Singapore Airlines has scheduled the Airbus A380 to return to Auckland, New Zealand. The giant of the skies will return to the capital of New Zealand aviation in Singapore Airlines colors this November, having not been seen at the airport since the COVID-19 pandemic bit in March 2020.
Many thought COVID-19 was the final nail in the coffin for the A380 program after Airbus had pulled the product from its catalog a year earlier. Thankfully, for fans of the giant aircraft, many were proven wrong, and the double-decker giant has found a place, albeit smaller, in post-COVID-19 aviation.
Returning to Auckland
Before COVID-19, Singapore Airlines was flying the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 to Auckland, each once a day. The airline quickly returned to Auckland, taking the Airbus A350-900 gradually from June 2020. The Boeing 777 was also briefly on the schedule from October 2022 until March 2023 for the IATA winter period (New Zealand summer period).
The Airbus A380 is now set to make its grand return to Auckland in Singapore Airlines colors from November 22nd, replacing one of the two daily Airbus A350-900 rotations according to schedule data from Cirium as confirmed by the airline's booking engine. The Airbus A350-900 will continue to operate the second daily rotation. The airline will fly the Airbus A380 to Auckland until March 30th. Singapore Airlines' Auckland schedule will be as follows,
|
Flight Number |
Dep Airport |
Dep Time |
Arr Airport |
Arr Time |
Duration |
Aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SQ 218 |
08:45 |
23:35 |
09h50m |
Airbus A350-900 |
||
|
SQ 282 |
Auckland (AKL) |
01:20 |
Singapore (SIN) |
06:45 |
10h25m |
Airbus A350-900 |
|
SQ 285 |
Singapore Changi (SIN) |
22:25 |
Auckland (AKL) |
13:20+1 |
09h55m |
Airbus A380 |
|
SQ 286 |
Auckland (AKL) |
20:55 |
Singapore (SIN) |
20:55 |
10h40m |
Airbus A380 |
Not the only Airbus A830 in town
Singapore Airlines won't be the only Airbus A380 operator in Auckland upon its return. Emirates, the largest operator of the type, has been flying the A380 to Auckland since February 2009, daily since May 2009, twice daily since October 2012, thrice daily from October 2013, and even four times a day from November 2016 to July 2017. The Emirates A380 service dropped back down to once a day in April 2018 and remained that way until March 2020.
Emirates didn't send the giant of the skies back to Auckland until December 2022 and has maintained a daily service to the city since. Before the A380's return to Auckland last December, Cirium schedule data shows that the airline hadn't operated the route from Dubai since October 2020.
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Sources: Cirium