WATCH as giant double-decker Emirates Airbus A380 touches down at Birmingham Airport
The world's biggest passenger jet has arrived in Birmingham and will start making daily flights from Sunday.
Civic dignitaries joined executives from airline Emirates to celebrate the landmark Easter event – the first time one of the giant double-decker Airbus A380s will operate from the West Midlands airport.
It follows major investment by Birmingham Airport in lengthening its runway and even building a £1 million new air bridge specially designed so passengers can get off both decks of the Airbus at the same time.
And travellers are already voting with their feet – and their wallets – snapping up tickets to fly on the new aircraft.
All the 615 seats on board have been sold for Sunday and Monday's flights, with just a handful left for the first two weeks the Airbus is in service from Birmingham.
It will be flying every lunchtime, taking passengers to Emirates giant airport hub in Dubai, with many flying on to other destinations around the world.
Airport boss Paul Kehoe said: "This is a great vote of confidence in the Midlands. Emirates are spending nearly $400 million – or £290 million – with this move. That's what it costs to buy one of these planes, even before all the added extras that Emirates put in."
The plan arrived on Tuesday evening, and was greeted by the cameras of hordes of plane spotters. The formal launch of the new service took place at Emirates' luxurious passenger lounge at the airport yesterday.
Bringing in the A380 comes after a period of serious growth for Emirates business at Birmingham. It added a third daily flight in September last year with a 428-passenger Boeing 777. That will now be replaced by the Airbus which carries an additional 187 people.
The man in charge of Emirates UK operations, Laurie Berryman, said they had complete confidence that the extra seats would be sold: "There is a draw factor for the A380. Wherever we put them in service, people want to travel on them. And they are a very comfortable aircraft, much quieter inside that anything else. People just love to fly it.
"We have seen very strong demand for the first couple of weeks, and the aircraft is completely full for its first flights on Sunday and Monday."
Mr Berryman said the move to introduce the big Airbus was also based on the growth potential for the area.
"There is huge opportunity for Birmingham Airport over the next decade. The airports in London are full and there won't be a new runway opened for at least another 10 years.
"Now all those people who have driven by Birmingham for years to catch their planes at Heathrow can come here instead and reach anywhere in the world with just one change of aircraft."
The aircraft will get to Dubai in six and a half hours, making the return journed in around seven and a half hours becausing it will be flying against the jetstream in the upper atmosphere.
The expansion for Emirates at Birmingham will also see 30 people working directly for the airline at the airport, while the 26-strong cabin crew from an A380 would join other Emirates staff who take up around 70 rooms a night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Resorts World complex at the neighbouring NEC site.
The A380s flying from Birmingham will operate a new two-class version of the plane, unveiled just last year, which carries 557 passengers in Economy and 58 in Business.
