A380 first flight a charity hit

Bidders for a trip on the first scheduled flight of the A380 have donated a total of S$1.9 million (US$1.25 million) for a chance being a part of the aircraft’s historic launch at the end of October.

To raise the money, Singapore Airlines conducted a two-week auction on the online trading house eBay. The airline says around 2,000 bidders pre-qualified by placing a security deposit in hopes of getting one of the 638 seats on the flight between Singapore and Sydney.

Three humanitarian groups will benefit. Singapore’s Community Chest, Sydney’s Randwick and Westmead Children’s Hospitals and the worldwide group Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders will divide the proceeds three ways.

Among the developments that transpired during the auction:
• The first Singapore Airlines Suites package on the Singapore-Sydney flight, sold for S$153,000 (US$100,380). The bargain of the auction was a single Economy seat from Sydney to Singapore, which sold for S$853 (US$560).
• One bidder from Singapore purchased two Business Class seats and an Economy Class seat on the Singapore-Sydney sector, paying S$85,280 (US$56,000).
• Australians made up the largest nationality of successful bidders (15 percent), followed by Singaporeans (11 percent), Britons (6 percent), Americans (4 percent) and Germans (3 percent). The other 60 percent came from all over the world.