Qantas commences A380 service to US West Coast

Melbourne: Qantas, the Australian airline has launched commercial services of its new Airbus A380. It has become the first airline for fly paying passengers aboard the A380 into Los Angeles.

The A380 took off from Melbourne at 11:15 am (0015 GMT), and would land at Los Angeles around 12 hours later, where it would be welcomed by movie star, pilot and Qantas brand ambassador John Travolta, along with Australian singer Olivia Newton-John.

Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon said the airline's decision to fly its first A380 commercial service to the US West Coast is a display of a commitment towards expanding the trans-Pacific market that is an extremely lucrative route for airlines, a route that Qantas has flown since 1954.

Qantas received delivery of its first A380 last month, after a string of delays. Another three are scheduled for delivery by the end of 2008, and thereafter another five would join the Qantas fleet before the end of 2009. Qantas has 20 A380s on order, and is now the third global airline to fly the new jets. It plans to launch ultra long-distance services to London via Singapore using the A380 in January 2009.

Singapore Airlines was the first airline to take delivery of the A380. it launched the plane on its Singapore to Sydney route in October 2007. Dubai's Emirates was the next carrier to take delivery of the superjumbo, and is currently the A380's biggest client with 58 orders. Qantas has opted for a version of the A380 that can accommodate 450 passengers, with 14 in first class, 72 in business, 32 in premium economy and 332 in economy.