When the first Airbus A380 for British Airways flew into London Heathrow Airport on July 4, onboard were three pilots, 22 senior cabin crew selected to work as trainers on the type and senior management from the airline – including Chief Executive Officer Keith Williams who had been present at the delivery ceremony in Toulouse the same day. This wasn’t, however, G-XLEA’s public debut as the aircraft had appeared in the aircraft static park and flying display of the Paris Air Show in June. BA’s new flagship was greeted at the airline’s maintenance base by hundreds of cheering employees as the pilots waved union flags from the cockpit windows.
It was a
