Singapore Airlines seems to be planning a significant return of the Airbus A380 when the IATA summer 2022 schedule kicks off. According to schedule data, the airline plans to fly the giant of the skies to eight destinations by the start of April, including a fifth freedom flight from Frankfurt to New York's JFK.

After almost two years as an outcast of the aviation industry, the Airbus A380 is making a comeback, with airlines from around the world looking to bring the type back into circulation. Over roughly a month, British Airways, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines all brought the double-decker back to long-haul service.

Six new Airbus A380 destinations

Singapore Airlines is currently just flying its largest aircraft type to London Heathrow in the United Kingdom and Sydney in Australia. According to schedule data from Cirium, and visible on the Singapore Airlines website, the airline is planning to add the following destinations to its A380 network,

  • BOM - Mumbai
  • DEL - Delhi
  • FRA - Frankfurt
  • JFK - New York (JFK)
  • PEK - Beijing
  • PVG - Shanghai

Each of the airports will see the arrival of one A380 service a day except for Frankfurt and Sydney, which will both see two Singapore Airlines A380s landing each day. Sydney will have two services from Singapore.

Singapore Airlines, Airbus A380, Fifth Freedom
The current plan for April 2022. (red - existing routes | dark blue - returning routes | light blue - returning fifth freedom routes) Photo: Cirium

Singapore's 5th freedom A380

Only one of the arrivals at Frankfurt each day will have originated in Singapore. The other one will come from JFK and is part of a fifth freedom route operated by the Singaporean flag carrier. Each day an Airbus A380 will leave Singapore embarking on the following itinerary,

  • SQ 26 - Singapore Changi (SIN) 23:55 - Frankfurt Airport (FRA) 06:45+1 - 12h50m
  • SQ 26 - Frankfurt Airport (FRA) 08:35 - New York (JFK) 11:10 - 08h35m
  • SQ 25 - New York (JFK) 20:55 - Frankfurt Airport (FRA) 10:40+1 - 07h45m
  • SQ 25 - Frankfurt Airport (FRA) 12:30 - Singapore Changi (SIN) 06:50+1 - 12h20m

This means that each Airbus A380 on the route will be in use for two days, six hours, and 55 minutes. A jet departing Singapore on Monday evening would arrive back at its home on Thursday morning.

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Singapore Airlines' Airbus A380 fleet

Singapore Airlines was the Airbus A380's launch customer, operating the type's first commercial flight just over 14 years ago. The airline had the second-largest fleet of the giant, taking delivery of 24 aircraft between 2007 and 2018.

SIA A380
Singapore Airlines recently scrapped two A380s in-house. Photo: Getty Images

To date, half of the fleet has been retired by the airline (primarily older jets), leaving a fleet of 12 aircraft. Five of these are known to have been scrapped. 9V-SKA, -SKB, and -SKE have all been scrapped in France. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines scrapped 9V-SKG and 9V-SKH in-house earlier this year in Singapore.

Are you excited to see Singapore Airlines getting ready for a more significant scale return of the Airbus A380? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!