Where Does Singapore Airlines Fly Its Airbus A380s?

Often dubbed as the superjumbo, the Airbus A380 has always been a flying symbol of luxury, comfort, and manufacturing innovation ever since its introduction. Singapore Airlines was the first carrier to fly the aircraft when it was introduced in 2007, and the superjumbo quickly became quite the flagship staple after transporting many passengers across numerous routes.

But once the pandemic struck worldwide, Singapore Airlines and others were forced to park the Airbus A380s in long-term storage, while a few airlines resorted to completely retiring the fleet immediately. Then, in the post-pandemic era, the Star Alliance member brought them back and strategically reconstructed its Airbus A380 route network to serve crucial markets and ensure they remain profitable.

Summarising the routes

Despite only operating 12 Airbus A380s as opposed to the former 19 from before the pandemic, this fleet portion has a significant route map serving seven destinations. That said, two more will be added soon. The nine destinations include Auckland, New Delhi, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Mumbai.

But it’s worth noting that not all nine routes will see the superjumbo all year round, as some are only seasonal, like the peak summer schedule – which runs from April to October. With this season soon coming to an end, this means that specific routes will lose the Airbus A380 and instead see a smaller widebody deployed.

Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock

On the other end of the spectrum, some routes are for the festive winter schedule, which runs from November to March. And with this season soon approaching, the A380 losses from the summer routes, such as Melbourne, will be the winter routes’ gains, like Auckland. So, without further ado, here’s where Singapore Airlines is currently flying its fleet of Airbus A380s.

Auckland

For the first time in over three years, the Singapore-Auckland route will once again receive the superjumbos from mid-November this year until late March next year. The Airbus A380 will replace the currently used Airbus A350-900, allowing Singapore Airlines to ferry approximately 218 more passengers each flight.

But the smaller Airbus widebody is not completely foregone from the Singapore-Auckland route, as flight SQ 281/282 will be reinstated during this winter season and utilize the airline’s Airbus A350-900 Long-Haul variant. And back to the Airbus A380s, the flight schedule for this non-stop route is as follows:

New Delhi

For this year’s summer schedule, one of the airline’s non-stop flight services to New Delhi was supposed to receive the Airbus A380 but got a slight and temporary downgrade to the Boeing 777-300ERs – presumably due to higher demands in other markets that require the behemoth aircraft. Fortunately, the Airbus widebodies were quickly reinstated by the end of July and are likely to remain till the end of March next year.

However, flights on October 28th and 29th will likely utilize the Boeing 777-300ER as part of the airline’s flight pairing ritual. Also worth noting is that for the summer season schedule till October 27th, the outbound flight departs from Changi International Airport at 16:50 and arrives at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 20:10.

The inbound flight then leaves New Delhi at 21:55 and arrives home at 06:10 the following day. But once the winter season schedule starts on October 30th, there are some differences in the timings, as shown in the flight schedule below:

Mumbai

Like the Singapore-New Delhi route, one of the flight services for this route also temporarily lost the Airbus A380 deployments during the initial summer season but was later reinstated on September 1st, and the superjumbo is expected to remain deployed until the end of March next year.

Photo: Bradley Caslin I Shutterstock

Also similar to the Singapore-New Delhi route is the slight change in timings between the two operating seasons. For the current summer schedule, outbound departures are at 19:00 before arriving at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at around 22:10. Inbound departures are at 23:40 before arriving at Changi Airport at 07:40 the following day. As for the winter season, the flight schedule is as follows:

London Heathrow

Often dubbed as the staple Airbus A380 route for Singapore Airlines, London’s Heathrow Airport is no stranger to seeing these widebodies flying through for most of the year. In fact, this route is coincidentally the flag carrier’s busiest Airbus A380 route, with two of the four daily, non-stop flights offered utilizing this aircraft till the end of March next year.

This offers passengers opportune planning options to hop on the superjumbo either in the morning or late at night, depending on their schedules. The A380 flight schedule is as follows:

Tokyo Narita

Similar to the Singapore-Auckland route, Tokyo’s Narita International Airport will again receive the airline’s Airbus A380s after over three years on October 29th. The superjumbo will replace the current Boeing 787-10 until the end of March next year, allowing Singapore Airlines to ferry an estimated 134 more passengers per flight. The flight schedule is as follows:

Shanghai

The Star Alliance member is already deploying the Airbus A380s for non-stop services to and from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, with outbound departures scheduled at 09:30 and arrivals at 15:05. The inbound departure from Shanghai is then at 16:50 before the aircraft returns home at around 22:20. However, from October 2nd to January 3rd, this will temporarily be replaced with the Boeing 777-300ERs.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Then, from January 4th next year to March 30th, the superjumbo will be reinstated. Singapore Airlines might include a short-term Airbus A380 deployment from October 6th to 9th. The 2024 flight schedule is as follows:

Hong Kong

Following a short break in July when the Boeing 777-300ER was brought in, the Airbus A380s have returned as a staple aircraft on the airline’s Hong Kong route since August 1st. Until October 28th, the outbound departure is scheduled at 09:40, and the expected arrival at Hong Kong International Airport is at 13:55. The return leg sees a departure at 15:40 before arriving home to Singapore at 19:35.

Once the winter schedule begins on October 29th, the timings will differ slightly, as highlighted in the flight schedule below:

Melbourne

This route saw the return of the Airbus A380 deployments earlier this year in May. However, this will not last long as the flag carrier plans to replace the superjumbo with the Boeing 777-300ERs in mid-November to make way for the anticipated Auckland return. To catch these flights while they last, here is the schedule:

Sydney

The final destination for Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380 fleet is none other than Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport, which currently boasts two daily superjumbo operations with outbound departures at 00:45 and 20:20 and arrivals scheduled at 10:25 and 05:55 the following day. Concerning the inbound departures, there are 11:00 and 15:00, with arrivals back to Singapore at 17:30 and 21:20.

Photo: aiyoshi597 | Shutterstock

These deployments are expected to last through the end of March next year, but with the usual differed timings once the winter schedule begins from October 29th. This particular flight schedule is as follows:

Shuffling the deployments

Although the Singapore-Frankfurt route got axed from the airline’s Airbus A380 schedules in May, the superjumbo will once again return to continental Europe for the 2024 summer season. It should remain until the end of October next year – much to the unfortunate fate of the Singapore-Tokyo and Singapore-Auckland routes.

As for whether or not the Airbus A380 will ever return to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, only time will tell, though it would be interesting to see which route would suffer to cater to this return. It also seems rather unlikely, given how the current markets served, such as China, India, London, and Australia, should have higher demand volumes than the Singapore-New York route.