The destination being Los Angeles, Australian airline Qantas' new Airbus 380 was assured of a starry Hollywood reception when it landed at the city's LAX airport.
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John were on the tarmac to greet the double-decker, four-engine plane in the first commercial flight by an A380 to touch down in the City of Angels.
Wearing airline crew uniforms, the Grease co-stars strode out to meet passengers who'd travelled from Melbourne. The A380, with a flying kangaroo emblazoned on its tail, parked next to "lifelong airline geek" John's Boeing 707.
Trained to pilot both the Boeing and a Gulf-stream jet he also owns, the Pulp Fiction actor has now set his sights on qualifying to fly the Airbus: "I was the first non-test pilot to get a chance to fly it and it was awesome," he said.
Despite the healthy box-office returns on his movies, the star admits the plane's $300-million price tag is beyond his reach. When asked if the aircraft would be on his Chrismas wishlist, the movie heavyweight laughed: "Geez, I don't think I can afford that".
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
