THE economic downturn did not stop more than 450 people from getting on the inaugural Singapore Airlines Airbus 380 flight to Hong Kong on Thursday morning.

SQ856 which departed from Changi Airport's Terminal 3 at 9.50am is scheduled to touch down at 1.30pm.

Hong Kong is the fifth destination to be served by SIA's fleet of nine A380s - the biggest commercial aircraft every built.

The Singapore carrier which became the first to operate the aircraft in October 2007, also flies it to Sydney, London, Tokyo and Paris.

To date, SIA has flown more than 1.4 million people on its fleet of A380s, which have clocked more than 35,000 flying hours on more than 4,000 flights.

The airline has 10 more A380s on order.

In its statement on Wednesday, SIA said the aircraft has proven exceptionally popular with customers, with strong loads on all the routes it serves.

Executive vice-president for marketing and the regions, Huang Cheng Eng said: 'The A380 is the crown jewel in Singapore Airlines' young and modern fleet, and we are proud to be able to introduce this wonderful aircraft on one of the most important routes in our network. We are delighted that our customers have come to embrace the Singapore Airlines A380 and its industry-leading cabin products.'

SIA's A380 is configured to carry 471 passengers in three classes.