UK flag carrier British Airways has taken delivery of its first Airbus A380 (G-XLEA) with the double-deck type arriving at London Heathrow at this morning on its ferry flight from Toulouse.

BA has 12 of the superjumbos on order and will initially deploy the Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered aircraft on routes from Heathrow to Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

James Mellon

David Kaminski-Morrow

Keith Williams, British Airways chief executive, says: "We're delighted to be the first UK airline taking delivery of the A380. It is a great aircraft that has been developed with huge amounts of British engineering ingenuity and we believe it will prove very popular with our customers when it starts flying to its first destination of Los Angeles."

Airbus chief executive Fabrice Brégier adds: "It is a very proud moment for everyone at Airbus to see our A380 in the livery of British Airways, one of the world's most pioneering airlines.

"With this new flagship in their fleet, the British carrier opens a new era of long-haul flying and offers its passengers an all-new travel experience."

BA is the tenth operator of the A380, with Airbus holding a total of 262 firm orders from 20 customers for the type.

Source: Flight International