Airbus A380 takes off on first Singapore flight

"I'm a big airplane freak and I love everything about planes," said Ernest Graaff, an A380 passenger as he waited to board the jet among beaming Singapore Airlines flight attendants.

Graaff paid $40,000 for two business-class tickets on the jet. "I'm excited about being a part of history," he told Reuters.

The aircraft will return to Singapore on Friday.

Passengers paid between $560 and $100,380 to be on the inaugural flight, after bidding for the tickets as part of a charity auction to drum up publicity.