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New Airbus Lands in London
First A380 commercial flight arrives from Singapore
By Sam Gale Rosen
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Posted Mar 18, 08 3:15 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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An Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet landed at London's Heathrow Airport today, completing the huge plane's first commercial European flight. The double-decker arrived from Singapore 15 minutes ahead of schedule, and each of the 470 passengers received a certificate commemorating the event. Singapore Airlines is currently using three of the planes and has 16 more on order, reports the BBC.
Heathrow constructed a $200 million terminal addition just to handle A380s, which Emirates also uses, and did almost $700 million worth of work on runways and lighting to prepare for the giant aircraft. Airbus says the A380 is beneficial for the environment, using 17% less fuel per seat than the next-largest airliner.