ON BOARD FLIGHT SQ380 — The world’s largest jetliner made aviation history today, completing its first commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney with 455 passengers, some of them ensconced in luxury suites and double beds.

The Airbus superjumbo lifted off from Singapore’s Changi Airport and landed about seven hours later in Sydney. Also aboard Flight SQ380 was a crew of about 30, including four pilots.

Flight attendants handed out champagne and certificates to passengers, some of whom paid tens of thousands of dollars in an online auction for seats.

“I have never been in anything like this in the air before in my life,” an Australian, Tony Elwood, said, reclining with his wife, Julie, on the double bed in their private first-class suite.

“It is going to make everything else after this simply awful,” he said, sipping Dom Perignon champagne after a lunch of marinated lobster and double boiled chicken soup. He paid $50,000 for the two places.

The double-decker A380 ends the nearly 37-year reign of the Boeing 747 jumbojet as the world’s most spacious passenger plane. Its European manufacturer, Airbus SAS, also claims that the A380 is the most fuel efficient and quietest passenger jet ever built.

Thomas Lee, who was also on the Boeing 747’s first commercial flight from New York to London in 1970, described the latest experience as “spectacular … fantastic … incredible.”

“It was a festive atmosphere, I can tell you. Everybody was excited. People were up out of their seats in the aisle. It was quite difficult for the cabin crew to do their job, … not like a normal flight I can assure you,” he said.

The A380 was delivered to Singapore Airlines on October 15, nearly two years behind schedule after billions of dollars in cost overruns for Airbus. Still, the wait was worth it, says Singapore Airlines, which got the exclusivity of being the plane’s sole operator for 10 months.

“This is indeed a new milestone in the timeline of aviation,” the chief executive of Singapore Airlines, Chew Choon Seng, said in a speech before the departure.

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet generally carries about 400 passengers. The A380 — as tall as a seven-story building with each wing big enough to hold 70 cars — is capable of carrying 853 passengers in an all-economy class configuration.

However, Singapore Airlines opted for 471 seats in three classes — 12 Singapore Airlines Suites, 60 business class, and 399 economy class.

Each suite, enclosed by sliding doors, is fitted with a leather upholstered seat, a table, a 23-inch flat screen TV, laptop connections and a range of office software. A separate bed folds up into the wall. Two of the suites can be joined to provide double beds, one of which the Elwoods occupied.