The Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger plane in operation. Its maiden flight was made on 27th April 2005 and it entered commercial service, with Singapore Airlines, on 25th October 2007, flying from Singapore to Sydney. It is currently in daily operational service between Singapore and Sydney, and also Singapore-London.

The A380 has been nicknamed the Superjumbo because of its double decker configuration, allowing it to carry 853 passengers in a single-class layout, though in service it is in traditional three-class layout with a maximum passenger load of 525. Its fuselage is, however, shorter than the A340-600, which has been in operation since 2001.

The A380 (originally named the A3XX or UHCA – Ultra High Capacity Aircraft) was originally conceived, as a direct challenge to the Boeing 747, in 1988. McDonnell-Douglas was, at the time, promoting its MD12, a double-deck jumbo, but that project never got beyond planning stage. By 1994 Airbus began serious planning but it was not until 2000 that Airbus gave its engineers the final go-ahead. Advance orders for 55 aircraft helped tip the balance – construction began in 2002.

The A380 is built in different countries and assembled in France. The front and rear sections of the fuselage are made in Hamburg: the wings in Bristol; belly and tail in Spain; engines in either England or the USA. All parts are shipped (primarily by sea, then by road) to Toulouse for assembly before the completed plane is flown to Hamburg for exterior painting.

Its avionics are highly advanced, with systems previously used in high performance military jets being adapted for commercial use and an on-board computer makes the cockpit "paperless". The pilots no longer have to carry around paper maps of airports and routes as everything appears on screen, even down to the taxi-way routes at each airport.

However, with the extra passenger load compared to the 747, for example, the plane is more fuel efficient. The cost of each plane is thought to be around $280 million, almost the same as the new Boeing 787 will cost. Airbus has received orders or options for 200 of the aircraft and is already working on an extended version, the A380-900, slightly bigger.

The aircraft is, inside, well fitted out for passenger comfort with slightly wider seats than in other aircraft, particularly in economy class. The cabin is definitely much quieter inside and passengers are commenting on how quiet and gentle the plane is, especially on take-off.

The advent of the A380 has created some problems for airports and new piers and ground areas have had to built or designated to accommodate the arrival of the Superjumbo. The length of the plane overall is 73 metres (239 feet, 6 inches) and the wingspan is 79.8 metres (261 feet, 10 inches). The wheel-base is an impressive 30 metres (almost 100 feet). The empty plane weighs 277 tonnes and maximum take-off weight is 560 tonnes.

The A380 has a range of 15,200 kms (9,400 miles) and can carry approximately 82,000 gallons of fuel. It is claimed that the A380 has a lower fuel burn per passenger than any other large plane, at just under 3 litres per passenger per 100 kms – these figures, however, do depend on the number of passengers on board and also weather conditions, rather like the differences in fuel consumption for a family car (motorway driving vs. inner-city, for example), so it is difficult to be precise.

The plane is manufactured using a large amount of composite materials, bonded together to give strength, replacing rivets used on older planes. This, it is planned, will defer fuselage fatigue. Only two of the four engines are fitted with thrust reversers to slow the plane down on landing.