• 

  Singapore Airlines

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  SQ/SIA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Singapore Changi Airport

  Year Founded:

  1972

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  CEO:

  Goh Choon Phong

  Country:

  Singapore

The good news for A380-lovers continues this week as another superjumbo has emerged from long-term storage. On July 1st, Singapore Airlines brought back an Airbus A380 from Australia, flying the jet from Sydney to Singapore Changi. During the worst of the pandemic, Singapore Airlines had stored eight of the type in the Australian outback. That number is now down to two as more jets come back online to fly passengers around the world.

Aircraft and flight details

Emerging from a two-year rest, the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 registered 9V-SKP is now back at its proper home in Singapore. The aircraft spent just over two years in Alice Springs, flying into the storage facility on June 27th, 2020, and flying out on June 29th, 2022.

On the 29th of June, the jet made the relatively short hop from Alice Springs to Sydney where extra work and preparations were made for reactivation. Then, after about one and a half days in Sydney, the jet took off for Singapore at 17:47 local time on July 1st. It touched down in Singapore after nearly eight hours, at 23:30 local time.

9V-SKP, or MSN 076, is 11 years old and is configured with 12 first class seats, 86 business class seats, 36 in premium economy, and 245 seats in economy class.

And then there were two...

The pandemic prompted Singapore Airlines to progressively send down a total of eight Airbus A380s to a long-term storage facility at Alice Springs Airport in central Australia. With the global travel situation improving, these aircraft have been slowly emerging from storage. Now, with the removal of 9V-SKP, just two superjumbos remain according to Planespotters.net. The two jets are registered 9V-SKK and 9V-SKL.

Alice Springs, the site of Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (APAS), has been one of the main sites for Singapore Airlines to store its A380s outside of their typical home at Singapore Changi. When the pandemic struck in March 2020, the airline had 19 superjumbos but almost immediately retired two. Of the remaining 17, eight were slowly moved to the Australian desert while the remaining nine stayed in Singapore.

One of the jets that remained in Singapore was used to host a special temporary restaurant experience for travel-sick A380 fans. Apparently, tickets for this experience had sold out in just 10 minutes, as is noted in our review.

Discover more aviation news.

Where Singapore Airlines is flying its A380s

With the airline reactivating much of its A380 fleet, the jets are busy flying passengers halfway around the world. At present, they fly to the following cities:

• Delhi
• London
• Frankfurt
• Mumbai
• New York
• Sydney

All active jets have a relatively new cabin fitting, set up to accommodate six in first class, 78 in business, 44 in premium economy, and 343 in economy. Of note are the new business class seats, which naturally recline into a lie-flat bed but also feature "sculpted wings" that surround the seat and offer support while lounging.

Are you excited about more of Singapore Airlines' Airbus A380s returning to service? Have you flown on one of these yet? Share your experience by leaving a comment!