Online auction for first A380 tickets nears end

When the A380 takes to the skies next month, it will become the largest airliner in commercial use. Built by Airbus Industries S.A.S., the aircraft will hold around 555 passengers in a typical configuration. However, Singapore Airlines -- the first to use the aircraft -- opted for a configuration that holds fewer than 480 passengers.

Singapore Airlines auctioned off tickets for the first A380 flight on eBay Inc.'s Singaporean Web site, with all proceeds going to charity. With 24 seats left to sell on Sept. 20, the airline had sold 638 tickets for both legs of the Oct. 25 round-trip flight from Singapore to Sydney and raised S$1.9 million.

That money will be split among several charities: Singapore's Community Chest; the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, and The Children's Hospital at Westmead; and Médecins Sans Frontičres.

The S$153,000 bid for a Singapore Airlines Suites ticket was the most expensive ticket sold during the auction, while an economy-class seat on the return leg from Sydney to Singapore was the cheapest ticket sold at S$853. By comparison, a single, round-trip ticket from Singapore to Sydney is priced at S$900 on the airline's Web site.

Some tickets were sold in blocks, including a group of three Singapore Airlines Suites tickets, two business-class seats, and an economy-class ticket sold to a Singaporean bidder for S$85,280.

Singapore Airlines said the largest percentage of successful bidders came from Australia, representing 15 percent of the total. Singapore came next at 11 percent, followed by the U.K. (6 percent), U.S. (4 percent), and Germany (3 percent). The youngest successful bidder was a San Francisco man who will turn 22 on the day of the flight, Singapore Airlines said.

The oldest successful bidder was a 76-year-old man from Vancouver, it said.

The airline said 2,000 bidders registered for the auction and paid a security deposit that qualified them to bid.