In next Tuesday’s eFlyer, we write about the countdown to the first commercial flight of the superjumbo A380. A charity auction for seats on the first flights (Singapore Air, to and from Australia) raised more than a million dollars, and there’s even a Web site that, as of Oct. 15, will be running a countdown to delivery, with videos.

I’ve been on a few inaugural flights where a new route was being initiated, but only once have I been on the delivery flight of a brand-new aircraft. It wasn’t the first of its type–it was the 747-400SP–but it was the first for British Airways. To be in on the celebration, we flew United from New York to Seattle and then attended ceremonies at Boeing Field in Everett, where the pair of new aircraft were parked nose-to-nose.

All sorts of eminent folk, including members of the British Parliament, were along for the ride. I’ve heard of delivery flights where only a few seats had been bolted in for passengers, but our aircraft was fully finished, and full of press and VIPs. Lord King, chairman of the airline at the time, held court in the upper cabin.

Living on the East Coast, I’d never had reason to fly the polar route to Europe, so that was cool. It never got dark, and we flew over glaciers (some of which, I gather, are melted now).

But the coolest part was that the two new aircraft were flown in tandem. Not in close formation, of course, but you could look out the window and see the twin keeping pace. That’s not something one normally gets to see.

So hats off to the folk who bought tickets on the first commercial flights of the A380. Next up–unfortunately delayed probably until 2009–will be the Dreamliner.

– Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer