Dubai and Hamburg: The first Emirates Airbus A380 touched down on schedule in Dubai on Tuesday evening.
The aircraft took off from the German city of Hamburg for its new home in Dubai.
- Audio: Gulf News's Ashraf Helmi calls Radio Two from 43,000 feet (mp3)
- Audio: Ashraf Helmi salivates over the A380 menu (mp3)
- Audio: Ashraf Helmi describes the journey (mp3)
- Video: A380 pilots prepare for Dubai flight
- Video: The A380 touches down in Dubai
The giant plane left Germany with its cargo of dignitaries and journalists at 11.18am (UAE time) on Tuesday morning, and is due to land in the UAE at around 5pm.
The 489 seat double deck aircraft, which features showers in first class and lounge areas for premium passengers, will go into service on August 1 when it flies to New York.
A380 flight diary:
11.30am (UAE time): We took off shortly after 9.15am (Hamburg time) time and will soon be cruising at 40,000 feet.
Noon: The media are sitting in business class, breakfast is being served shortly and everyone has spent the past 30 minutes pushing the mass of buttons on their fully reclining seats
1pm: Emirates chairman Shaikh Ahmad bin Saeed Al Maktoum is in first class. The showers are just in front of me so I might try to pop in to freshen up before landing.
1.50pm: I've just popped down to lower deck to check out economy class. It is surprisingly spacious. Seats are bigger than normal I think and the TVs are too. 10.6 inch. It is like a ghost town in here though. Everyone is understandably lording it in business class
3pm: The A380 is scheduled to touch down more or less on time. The latest landing time being given is 5.32pm.
4pm: I've just been wandering around the first class area which has suites better equipped than some hotels I've stayed in. I also bumped into Shaikh Ahmad on the stairs - certainly an unusual event on a plane. He gave his personal endorsement of the A380 catering, saying he loved the food he'd been served.
4.15pm: The news everyone has been waiting for...The food. Simply, it is confirmation that Shaikh Ahmad is a man of taste. I just had dinner. A morello cherry roulade for dessert but the highlight was the poached fillet of beef in pumpkin sauce. A far cry from my usual airline fare of chicken or fish? I could get used to this business class life. Best ask for a pay rise when I land.
4.20pm: We're due to land in Dubai in around one hour. The flight has been very smooth and it is quite remarkable how quiet this plane is. Taking into account the sheer size of it, it barely makes a whisper.
5.30pm: Airbus A380 touched down on schedule in Dubai on Tuesday evening.
