A file picture of A380

Honeymoon couple Saurabh and Sraddha Baid booked seats on an A380 aircraft of Singapore Airlines for their honeymoon trip to Sydney on December 7.

The previous day, another couple from the city, Pradyumna Dalmia and Vasuprada, had booked seats on the same aircraft to fly to Tahiti.

The Dalmias and the Baids were the first couples from Calcutta to have travelled in the super jumbo Airbus 380, which started its commercial operation between Singapore and Sydney on October 25, 2007.

But they are not alone. Tour operators in the city are getting an increasing number of bookings and queries from Calcuttans about A-380.

“Australia as a destination is gaining popularity and we have received several queries from tourists who want to fly on an A380 from Singapore to Sydney. The queries for suites are mainly from honeymoon couples,” said Anil Punjabi, the chairman (east) of the Travel Agents Federation of India.

Suites in A380, designed by French luxury yacht designer Jean-Jacques Coste, are beyond the first class category. “It was the perfect beginning to our honeymoon,” said Baid.

Behind its sliding doors is a personal area with lavish furnishing. A full-sized bed, with plush mattress, is built into each individual suite. “After dinner is served, the seats go down and the beds are taken out,” said Baid.

“The seven-and-a-half-hour journey was too short. We wish we could had stayed on board longer,” said Vasuprada.

“The cabin was more spacious and luxurious in comparison to the business and first classes in other planes. There was also variety in the cuisine,” she added. Masala tea and Indian sweets were served on board.

In the last month, 14 passengers had booked seats on the A380, said Satish Ramnani, of Vensimal World Travel Agents. The airbus will be introduced on other routes soon. Singapore Airlines is planning to introduce it on the Singapore-London sector this month. Kingfisher has ordered 10 A380s that are expected to take off by 2010.