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Singapore Airlines Plans World’s Shortest A380 Flight

As airlines plan to reintroduce the world’s biggest commercial jet to their fleets, Singapore Airlines will start with a rather small route.
Singapore-based flyers will soon have the chance to fly aboard one of the world’s biggest aircraft on one of its shortest routes.

 

CNN reports Singapore Airlines will start flying some of their Airbus A380 aircraft between their home airport of Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Singapore Operates Hour-Long Flight For “Operational Reasons”

Prior to the pandemic, the Singapore Airlines A380 was one of the most sought-after experiences in all of aviation. Featuring the first class “Suites” product, the double-deck aircraft offers one of the premier ways to travel internationally.

When aviation was forced to shut down after borders closed, every airline’s fleet of superjumbo aircraft were grounded with nowhere to go. Now that the aviation space is beginning to recover, airlines are slowly re-introducing the massive aircraft to their fleets for international service.

The airline is planning to reintroduce three of their A380 aircraft on the route between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) on an “ad-hoc” basis between November 4 and December 2, 2021. The aircraft will occasionally operate as Singapore Airlines Flight 105 between KUL and SIN, and Singapore Airlines Flight 106 from SIN to KUL.

A spokesperson for the city-state carrier told CNN that the goal of the flights was “for operational requirements,” suggesting that the airline is using the route to re-acquaint their staff with the airframe. The move comes ahead of the carrier restarting A380 service between Singapore and London, starting in November 2021.

International Airlines Prepare for More A380 Services Ahead of Winter Demand

With Singapore Airlines getting ready to relaunch their A380 internationally, other airlines are preparing to bring the giant back into their fleet. British Airways will start flying the airframe on short-haul European routes for crew re-orientation, while Qatar Airways will bring back the A380 in time for the holiday months.

4 Comments
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UncleDude October 20, 2021

But there still wont be any Star Partner Award Seats . They prefer to fly them almost empty.

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downinit October 20, 2021

I flew KUL-SIN on a 777 on Ethiopian Airlines in 2019.  For someone too young to remember the glory days of the 747, it definitely felt a bit bizarre to take a widebody plane on an hour-long flight, but it was definitely nice to get a full intercontinental experience (complete with a quick meal and a decent amenity kit in Y). That was one of the main reasons I booked this flight. This was actually the return flight, as my flight earlier in the day from SIN-KUL was actually Seletar to Subang in an ATR72. It was a fun day trip to MY to break up my three day vacation in SIN (visiting from LAX over a five day weekend).

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steviebaby October 19, 2021

I dont really understand what the excitement is.Back in the mid 90s, I was flying from KL to SIN on SIA B744s.
It's an extremely popular route and SIA tended to use various aircraft throughout the day as its almost a ''Shuttle'' route. They also regularly used A310s.
So the B744 was the earlier equivalent of an A380 and it was used regularly for this route.

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StrongEagle October 19, 2021

So... what has changed?  The airlines were retiring the A380 in droves... too expensive, wrongly positioned for the "new" market... too hard to fill...
 
And here it is, back on the runway.  Has someone put pencil to paper and decided that, all in, the A380 can be cost competitive against newly purchased hardware?