Emirates and Airbus teamed up to search for the ultimate A380 fan in the UAE ahead of the Dubai Airshow in November. A Facebook competition, jointly organised by Emirates and Airbus, garnered over 1,000 entries in less than three days. To enter, participants had to express why they were ardent fans of the Emirates A380, in less than 380 words.

The winner, Yves Heye, became the envy of aviation enthusiasts when he was treated to a special VIP tour of the Emirates' first two-class configured A380, which was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow.

Yves Heye's winning streak did not end there. His tour concluded with the ‘Surprise of the Year' when he was invited to visit Toulouse, France, for an exclusive tour of the A380 manufacturing facility. The ‘Ultimate A380 Fan' flew to France earlier this month on an Emirates A380 where he visited the A380 Final Assembly Line with an Emirates A380 currently under production.

He also visited the A380 mock-up cabin centre and other Airbus facilities. His dream trip concluded with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly an A380 from Toulouse to Marseille under the command of an Airbus test pilot in a true-to-life flight simulator.