Ever since news came of the return of Singapore Airlines Airbus A380s into service began to spread, many passengers have been patiently anticipating where the aircraft would be flying to.

For the first destination, the Star Alliance airline member had planned for Singapore-London to be the first long-haul route reinstated for the A380s, which was considered a favorite amongst passengers.

Oddly enough, there’s the schedule for the world’s shortest A380 flight that will last no more than a full hour, whereby Singapore Airlines will deploy the superjumbo on an ad-hoc basis to Kuala Lumpur.

Starting from Nov. 4, the superjumbo will be flying on a three-times-weekly and four-times-weekly basis starting November 4 till early December.

Currently, the airline uses the Boeing 737-800, or occasionally the Airbus A350-900 for this route, whereas its low-cost sister Scoot uses an Airbus A320.

While it would seem strange for Singapore Airlines to make such a move, but it might be preparatory flight services to get the A380s and the crew back on track before long-haul services are fully deployed in the coming year.

Welcome Back to Sydney

Fortunately, the superjumbos will not be stuck on short flights forever as Singapore Airlines has quite an early-Christmas surprise for its passengers, as it will be deploying its superjumbos for daily flights to Sydney.

As Singapore Airlines was the launch customer for the A380 back in 2007, it also happens that Sydney was the first destination for the A380 in its inaugural flight.

Similar to the Singapore-London route, the Singapore-Sydney route was also one of the more popular destinations amongst the national carrier’s network before it was halted in March 2020, which is what makes this surprise to be a little more nostalgic.

With the recent announcement that Australia is reopening its borders, as well as the high possibility of a Vaccinated Travel Lane with Singapore, the national carrier is foreseeing pent-up demand for the holiday season.

Under the quarantine-free travel bubble, fully vaccinated business travelers and students will be able to fly between the two countries before it gets opened up to tourists.

Starting December 1st, Singapore Airlines will resume three flight services to Sydney, using three different aircraft types as well with the likes of the Boeing 777-300ER and the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner.

For the lone Airbus superjumbo, it gets its signature flight numbers, SQ231 and SQ222, flying daily between Singapore and Sydney. Besides the superjumbo, the 777-300ER also flies daily but the Dreamliner will only fly on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

“With the NSW and Australian border opening up from 1 November, the A380 will support even more Australians hoping to reconnect with loved ones ahead of the Christmas period,” said Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President Louis Arul in a press release.

Reuniting Loved Ones

Scoot, the low-cost sister carrier of Singapore Airlines, has also launched a series of one-way promotional fares across selected markets within its network.

These flights would include direct flights from Singapore, or connecting flights via Singapore, to either Melbourne or Sydney, with the aim of reuniting Australian citizens and permanent residents with their loved ones back in Australia.

Prior to the pandemic, Scoot was actively flying to four different Australian cities and is currently partnered with Virgin Australia to give passengers additional options to connect to and from.

As of currently, however, Scoot only flies to three of the previous four cities, with the Gold Coast still not being operated yet.

Once the Vaccinated Travel Lane between Singapore and Australia fully commences and tourists are allowed, it is extremely possible that the Singapore Airlines Group will resume and launch more flights.

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Charlotte Seet

Fascinated by aircraft from a very young age, Charlotte’s dream was to work alongside the big birds one day. Pursuing her dream, she went on to achieve her diploma in Aviation Management and is currently working on her degree in Aviation Business in Administration with a minor in Air Traffic Management. When she’s not busy with school assignments, you can find her aircraft spotting for long hours at the airport. In Charlotte’s heart, the Queen of the Skies will always be her favorite aircraft.

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