A380 commercial service launch date set

A380 commercial service launch date set The world’s largest passenger aircraft will start its first commercial service at the end of October after Airbus delivers the first of the super-jumbos to Singapore Airlines on Oct. 15.
   Following a delivery ceremony in Toulouse, the first A380 will take off for Singapore's Changi International Airport to start service between Singapore and Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 25.
   It will be a proud day for the European manufacturer, which has been beset with problems surrounding the A380. The company has had to axe more than 10,000 jobs as it tried to arrest losses related to delays to the project it started developing as a rival to Boeing’s 747 back in 1994.
   The freighter version of the aircraft had to be mothballed last year when UPS and FedEx cancelled their commitments in frustration. Airbus expects to sell 400 of the freighters over the next two decades.