A380 will be first paperless plane

Emirates will make its new A380 superjumbos paperless planes as the rising cost of aviation fuel forces airlines around the world to cut back on costs.

The carrier will remove all seat-pocket paper including in-flight magazines, entertainment guides and shopping catalogues, when the giant aircraft go into service in 12 days, the UK's Sunday Times reported.

Emirates has also started a project with Airbus to reduce the weight of the aircraft by five tonnes by 2012.

The removal of paper from the plane will lighten the aircraft by a tonne, the newspaper said, citing Emirates president Tim Clark.

The printed matter will be replaced by digital content displayed on the seat-back television screens.

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