Airbus Updates No.3652

 The Return Of Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380

Today is a big day for Singapore Airlines and its Airbus A380 fleet. The carrier will reintroduce the type on long-haul flights to London Heathrow tonight, having been refamiliarizing crew with the superjumbo on shorter sectors for two weeks. Today also saw Singapore Airlines bring another example of the double-decker quadjet out of storage in Australia.

A key month for increased A380 use

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted Airbus A380 operations worldwide for nearly two years. The reduced demand brought on by the global health crisis has largely seen the superjumbo’s extra capacity deemed surplus to requirements.

However, with the world of commercial aviation now beginning to make a steady recovery as restrictions ease, airlines are increasing their use of the quadjet once more. As Simple Flying reported last month, November has been a busy time as far as the A380 is concerned. Indeed, it has seen British Airways and Singapore Airlines return the type to service.

For two weeks, Singapore Airlines has been deploying the Airbus A380 on hour-long familiarization flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data from RadarBox.com shows that aircraft such as 9V-SKM, 9V-SKU, and 9V-SKV have been operating these sectors since November 4th. However, tonight will see the airline reintroduce the type to long-haul work.

Back to what it knows best

Passengers on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route have surely been enjoying the A380’s presence. However, Airbus built the superjumbo to operate longer flights. Tonight will see Singapore Airlines return the A380 to what it knows best: high-capacity long-haul services.

Operating as part of Singapore’s Vaccine Travel Lane scheme, the first destination for the reintroduced A380 will be London Heathrow (LHR). Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that the superjumbo will depart Singapore’s Changi (SIN) tonight at 23:45 local time as SQ322.

At the time of writing, the exact registration of the first Singapore Airlines A380 to operate a long-haul flight in this new era was unknown. In any case, it will touch down in London at 05:55 tomorrow morning, after a flight time of 14 hours and 10 minutes.

Singapore Airlines had previously operated this flight with the Boeing 777. The return leg, SQ317, will leave London at 10:55 tomorrow, arriving back in Singapore at 07:50 on Saturday. Traveling eastward, the flight is somewhat shorter, at 12 hours and 50 minutes.

Another example leaves storage

In addition to reintroducing the A380 on flights to London, Singapore has also brought another example out of storage this week. According to Australian Aviation, 9V-SKT had been sitting dormant in Alice Springs, Australia, between April 2020 and now.

The aircraft flew from Alice Springs to Sydney on Tuesday, before continuing to Singapore this afternoon. Taking seven hours and 36 minutes, it left Sydney at 12:28 local time, and touched down in Singapore at 17:04. Interestingly enough, Sydney will be the next long-haul destination for the carrier’s A380s, with superjumbo services restarting in December.

Airbus Updates No.3649

 

Airbus A320	-251N	10378		B-327E	China Eastern	delivery 17nov21 TSN-PVG	ex B-000C
Airbus A320	-251N	10398		B-325V	China Eastern	delivery 18nov21 TSN-PVG	ex B-000D
Airbus A320	-251N	10524		B-327A	China Eastern	delivery 19nov 21 TSN-PVG-TAO	ex B-0077D
Airbus A320	-251N	10548		G-TTNP	British Airways	delivery 10nov21 TLS-LHR	ex F-WWIG
Airbus A321	-231	974		N974M	JMV Aviation	regd 15nov21, parked at CHR awaiting P2F-conversion	x TC-OEC
Airbus A321	-231	5177		JY-AYV	Royal Jordanian Airlines	first in svc 15nov21 AMM-LHR-AMM after paint into Alia retro cs	ex D-AVZJ
Airbus A321	-211	6056		G-HLYB	Jet2	regd 18nov21prior delivery ex DGX	ex OE-IOJ
Airbus A321	-251N	7770		N795AV	Avianca Colombia	ferried by klessor 18-19nov21 SFB-KEF-OSR	ex D-AZAL
Airbus A321	-271NX	10393		HA-LZC	Wizz Air	delivery 18nov21 XFW-BUD	ex D-AYAB
Airbus A321	-251NX	10476		VP-BFI	Ural Airlines	delivery 19nov21 XFW-SVX	ex D-AVXP
Airbus A321	-272N	10773		JA147A	ANA All Nippon Airways	delivery 17-18nov21 XFW-OVB-HND	ex D-AVXI
Airbus A330	-343(F)	879		TC-MNM	MNG Airlines	re-delivery 17nov21 DRS-ISL, all white &titl	ex B-6086
Airbus A330	-203	925		PH-AON	KLM Royal Dutch Airlines	ferried 14nov21 MLA-AMS after paint into all white prior return to lessor	ex F-WWKB
Airbus A330	-202	1882		EC-NRH	Iberia	first in svc 10.11nov21 BCN-EZE-BCN, Level cs	ex F-HLVM
Airbus A330	-941	1992		F-HKYS	Corsair International	delivery 17nov21 TLS-ORY	ex F-WWCU
Airbus A350	-941	538		JA13XJ	Japan Airlines	delivery 12nov21 TLS-HND	ex F-WZFS
Airbus A380	-841	92		9V-SKT	Singapore Airlines	ferried 16-18nov21 ASP-SYD-SIN after storage	ex F-WWSA

Airbus Updates No.3647

 

ANOTHER SINGAPORE A380 DEPARTS ALICE SPRINGS

A third Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 has this week exited long-term storage and landed back to Singapore.

9V-SKT took off from Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport at 12:28pm local time on Thursday and touched down at Singapore’s Changi Airport just after 5pm local time, after completing the nearly eight hour journey.

It comes after Singapore Airlines announced it will bring its Airbus A380s back into service on select flights between Singapore and London from mid-November, and on flights between Sydney and Singapore from 1 December.

9V-SKT had previously been parked in the Alice Springs “boneyard” since April 2020, however it was ferried to Sydney on Tuesday ahead of its planned return to Singapore.

The aircraft departed Alice Springs at 10:34am local time on Tuesday, landing at Sydney three hours and six minutes later, at 3pm.

It is the third A380 to make its way from long-term storage in the Australian desert back to Singapore ahead of a planned return to passenger service in recent months.

The first to be resurrected was 9V-SKQ, which departed the Alice Springs storage facility in February, followed by 9V-SKW, which followed in July.

While Singapore Airlines, the launch customer for the superjumbo, is set to retire seven of its A380s, it will crucially keep 12 in service.

As of earlier this month, the airline had already reinstated three of its A380s – 9V-SKU, -SKV and -SKM – on services connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and has announced plans to bring the superjumbo back online for routes to London and Sydney in the coming weeks.

“Once Australia’s border restrictions are lifted, I am sure Australians will relish the opportunity to experience all the comforts of our A380 as they wing their way from Singapore to London,” said Louis Arul, Singapore Airlines vice-president, southwest Pacific.

“Our award-winning digital initiatives, as well as our industry-leading health and safety measures, will ensure Australians travel in comfort and safety as they reunite with family and friends.”

It comes after the first Qantas A380 to return to Australia from storage finally touched down in Sydney after nearly 19 hours in the air, ahead of its planned return to service in 2022.

VH-OQB was ferried from a maintenance facility in Dresden to Sydney earlier this month, finally landing at Sydney Kingsford on 9 November after taking the scenic route via Sydney Harbour.

It is the first time VH-OQB has seen Australian shores since it was first ferried to LAX on 26 March 2020, in the early days of the pandemic.

Qantas is expected to bring OQB back into service on its Sydney-LAX route by April 2022, while its second superjumbo will return by July.

Five of the airlines A380s are expected to be back up and running for passengers by the end of 2022 on routes to LA and London, while the remainder of the fleet will be reintroduced gradually by the end of 2023.

Like Singapore, Qantas will not be bringing its entire A380 fleet back into service, with the impact of the pandemic resulting in the airline fast-tracking the retirement of two of its 12 superjumbos.

The decision marks the beginning of the end of Qantas’ iconic A380 fleet, following the decided end of the Airbus A380 program, as Airbus nears delivery of its last-ever A380 to Emirates.

Airbus Updates No.2627

Airbus A330	-243	737		A6-EYJ	Etihad Airways	ferried 21apr20 LETL-AUH after storage	ex F-WWYB
Airbus A330	-343	1103		F-HROK	Corsair International	in full cs at PVG 20apr20, VQ-reg prior delivery	ex VQ-BEL
Airbus A330	-243	1249		VP-CGI	TC Skyward Aviation Ireland	regd 17apr20, parked at NQY	ex ZS-SXV
Airbus A330	-243	1498		G-VYGK	Air Tanker	feried 16apr20 SNN-BZZ after paint into all white	ex EC-330
Airbus A340	-313	246		F-GLZO	Air France	Joon cs, ferried 24apr20 CDG-LDE, for part-out & scrap
Airbus A340	-642	622		9H-EAL	European Skybus	first in svc 26apr20 BOH-TSN with large “Thank You NHS” titles	ex G-VNAP
Airbus A380	-861	43		F-HPJC	Air France	ferried 23apr20 AUH-LDE for storage	ex F-WWAB
Airbus A380	-861	64		F-HPJF	Air France	ferried 25apr20 CDG-LETL for onward storage (+ 67 F-HPJG)	ex F-WWAU
Airbus A380	-841	92		9V-SKT	Singapore Airlines	ferried 26apr20 SIN-ASP for onward storage (+ 251 9V-SKW,+ 253 9V-SKY,+ 255 9V-SKZ)	ex F-WWSA

Airbus Updates No.2625

SIA to move a fifth of A380 fleet to desert storage

Singapore Airlines (SIA) will shift four Airbus A380s to long-term storage at Alice Springs airport in central Australia.

The first of four double-deckers arrived on 26 April, according to a Facebook post by Alice Springs airport; the jets will be stored at Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage.

On 23 March, SIA announced that it would ground 138 of 147 aircraft - including 19 A380s - owing to the collapse in passenger demand stemming from the coronavirus crisis.

The majority of SIA’s fleet is stored at Singapore’s Changi airport, alongside aircraft from its Silkair and Scoot units. 

The dry, desert conditions of Alice Springs are a better for storing aircraft than the humid, tropical environment of Southeast Asia. 

According to Cirium fleets data, just two of the 66 A380s operated by Asia-Pacific airlines are in service. These aircraft are operated by China Southern Airlines.

The collapse in air travel demand and the uncertainty about the industry’s recovery could accelerate the retirement of larger types such as the A380 and Boeing 747-400.

Airbus Updates No.793

Airbus A319  -112  5280     N524TA  TACA  delivery 06sep12 XFW-KEF-YYZ-SAL   ex D-AVYX
 Airbus A320  -211  204     N204AR  AAR A/c Sales   ferried 05-07sep12 MLA-MIR-KEF-BGR-CEW for part-out & scrap   ex EI-DFN
 Airbus A320  -212  421     EI-DNP  (WindJet)  ferried by lessor 05-06sep12 MLA-CAI-MCT-MLE-CGK   ex A4O-EF
Airbus A320  -214  2619     D-ABDB  Air Berlin  ferried / in svc 07sep12 PAD-DUS-MUC-DUS in basic OLT Express cs   ex SP-IAH
Airbus A320  -232  2844     LZ-BHG  BH Air  ferried 30-31aug12 BOJ-SHJ-RGN on wet-lease to Myanmar AW Intl   ex VT-INA
Airbus A320  -214  5234     CC-BFA  LAN Airlines  delivery 06-07sep12 XFW-LPA-REC-SCL   ex D-AVVT
Airbus A321  -231  5257     A9C-CD  Gulf Air  delivery 06sep12 XFW-TLS  ex D-AZAA
 Airbus A321  -211  5271     VP-BDC  Aeroflot  for delivery 08sep12 XFW-SVO  ex D-AZAD
 Airbus A321  -231  5275     VN-A339  Vietnam Airlines  delivery 06sep12 XFW-BAK-HAN  ex D-AZAE
Airbus A340  -213  4     HZ-124  Royal Saudi Air Force  ferried 06sep12 RUH-HAM after storage  ex F-WWBA
 Airbus A380  -841  92      9V-SKT  Singapore Airlines  delivery 06sep12 TLS-SIN  ex F-WWSA