World’s biggest passenger jet starts new life

Bloomberg

Danish tourists bound for Cyprus got more room than they’d bargained for as the first second-hand A380 superjumbo began its new life with a trip to the Mediterranean holiday island from Copenhagen.
The Airbus SE plane, the world’s biggest passenger jet, was hired by Thomas Cook Group Plc for a four-hour flight to Larnaca, a comparatively short hop for an aircraft that previously operated between Singapore and far-flung cities across the globe.
The tour operator briefed startled passengers about the giant plane before they boarded, with some lucky travelers allocated seats in the first- and business-class cabins, though minus the gourmet meals that once accompanied the premium berths. As the first scheduled superjumbo to visit Larnaca the plane also created a stir on landing, with people jostling to snap “selfies.”
The A380, registration 9H-MIP, was drafted after Thomas Cook’s Nordic arm was left without an aircraft following airport issues on the Greek island of Rhodes.
The service would use an Airbus A321 narrow-body with less than half the capacity of an A380, a model that’s popular with passengers but has struggled to win orders as airlines prefer smaller, more efficient jets. The double-decker was relocated to Copenhagen from Beja in Portugal, home base to the plane’s new operator Hi Fly, which is leasing it from owner Doric for almost six years.
The 471-seat aircraft made the trip to Cyprus with just 213 people on board, though the return flight made more use of the leviathan’s capacity, carrying 396 passengers.