Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) inaugural Airbus A380 service from Singapore to Heathrow took off promptly at 09:00 and is expected to arrive in London on time – if not slightly early – at around 15:00 today (18 March).

There are 449 customers on board the world’s largest passenger aircraft for its first commercial flight to Europe, which SIA has configured with 471 seats.

The double-decker aircraft will operate to a specially-built £100m ($201m) pier at Terminal 3 which has space for four A380s - Emirates will operate them to Heathrow from Dubai on 1 December.

Airlines at Heathrow have ordered 168 A380s says BAA, which expects to handle 65 of the aircraft at the airport daily by 2015.

Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Pat McFadden and Aviation Minister Jim Fitzpatrick are among guests who will welcome SIA’s flight at Heathrow.

“Today’s flight represents a significant milestone,” said McFadden. “The A380 is a remarkable aircraft – quieter, cleaner, smarter and greener than existing commercial planes.

“The aerospace sector is very important part of UK manufacturing and this journey is a chance to celebrate the contribution of more than 400 British companies to the A380 programme. I wish the aircraft, the airport and the airline a long and successful future working together.”

SIA general manager UK and Ireland Marvin Tan, said: “The arrival of the first commercial A380 flight to London will be a proud moment for British aviation. The SIA A380 has wings made in Britain, engines made in Britain, and its interiors are designed in Britain.

“It is 20% more fuel-efficient and has a noise footprint half that of the Boeing 747-400 it is designed to replace. Our aircraft will also carry a third more passengers than the 747, thus enabling us to satisfy demand without having to increase the number of flights.”

It is the airline’s second A380 route after it began operating to Sydney last October. It will also fly to Tokyo from 20 May. There are 12 first class ‘suites’ and 62 business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration with a 34” width coupled with 55” pitch.

From tomorrow, the SIA A380 will operate the overnight service: flight SQ 322 departs Singapore daily at 23:20, arriving in London at 05:25. The return leg departs 11:00, arriving 07:40. From 30 March departure times change to 23:30 from Singapore and 11:55 from London as the summer schedule begins.  

“Seats on both legs of the inaugural flight to London were snapped up soon after flight details were announced in late January, and forward bookings for scheduled services there are strong,” said SIA vice president marketing and regions Huang Cheng Eng.

British Airways (BA) – which won the maintenance contract for SIA’s A380s at Heathrow – will begin operating its first super-jumbos from April 2012 at Terminal 5.

The A380 produces ‘only a quarter of the noise level of the 747’ under the Heathrow noise classification system says BA, and accordingly it is considering using the aircraft on routes which arrive early in the morning - from Singapore, Hong Kong and Johannesburg – for the benefit of residents near the airport.