Vacation Packages

A short hop on a big plane GlobalPost

30.10.09

PARIS, France — Instead of smashing a champagne bottle over a new airplane’s nose, the tradition in aviation for christening an aircraft, or so the flight captain told passengers, is to give it a full hosing down at the end of its first outing.

And so it was with Air France's new A380, the first of the world’s largest passenger jets to join the AirFrance KLM fleet. On the approach to gate E57 at Charles de Gaulle airport, fire brigades flanked the super jumbo jet and sprayed a huge arc of water over the aircraft as it taxied along the runway, marking the end of a journey that began with much fanfare in Hamburg, Germany.

For many passengers on the ceremonial flight, the day started in Paris with a lot of buzz in Terminal 2F, where perky employees greeted them and handed out boarding passes and badges to invited guests, journalists and company personnel, who won their spots by participating in a quiz.

In Hamburg, after reading from their prepared remarks extolling how the day had been the culmination of years of investment and forward-thinking, the leaders from the trinity of companies that made the delivery of the aircraft possible — Airbus, Engine Alliance and Air France KLM — joined on stage for ceremonial photographs.

Source: