Singapore Airlines, which will be the first airline to receive the giant twin-deck Airbus A380, will fly the jet commercially to Sydney in Australia. The airline has scheduled 25 October as the date for the inaugural flight.

The commencement of operations by Singapore Airlines draws the curtain on the aircraft''s two-year delayed flight into commercial operations.

The A380 has been delayed by wiring faults; each aircraft uses almost 500km of wiring. The delay has hurt the finances of Airbus and the European consortium EADS, Airbus Industrie''s parent.

Singapore Airlines is using the launch for raising funds for charity. The airline says that most of the seats for the maiden flight on the A380 would be auctioned on online auction site eBay, and the entire proceeds would be donated.

The fortnight-long auction will commence on 27 August for single, pairs and multiple seats in each of the three classes with the opening bid price for a seat in ''economy'' class starting at $3.80, for ''business'' class at $38 and for a luxury trip in the airline''s ''suites'' at $380.

So far, 14 airlines have ordered or committed to buying a total of 173 A380s, with Singapore Airlines having made 19 firm orders, and an option for an additional six.