Airbus A380 completes first passenger test flight
The Airbus A380 has completed its first test flight with passengers on board.
During the seven-hour flight, 474 Airbus staff tested the aircraft’s first, business and economy class cabins.
Airbus will carry out three more flights this week when staff will test all of the facilities on board the double decker aircraft.
The 1,900 Airbus employees were picked at random from 15,000 staff who applied from Airbus offices worldwide.
On the same day as the landmark test flight, Airbus dismissed Charles Champion, the executive in charge of the A380 programme.
Deliveries of the aircraft have been delayed for over a year and will cost the company £1.35bn in the next three years.
According to reports in the financial press, Champion was late to inform the Airbus board about mounting technical problems.
He has been replaced by Mario Heinen, who was in charge of the A320.
The first deliveries of the A380 are due to be made in December to Singapore Airlines.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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