths the length of a football pitch and its design could accommodate up to 850 passengers.

There is also talk of in-flight fountains and showers. And forget the traditional trolley service at meal times - there will be a range of self-service food counters. Business class couples may be able to snooze in double beds and cabins. Who knows? It may bring a new meaning to the mile-high club.

Plane-making company Airbus, in which British company BAE Systems has a 20% stake, will display the massive aircraft at alavish ceremony at its headquarters in Toulouse in southern France.

With a lavish sound and light show, a curtain will be pulled back and four leaders - including British Prime Minister Tony Blair - and 5,000 guests will get their first glimpse of the world’s biggest passenger airliner.

Representatives of aero engine company Rolls-Royce and Airbus UK, which builds the wings for the new giant of the skies, will be watching keenly.

Airbus has 149 orders for the double-decker A380, which has an 80-metre wingspan and 50% more floor space than the Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, the A380 on display will sport Airbus’s new colours. The first test flight of the new aircraft will take place before the end of March and Singapore Airlines will be the first to operate the A380 in spring 2006.

The plane’s launch has not been without problems. Airbus has warned the initial research and development cost of about €8 billion for the A380 could rise by about €1.1bn.

In addition, there has been concern at the speed at which airports are working to accommodate the new planes.

Last week, Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard said the launch of the plane “had been, and still will be, no picnic” and that “any new aircraft is a challenge”.

Airbus boasts that though its A380 is bigger and heavier than a Boeing 747, it needs less distance to take off and land and makes half the noise of the jumbo jet.