Emirates unveiled to applause in Hamburg

The long-awaited first Airbus A380 was unveiled to the media in Hamburg.

Transcript

00:00A day of celebration for both Hamburg and Dubai.

00:09Emirates first A380 Super Jumbo was handed over at the Airbus factory in this northern

00:14German city.

00:15But it was perhaps not without a sigh of relief that 2,000 workers walked alongside the mammoth

00:21aircraft, waving up at their CEO, Thomas Enders.

00:24It's been a long time coming, close to two years, with a number of delays from the aircraft

00:29manufacturer.

00:30At times, they've strained relations between the two companies.

00:33Still, Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Said Al Maktoum made a surprise announcement before

00:38the unveiling of the aircraft, an agreement to buy 60 more long-haul A330s and A350s.

00:45At a cool $12 billion, it's further proof that Emirates continues to thrive while other

00:50airlines struggle to weather a turbulent market.

00:54With rising fuel prices and a focus on environmental flying, buying 60 mammoth aircraft worth

00:59$18.8 billion is not going to go unnoticed.

01:03Emirates President Tim Clark was still bullish about the purchase.

01:06We do not aim to premium load this aircraft, and if it had not been fuel going through

01:12the roof as it had, we would have been able to be far more price competitive than we are

01:17today with this aircraft, especially when we start putting more seats into it.

01:22The unveiling was a scene reminiscent of New Year's celebrations in a European city.

01:27Laser shows, post-modern dances and rousing Emirates theme music lured in a selected

01:32group of guests before the huge aircraft was unveiled.

01:35Now that the first A380 has arrived on UAE soil, the focus of attention will move to

01:40where this state-of-the-art aircraft will fly to.

01:43And scenes of celebration will turn to some hard bargaining with both governments and

01:48airport operators.

01:49Ashraf Helmy, Gulf News.