From March 18, the first regular flights from Europe of the new A380 aircraft start when Singapore Airlines use it on their Singapore to London Heathrow route. Singapore Airlines have been using the A380 aircraft on their route to Sydney since October last year, but this is the first time that these superjumbo planes – the world’s largest passenger aircraft – will be regularly landing in Europe.

There are some positive points about the A380s coming to Europe. You can’t argue with the fact that more people get transported but without adding extra aircraft. It’s also meant to be the quietest large passenger aircraft ever – the official word is “50% less cabin noise” – and that might help me sleep better on board.

Then there are the assertions from the manufacturer, Airbus, that the A380 is more environmentally friendly, although some are already disputing this – for example, the Telegraph said that airline cabin choices (which fit less passengers in) and the fact that most long-haul flights aren’t full mean that the carbon emissions per passenger are actually higher than for other flights.

But what always sounded most interesting to me was that Airbus used cheaper airfares as a selling point for the aircraft. The new technology and extra space will make long-haul flights cheaper for airlines to run and Airbus suggested that airlines could pass this reduction on to consumers.

So far, Singapore Airlines says that economy class tickets will remain at the same price, but business class will cost more since it has better facilities than other business class planes. So much for cheaper prices.

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