HYPE, hyperbole and hysteria - the arrival of Singapore Airline's spanking new super plane, the A380, last October was given the sort of rock star welcome usually reserved for, well, rock stars.

Deservedly the world's biggest plane was a global news story which brought its first owner, Singapore Airlines, the kind of media coverage that would cause any brand custodian to salivate.

The footage of the landing and its runway procession through a guard of honour of spurting water canons was played on an almost continuous loop on local television media and the plane's arrival was hailed as a national event.

Pre- and post-arrival publicity was exhaustive and stretched well beyond news to encompass hours of TV magazine style programmes detailing the birth of Airbus' A380 and featuring lush sweeping shots of the fit-out. Special attention was given to the section of the plane most SIA passengers will never see - the first class sleeper cabins.

There was even a documentary about the building and opening of Changi Airport's third terminal which will accommodate the new plane.

The media cheerleading for the A380 delivered a massive marketing coup for SIA in a country that loves to be first. It reached every demographic segment in Singapore from the heartlanders to the high net-worthers as it was covered in freesheets to the broadsheets, the business press and most broadcast properties.

SIA taking charge of the first A380 was seen as an uplifting positive news story and a coup not only for the national carrier, but for the nation.

While there was some analysis of whether or not the plane would earn its keep and whether expensive seats, or beds, in the (Beyond)

First Class cabin would be occupied on all flights, it was overwhelmingly smooth skies for SIA in all media coverage.

For SIA, the A380 is perhaps the biggest single marketing coup in the airline's history. Aviation experts are also optimistic about the plane, and the advantages that will accrue to airlines which operate it. SIA's second and third A380s arrive in January 2008, and the fourth in April. Its fifth will arrive before rivals Qantas and Emirates receive their first A380s in August 2008.

British Airways will not receive its first A380 until 2012, and Cathay Pacific has yet even ordered the plane.

SIA's additional planes will allow it to offer A380 service on the lucrative Sydney-Singapore-London sector. The fourth will fly the Singapore-Tokyo route. In the coming years, SIA will receive a total of 19 A380s, the most among Asian carriers.

From a marketing perspective, aviation experts say SIA's 10-month A380 monopoly offers the airline a tremendous edge, showing the airline as innovative, modern and luxurious.

Says Mr Peter Harbison, executive chairman of Australia's Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation: "'In Europe during the weeks leading up to the launch, the media gave blanket coverage to SIA and its wonderful new product.

"'This has really promoted SIA as the airline everyone wants to fly on because they've got the aircraft, and it will be the only aircraft for a long while.

"In terms of market positioning, this has been spectacularly successful," he adds.

SIA pulled out all the stops to cast the first commercial service of the A380 on Oct 25 as the greatest day for aviation since the Wright Brothers" first flight in 1903.

Its focus was not, unsurprisingly, on the dry meat of slots and operating efficiencies, but on high glamour in the sky " and the world was watching.

When asked about the challenges involved in the launch, the first thing SIA spokesman Stephen Forshaw mentions is the thousands of people interested in being on that historic first flight.

"Our challenge was to satisfy all these people and be seen as very fair," he says. "So, we came up with the auction."

The well-publicised auction for seats helped SIA prioritise among the thousands who contacted SIA about being on the first flight, as well as the many who Mr Forshaw says "would have jumped at the opportunity.

Mr Huang says that SIA was also keen that the programme benefit the community.

"We didn't want to be seen as profiteering," he says. Three charities to benefit from the profits made on the air tickets were chosen with the aim of appealing to residents in the first cities to enjoy A380 service (Singapore and Sydney) and one that would appeal globally.

These were The Community Chest in Singapore; two children's hospitals in Australia; and Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).

"This provided a broad mix of charities that would appeal to people all over the world," Mr Forshaw says.

To prevent bogus bidders from driving up the price, a qualification process was put in place.

To bid a seat on the entire aircraft - first class suites, business class, and economy - required a security deposit o f US$10,000 (S$14,478), while the other bidding on economy and business required a deposit of US$1,000.

Despite these hefty deposits, the airline received 6,000 bids for the 650 available seats - half on the Singapore-Sydney leg, the other half on the return. Two hundred people put down deposits of US$10,000.

For SIA's new advertising firm, TBWA, the launch represented the firm's first major project with this key account since TBWA ousted long-term incumbent Batey in April.

Mr Dan Paris, managing director of TBWA Singapore, reckons 60 per cent of the firm worked on the A380 launch and auction.

According to him, the auction page received 26 million visits from users in 160 countries. It also saw the highest number of new Ebay registrations for any commercial auction on eBay.

With all the seats auctioned off, raising $1.9 million for charity, the launch of the plane itself required tremendous organisation.

The launch had several components: SIA's receipt of the jet in Toulouse, France; its arrival in Singapore, where it was met by VIPs, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong; the first flight; and its arrival in Sydney.

To ensure maximum PR exposure globally, SIA provided satellite up-links in Toulouse, Singapore and Sydney, allowing TV crews from around the world to televise live.

"This was incredibly valuable," Mr Forshaw says. "We even had feedback that networks in Sweden were covering the landing of the first flight in Sydney, and this was possible because we had satellite up-links at every location. Thisadded to the event's exposure and gravitas."

He reckons about 300 to 400 journalists were involved in the three key locations, representingthe elite of the world's newspapers and TV channels.

Another big challenge was the plane's arrival in Singapore. Scheduled to arrive late in the day on Oct 17, the SIA team was very concerned about rain.

And what if the plane was late?

Compounding this was the short time available to plan the plane's arrival: the typical aviation contract requires the manufacturer to give two months notice for the specific delivery date. Fortunately all went well - the plane was on time, and the skies were clear as it taxied to the terminal.

Over 1,000 SIA staff, from HR people to mechanics, volunteered to help out on the day of the plane's arrival and on the day of the historic first flight.

Similarly, in full page ads that ran the next day in Singapore media, the tagline read "Singapore welcomes the A380," as opposed to "Singapore Airlines welcomes..."

At the launch event one VIP told Mr Huang that seeing the A380 in SIA livery made him feel like standing up and singing Majulah Singapura.

Despite the amazing PR spectacle of the A380's entry into service, the ads that have accompanied it could be viewed as unadventurous, dealing mainly with the features of SIA's new business and first class - which only a few wealthy travellers will enjoy.

"We have a new product, so our goal is to tell people about its function,- Mr Huang says. "The Singapore Girl hostess appeals more to the emotional side.

We have to know where to run a feel-good ad or commercial, and where we need to give a very functional message.

"For the first class suite, we focused on the double bed... as for the new business class seat, we designed it ourselves, and we wanted to tell people that there is a distinct difference. That's why the first ad has a guy sitting with a laptop next to him on the seat."

Brand consultant Jorg Dietzel thinks the decision to focus on the features of the first class suite was a wise move. "This created a 'wow' factor for the new plane that was a good strategic choice.

"Most people will never experience the suite, but it reflects the rest of the plane and other products.

People will think: 'If first class is that good, the rest must be amazing too.'"

Despite its shaky start, the A380 could be aviation's next game changer - and SIA has positioned itself squarely at the front of the pack.