Superjumbo completes maiden flight

The world's largest passenger plane has touched down at Sydney airport after completing its first commercial flight.The giant Airbus A380 superjumbo landed safely after its maiden voyage from Singapore.The plane's commander Captain Robert Ting, 56, said he was very satisfied with the aircraft.He said: "It's agile and gentle to handle. You don't think you're flying the world's biggest passenger plane."Passengers who had bid for their tickets on internet auction site eBay - with proceeds going to charity - enjoyed the amenities of the double-decker A380 on the flight from Singapore.First-class flyers enjoyed the luxury of double beds and 23in television and film screens, while the 60 business-class passengers revelled in more room than usual.Even the economy-seat passengers have got seat-back screens and extra foot room.British Airways recently boosted the A380 programme by announcing that it would take 12 of the new aircraft, with the first due to arrive in 2012.Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic is also a superjumbo customer, although the project's teething troubles led to Virgin deferring its order of six aircraft until 2013.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

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ITN | October 25, 2007