The world’s largest airliner, an Air France A380, touched down in New York on Friday after completing the superjumbo jet’s first Atlantic crossing from Europe to the US.
The Airbus plane, carrying 538 passengers, left Paris earlier in the day and landed at 1:07pm at JFK Airport, several minutes ahead of schedule, under crisp blue skies.
Air France is the first European airline to put the giant aircraft into service, but the fourth worldwide after Singapore Airlines, Gulf-based Emirates and Qantas of Australia.
Passengers included 380 people who bought their tickets in an Air France auction to benefit disadvantaged children.
Air France will launch regular A380 flights across the Atlantic tomorrow. The fleet of 12 huge planes will also serve Johannesburg, starting in February, and then Tokyo.
But major production and delivery delays mean the commercial success of the A380, the pride of Airbus and parent company EADS, has yet to be secured.
Meanwhile, US aerospace giant Boeing broke ground on Friday for the second assembly plant for its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft scheduled for its first test flight by the end of the year.
The facility at North Charleston, South Carolina, will also have the capability to support the testing and delivery of airplanes, officials said.
Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said Friday’s launch “marks the beginning of an expansion plan that will strengthen the 787 program.”
“Locating the second line in North Charleston will allow Boeing to successfully compete in the aerospace market and grow for the long-term benefit of many stakeholders,” he said.
Boeing said last week that its 787 Dreamliner aircraft remains on track for its first test flight by the end of the year.
On June 23, Boeing announced a fifth delay in the 787 Dreamliner program to fix a structural problem.
Fifty-five customers around the world have ordered 840 787s since the program was launched in April 2004, making the Dreamliner the fastest-selling new commercial jetliner in history, the company said.
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