a380 inaugural

Singapore Airlines Maintains

its Reputation for Superior

Service During Every Phase

of the A380 Maiden Voyage

As an Invited

Guest of Singapore

Airlines and a

successful eBay

bidder for Sally and

Briana’s seats,

we begin our

check-in process.

It is difficult to capture the

enormous size of the Airbus 380

The Singapore Airline’s A380 has two

complete decks, seating 471 passengers in

three comfortable classes.

There was a formal ceremony to present individual bank checks to the three charities

with funds totaling 2 Million Singapore Dollars raised during the Global eBay Auction.

These were a few of the world-renowned “Singapore Girls” who were

extremely lucky to participate on the Inaugural Flight

There were hundreds of the World’s Media from

virtually all Major Populated Continents

Most of the Press wanted to know my

observations of the differences between

the Inaugural B747 Flight 37 years ago

and this brand new A380.

Our Family being

interviewed on a “Live”

morning television

show in Singapore.

The Press Included Newspaper and Magazine Reporters

plus Radio and Television Media.

This crew is from Germany.

The German Media

were particularly

interested in this

original “Stern”

Magazine dated

February 1st, 1970.

German

publication

“Stern”

Magazine

similar to Life

Magazine

dated

Feb 1, 1970

does story on

747 First

Flight

Thomas Lee at 17

Tom’s father (Burt)

mother (Deane)

and sister (Cathy)

My Formal Introduction to

Singapore Airlines Chief Executive

Officer, Mr. Chew Choon Seng

Briana commented on the

comfort of her seat and the

ample elbow room between

the window and the side wall.

The exhilaration of

our very long

60-second take off

roll was

overwhelming!

The Pilot reported

only using 74% of

the available

engine power.

We gently lifted off over

Singapore and immediately

noticed how absolutely quiet

the passenger cabin is

inside the A380

Champagne was served

freely in all classes of service

to commemorate this

great event.

This charming little girl (left) was also a media darling in her

Singapore Airline’s Flight Attendant Uniform.

There were several

young people

onboard. This boy

from India captured a

lot of Press attention.

Singapore Airlines CEO Mr.

Chew Choon Seng

presented this specially

framed honor that includes

my original Pan Am B747

First Flight certificate from

1970. He also personally

signed today’s Certificate

for this A380 First Flight.

This occasion provided me an opportunity to detail

for the CEO Monogram Systems & Zodiac’s

Contribution to Singapore’s A380 aircraft

Capitan Robert Ting

was very popular on

our flight and was

kind enough to

congratulate me and

sign the official A380

First Flight certificate

commemorating the

opportunity to be the

only person in the

world to make

double-decker

inaugural aviation

history twice.

Onboard the flight were 75+

members of the Media. This

photo was taken after being

interviewed by

Richard Quest for

CNN International.

There were many aviation

enthusiasts onboard. This

young man plans to be an

airline pilot and bashfully

asked to have his picture

taken.

This same young man

also requested an

autograph on one of the

many pieces of A380

Inaugural memorabilia.

Julian Hayward is the 38 year old

Australian Internet Entrepreneur that

spent US$100,300 on the eBay Auction

to buy one First Class Suite

Here is Briana testing out Julian’s

seat in his extremely comfortable

First Class Suite

Singapore Airlines was given

unprecedented permission by the

Australian Airworthiness

Authorities to perform a 1,500

foot “Fly-By” directly over the

world famous Sydney Opera

House and Harbor Bridge. Many

Helicopters chased us through

this low altitude pass.

After a seven hour flight and upon landing

in Sydney, the Press put their cameras in

the air to capture the rousing applause

heard throughout the entire aircraft

Dozens of Sydney Airport ground staff

eagerly awaited and then applauded as

we taxied into our arrival gate.

This was quite an historic event. Here is

the front page of one of the

Australian newspapers.

Sydney greeted us with all her splendor

and fabulous weather capping off our

long, but memorable journey.

Media Coverage

Within hours,

literally hundreds of

publications around

the world picked up

the story. Here are

just a few.

For more coverage

Type into Google:

“Thomas Lee A380”