BA’s first A380 takes off from Toulouse

British Airways’ first A380 departed Toulouse at 08:55am this morning.
Captain James Basnett and Customer Service Manager Robert Nichol are flying a small number of VIP customers, colleagues and journalists back to London on the short 80-minute flight.

The aircraft is due to touch down at LHR at 10:20am and will then taxi over to the engineering hangar, where 380 colleagues will greet the aircraft and CEO Keith Williams.

Keith said earlier today: “I was lucky enough to be given a private tour of our A380 and, I have to say, it’s fantastic. I am confident that this new flying experience, brought to life by our excellent onboard service, will delight all customers who travel on this next generation aircraft.

“The A380 brings a new dimension to our long-haul flying. It is the largest commercial aircraft ever designed and will bring us new flexibility in operating from Heathrow and other slot-constrained airports. Customers will love the space and light on board, and the aircraft’s excellent noise and emissions performance will help us make big strides towards our ambitious environmental targets.”