A first-class trip on the luxurious Emirates Airbus A380 - for free

Ever wondered what it would feel like to get a pilot's eye of the skies from the world's biggest passenger jet?

Google Street View has gone off the road and into the skies with the internet giant creating a virtual tour inside the Emirates Airbus A380.

Viewers can board the double-decker airbus and navigate their way inside the iconic four-aisle jet - with no need to print out a boarding pass, check in luggage or fish out a passport.

The 360-degree digital tour will let people experience the plush Club Class and First Class cabins to get a taste of the high life - without the hefty price tag - as well as step into the onboard lounges and spas and see the inner workings of the cockpit.

The airbus, with a wingspan of 79.8 metres, is known as the world's most-fuel efficient jet in its class - burning 20 per cent less fuel than its nearest competitor. It can carry 517 passengers and stream across 15,000km in a single journey.

Taking its cameras on to the A380 to get a perfect online replica of the jet is a first for Google Street View, which was launched six years ago.

"Google is on a quest to map the world and taking users inside the A380 is one way to explore the world's largest passenger airliner," said Maha Abouelenein, head of communications at Google. "It is the first time users can experience this true engineering feat. Our team had a narrow window to conduct the digital capture between flights."

The Google Street view of the A380 is the second UAE project.

Last month Google incorporated the world's tallest building - Dubai's Burj Khalifa - into the Street View section of its Google Maps service, the first time Street View has been used in the Arab world.

"This is our second project in the UAE, the capture of Burj Khalifa was just the start," said Ms Abouelenein. "Street View is a fantastic way to showcase the cultural and archaeological history of a country for online explorers and educational purposes.

"In this case, we give users the chance to explore the Emirates A380 aircraft's impressive engineering feat close up as well as view the suites and cockpit."

Street View was launched in 2007, and images of 3,000 cities in 50 countries are available.

You can explore the aircraft by visiting goo.gl/maps/JzN39.