Down to business

“This is a very, very special aircraft,” Dixon said before QF93’s departure. “It’s elegant, it’s spacious, its quiet, and importantly in these times it’s green. ” “It’s a very, very special day for Qantas.

I look forward to welcome all the passengers on board. ” One of those passengers was Dixon’s predecessor as CEO, James Strong. Strong renewed his association with the airline he led from 1993 through to 2000 in becoming a member of its board in 2006, and one of his last acts as CEO was to order the A380.

“I think it has lived up to expectations very well,” Strong told Australian Aviation before boarding the flight. “To me it’s fulfilled every promise from its quietness, fuel efficiency, and spaciousness in allowing a whole new way of laying out the design of the inside of the aeroplane. ” In particular, Strong highlighted the A380’s fuel efficiency. “Because of what has happened with the price of fuel it’s become even more important than we thought it would be at the time. That efficiency was a big element of the decision, but that’s become even more important, and I think the position that Qantas has in the delivery line for 20 A380s is really a very good position. ” It was a big decision too.

“It was a big decision to make at the time, but typically in aviation you do have to make very big decisions years in advance, and they’re very big amounts of capital,” Strong said. “You’re aware of the gravity of it but you know that you’ve got to do it, it’s one of those things that becomes part and parcel of running an airline. ” But a good deal from Airbus seemed to have made the original decision a little easier.

“Oh yes,” Strong recounted. “That was at the early stages (of the A380 program) and that was why we decided to take the courageous decision to get that advantage (of buying early). I think that’s paid off. ” “I must say it is wonderful to be here and to be going on board,” he reflected in conclusion.

While James Strong was one of a clutch of prominent passengers on the flight, and there were some keen enthusiasts who were travelling on the flight specifically to be on the first Qantas A380 service, many of the passengers didn’t quite appreciate the historic nature of their journey until checking in at the airport. For them the flight went smoothly, departing on time and landing on Los Angeles International’s Runway 25L at 7. 26am on the same day (after crossing the international dateline).

At LAX the flight was – appropriately enough for the home of Hollywood – met by Qantas ‘ambassador’ and actor John Travolta, his fellow star from the movie Grease, Australian entertainer Olivia Newton-John, plus Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. After the movie star welcome and formalities in Los Angeles, the A380 then made a two hour promotional and media flight with about 200 passengers on board to San Francisco (including flying over the Golden Gate Bridge) before returning to LA. That night as QF94 VH-OQA returned to Melbourne.

Later that week there was no fanfare for the first A380 service from Sydney. A near full VH-OQA, operating QF11 from Sydney to Los Angeles, departed just after 2pm on October 24. The A380 was now busy getting down to business.

Meanwhile, a day later, Singapore Airlines celebrated a year of A380 operations.

In that time, the airline’s A380s have flown 1600 commercial flights, clocked over 13,230 flying hours, averaged close to 90 per cent passenger loads, and carried almost 665,000 passengers.