But according to Singapore Airlines it better not be love; or at least not the making of it. There’s been a lot of well-earned hoopla about the Airbus A380 superjumbo and its inaugural commercial flight Thursday from Singapore to Sydney. Much of the media’s attention has been on the First Class (or as Virgin Atlantic will call it, Upper Class) suites, including two of 12 that feature a double bed.
If you’re thinking Mile High Club (and you’re not a Sox fan dancing in Denver’s LoDo), think again. “If couples used our double beds to engage in inappropriate activity, we would politely as
k them to desist,” Singapore Airlines company spokesman Stephen Forshaw told the Times of London. “There are things that are acceptable on an aircraft and things that aren’t, and the rules for behavior in our double beds are the same ones that apply throughout the aircraft.” So with those bottomless flutes of champagne, wheels of oysters on the half-shell, and your snuggly-wuggly or other objet du desir within arm’s or leg’s reach in what are still tight quarters, regardless of how suite they are, it’s a no-fly zone.
Nevertheless, it’s quite a bird. I’ve seen CNN, and even a blip in the news zipper on Al Jazeera Asia, featuring it as breaking news today, and the half-page ad in The South China Morning Post boasts a profile of a demographically distinguished gentleman kicked back in a what has to be a Barcalounger on one end of the cabin. The airline, which holds the honor of being the first to fly the A380, calls it a “class beyond first.” Just remember to remain classy (or really, really quiet).
Posted by: Colin Mangham