Airline to auction superjumbo tickets for charity

British aviation enthusiasts wanting to fly on the first Airbus A380 superjumbo flight to be operated by a European airline may have to bid for the privilege, it was announced today.

Air France is to auction 380 of the 538 seats on each of its first two inaugural flights of the world's biggest passenger plane, with proceeds going to charity.

The first flight leaves from Paris to New York on November 20 and the second departs from New York for Paris on November 21.

A number of UK passengers were aboard the very first commercial flight of the A380, which was operated by Singapore Airlines and which flew from Singapore to Sydney in October 2007. Proceeds from that flight raised more than £600,000 for charity.

British fans of the A380 have also been on inaugural flights operated by the other A380 operators - Australian carrier Qantas and Dubai airline Emirates.

Air France's first commercial Paris-New York A380 flight is on November 23, with the carrier also, later, operating the superjumbo on flights from Paris to Dubai, Johannesburg and Tokyo.