KEY POINTS:
I am not a big fan of flying. What prompted me to take on the assignment to fly Singapore Airlines' maiden A380 flight from Singapore to Tokyo was an offer of a stopover in Singapore, where I could catch up with family, and the chance to fly business
class - a rare opportunity for someone who hardly ever gets to go beyond cattle class.
But I was reminded many times before the flight that this is not just any business class on just another plane. I would be seated in the world's widest, full-flat business-class seat and travelling on the largest passenger aircraft built, the A380 superjumbo.
As a child, I enjoyed plane-watching at the airport's waving gallery.
But every time I saw planes take off or land at the airport, my simple, non-scientific mind wondered how those bulks of steel could even take to the air, and what's more, stay up there for thousands of kilometres.
Before the flight, Phua Han Tian, SIA's vice-president (product innovation), told me the Tokyo-bound aircraft would easily weigh more than 450 tonnes and described the superjumbo to be "like two aircrafts, the A345 and B747-400, stacked on top of each other".
Now, if we go by simple logic, the massive metal beast of the A380 - as tall as a seven-storey building, wider than a rugby field and weighing more than 12 Kaikoura sperm whales - should not be able to take to the air.
But the staggering technical achievement takes the engineering of the superjumbo beyond simple logic, and the one other consolation I had was others like it have done the distance on other routes, flying to Sydney since last October and London since March.
Waiting to board, the other journalists and I found it hard to contain our excitement about seeing the double beds in first, and the vast business-class seats. There was a distinct wow factor as we boarded the aircraft, even though the media had been given a preview of a mock cabin at the airline's training centre earlier in the day.
Kudos to Singapore Airlines for choosing a set up with 471 seats, when the plane can carry up to 853 passengers, to give passengers a choice of unparalleled space and luxury.
It boasts 12 "beyond first-class" suites at the front of the main deck, business class on the upper deck and economy at the back of both levels.
Like the wage gap between Air New Zealand's local and Chinese-based staff, the gap for the haves and have-nots on this aircraft are just as wide.
A passenger who had flown first class to London tells me that the A380 does bring back the pleasure and fun in flying, but you would need, as Abba sang, "Money, money, money - it's a rich man's world".
On board, sitting in my colossal, 86cm wide business-class seat and sipping a Singapore Sling, it was hard not to feel smug as the others - who would have easily been me - walked down the aisle to their cheap seats at the back.
With my eyes closed for take-off, I was waiting to hear the usual roar of the engine for the plane to get airborne, but it never came. The take-off was so gentle and silent, the only hint that we are in the air was when a group at the back broke into applause.
I was amazed at how quietly the A380 drifted in the skies, but after the seat belt sign was turned off, I was told by a flight attendant that there were those who found the lack of engine noise terribly eerie.
"I was on an A380 bound for Sydney, when a passenger asked if there was something wrong and if the engine had died," she said, as she helped me transform my seat into a flat bed.
I realised mine was nowhere near the height of luxury of the elites in the first-class suites, who get to sprawl on their full-sized flat beds, and sip champagne under a Givenchy duvet in front of a 23-inch TV.
But this is the next best thing, and the test of a good seat is: can you sleep in it?
Although you have to sleep on an angle, the business-class seat bed is still quite comfortable. I think it is not so much a case of whether you can sleep, but rather, would you want to? To drift into dreamland would be such a waste of a good thing.
So instead of sleeping, I fiddled with the new eX2 entertainment system on my 15.4-inch monitor.
With a selection of 100 movies, 180 television programmes and over 700 CDs, video games and audio books, it would not be humanly possible to finish even a 10th of those during the flight. All seats also come with USB ports, laptop power and an adjustable dining table.
Five hours into the early-morning flight to Tokyo and it was time for breakfast. Meals are produced by celebrity chefs and served on diningware by Givenchy.
The Hanagoyomi created by chef Yoshihro Murata of Kikunoi, Kyoto - an array of nine appetisers and entrees, and miso soup, served in Japanese style - easily ranked among the best airline food I've had.
Well, all good things must come to an end - or so I thought as we prepared for landing.
Strong winds prevented the aircraft, carrying 394 passengers and 28 crew, landing in Narita, and it had to be diverted to Nagoya.
That started a mad scramble for interviews by the Singaporean and Japanese journalists onboard who were filing the inaugural flight as a news story. But without pressure of a deadline, the four-hour delay just meant a bit more time for me to enjoy the A380.
Did the 12 hours spent on board the world's biggest passenger plane change my view on flying? No, but if I had a choice of aircraft, it would definitely be the A380. Also, SIA's inflight entertainment system provides a great distraction for making those long flights feel that much shorter.
Will New Zealand get to see the A380 land on our shores?
No - at least not an SIA one, said the airline's chief executive Chew Choon Seng.
"But most travellers from New Zealand heading for Europe can take the A380 from Singapore to London," he said.
And SIA's new Boeing 777-300ER, which started flying between New Zealand and Singapore last month, also has business and economy-class seats with almost the same configuration as those on the A380.