From BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6768237.stm
Airbus superjumbo for private use
An unnamed buyer at the Paris air show has placed an order for an Airbus A380 superjumbo to use as a private jet.
Airbus said the individual, "not from Europe or the US", [this means it could be someone from Udon - hmm.. Val has a pilots licence] would use the plane for "personal use for him and his entourage", AFP news agency reported.
The double-decker, which is thought to have cost $300m (ฃ150m), has 900 sq m (10,000 sq ft) in cabin space and has room for up to 840 passengers.
It is expected to take more than a year to convert the jet for private use.
Aage Duenhaupt, a spokesperson for Lufthansa Technik, which turns large commercial planes into private jets, said the majority of clients were originally Middle Eastern.
But using the model as a private jet could be problematic, because its weight and size mean it can only be landed at a limited number of airports, by certain pilots.
Environmental groups were annoyed by the news, saying that buying a superjumbo for private use was like "buying a filthy coal-fired power station just to use to charge up your mobile phone."
The model is set to come into use later in 2007.
