By Kee Hua Chee

MALAYSIA - Every pilot's dream is to fly the new Airbus A380, the world's biggest and most glamorous jetliner, which can accommodate up to 853, and Captain Ling Kwong Yung was no different.

ON January 1, 2012, Emirates flew into Malaysian aviation history when its Airbus A380 superjet landed at the KLIA for the first time since the plane went into service four years ago.

But even before the A380 flew into Malay­sian airspace and aviation history, one lucky Malaysian pilot has been captaining one of these humongous jets since 2010. He is Captain Ling Kwong Yung.

Ling is, in fact, currently the only Malaysian captaining an A380 with Emirates. Born in 1970 in Sibu, Sarawak, Ling caught the travel bug early.

"My late father was a sailor but not onboard the QE2!" grins Ling.

"When I was nine, I used to follow him on seafaring trips during school holidays. That was how I caught the travel bug! The trips would last two to four weeks, and his small ship plied the coastal areas between Kuching and Sibu. Our stopovers were small villages with basic infrastructures. It was very slow, not glamorous at all, though I enjoyed it.

"That was how I decided to be a pilot, as flying was the fastest means of transport. I was also fascinated by the aviation industry and was captivated by a Dumex TV advertisement showing a young boy playing with his toy plane. After drinking Dumex milk and a bit of fast-forwarding, he became a pilot and that was the route I planned, with or without Dumex!" Ling jokes.

After Form Five, Ling flew (naturally!) to South Australia and enrolled in the Matriculation and Flying Training course at the University of South Adelaide in 1988, which led to him obtaining a commercial pilot licence.

"Throughout my three-year course, I worked as a waiter in Chinese restaurants most nights and attended classes in the day so my parents only had to pay for school fees and flight training; I have four other siblings."

Ling was at the right place at the right time when he returned since Malaysia Airlines was expanding quickly then. In January 1992, he became First Officer based in Miri in his home state. Again, it was not the height of prestige and status but he did not mind.

"I flew a 19-seater Twin Otter, hopping around the small airports of Sarawak. It was a great learning curve as some airports were grass strips or paved gravel, quite challenging in rainy seasons as they could be slippery when landing in windy and wet conditions.

"It was very basic and there were no service crew so we had to bring our own tea, coffee and biscuits! After a year of bush-flying, I was promoted to (piloting) Boeing 737s. Life improved dramatically! The B737 Flight Deck (cockpit) was a lot more cushy."

Ling swiftly rose, moving on to the Airbus A330, then to the Boeing 747. He married KLite Jocelyn Yeoh in 1995 and they have a son, Jeremy Ling Lee Ming, now 13.

"We met when we were both in Form Five. Those days I was a fairly good badminton player for a small town and represented Sarawak in the Under-18 category. The four-day competition was in Kuala Lumpur and it was my first trip to Peninsular Malaysia.

"I asked my best friend if he knew a girl who could be my tour guide as I wanted to explore KL. He gave me Jocelyn's number. Well, I lost the match but won a wife! Mind you, during our early courtship, Jocelyn's father warned her I would be a pilot and possibly a playful one! Of course, he was wrong!" Ling says.

In 1997 the couple visited Dubai.

"Dubai was small then but thriving and growing. Then the Asian crisis struck and everything became gloomy. Unexpectedly, Emirates was hiring expat pilots, so I applied for the post of First Officer. I brought my wife along for the interview and Emirates showed us their quality housing, international schools, health clubs and world-class company facilities."

A few months later, Ling was offered the job.

"It was fairly difficult to decide as my job with MAS was very secure. The thought of living in a foreign country away from family network was also daunting. But Emirates' package was impossible to resist - attractive salary, excellent travel benefits, excellent accommodation, quality schooling, top security, and Dubai's peaceful and safe environment!"

He had to sort out his wife's career, of course. "She was a secretary in SBC Warburg in Kuala Lumpur before I offered her the full-time job of running Ling Sdn Bhd based in Dubai - I may be Captain when I put on my uniform, but at home it is best I volunteer to be co-pilot!" he grins.

Ling joined Emirates in 1998 after seven years with MAS.

"I started the A330 training when my wife was heavily pregnant in Malaysia. Emirates tried to complete my simulator training as quickly as possible as they knew my wife was fast approaching the delivery date. But my son Jeremy was in a hurry and I missed the delivery by three days.

"We brought him to Dubai when he was just two weeks old. Emirates has around 2,900 pilots. At the last count, there were 45 Malaysian pilots, plus hundreds of engineers, service crew and cabin staff," Ling says.

Again, Ling was spot-on in timing. Emirates was on a go-go expansion. He was promoted to captain of the Boeing 777 fleet after four years on the A330. Then when SARS hit in 2003, Emirates did some cost-cutting and Ling was delegated back to the Airbus 330. Then a month before he turned 40, Emirates transferred him to an Airbus A380.

"It was the best birthday present ever!" he enthuses.

Ling has been flying the A380 since 2010 and loves every minute of it.

"The A380 is the height of innovation from Airbus Industrie - technologically sophisticated and highly automated. Unlike conventional aircraft, the A380 uses 'fly by wire' technology. There is no cable or pulley between the pilots' control handle and aircraft flight control surfaces, be it aileron, elevator or rudder.

"The A380 has a 'sidestick' for the pilot to control the aircraft, very much like the joystick used in home computer games, and just as easy to use! The A380 burns 20% less fuel per passenger than its nearest competitor.

"It is also a lot quieter as it meets the strict new ICAO Stage 4 Noise Levels standard, so we are very proud of this big bird," Ling concludes.

Twenty Emirates A380s fly to 17 destinations currently, and another 70 A380s have been ordered. By year's end, 10 of these may be operational. The average number of seats on an Emirates aircraft is only 518 served by 26 cabin crew.