The Airbus A380 made its long-delayed U.S. debut on Monday, flying from Frankfurt, Germany, to New York’s JFK Airport. The A380, which suffered two years of production delays and has cost builder Airbus billions in lost profits, boasts a wingspan wider than a football field and capacity for more than 500 passengers. The flight was a chance, observers say, for Airbus to prove that the plane will be ready for first deliveries in October to Singapore Airlines. On board for the eight-hour flight were 483 people, including four pilots, four Airbus crew members, 23 Lufthansa cabin crew and several hundred passengers, mostly Airbus and Lufthansa employees along with some reporters. After the inaugural run, Lufthansa and Airbus will operate a demonstration flight to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport Tuesday, before returning to New York and then Frankfurt. The plane then heads to Hong Kong and back, before continuing to Washington Dulles International Airport March 25, with a final stop at Lufthansa’s Munich hub March 28. For related news