Singapore Airlines doubles up for Sydney with two Airbus A380s

There are ups and downs in commercial aviation, and I’m not just talking about takeoffs and landings. Australia hasn’t seen many A380s over the past three years, but starting this month, Singapore Airlines will be bringing in three per day, two to Sydney and one to Melbourne.

Daily flights by four SIA A380s to Australia

On Tuesday, Singapore Airlines (SIA) began operating a daily service from Melbourne, and yesterday Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) welcomed back double-daily Airbus A380 services. SQ221 of SIA departed Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) on Wednesday at 20:43 and touched down at Sydney Airport on Thursday at 05:34 morning.

The 2012 Airbus A380, with the registration 9V-SKT and MSN 092, travelled 6,288 kilometres (3,900 miles) in 6:51 hours. At 11:46, the superjumbo departed as SQ232, and it returned to Singapore at 17:59.

Sydney residents can now choose between two daily Singapore Airlines A380 services, one Airbus A350-900, and a Boeing 777-300ER. The 777-300ER (SQ212) departs first at 07:55, followed by an A380 at 11:00, a second A380 at 15:00, and the A350-900 at 18:05 (SQ242).

There are 111 SIA flights available each week for Australians

According to Louis Arul, regional vice president for SIA South West Pacific, the second A380’s arrival in Sydney will bring the airline’s seat capacity to nearly 100% of pre-COVID levels. Added him:

“Since borders were reopened in November 2021, travel demand has remained strong in all segments. The additional A380 also gives customers access to First or Suites Class on three of our four daily flights from Sydney.

“The increased capacity will ensure that Australians have more opportunities to travel abroad for work or pleasure and that tourists from all over the world can experience what Australia and New South Wales have to offer. Our continued commitment to Sydney is demonstrated by our delivery of more seats across our premium cabins as well as increased capacity in economy class.

The second A380 takes the place of one of SIA’s medium-haul A350-900s, bringing an additional 1,176 seats per week to the Sydney market to meet rising demand during the busiest travel period of the year. A380 operations twice per day have Since January 2020, there hasn’t been a service between Singapore and Sydney; as a result, Melbourne and Sydney both have a total of four daily services. SIA operates 111 flights per week between Australia and Singapore in May, including 737-8 MAX flights to Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.

Geoff Culbert, CEO of Sydney Airport, has been a steadfast and outspoken advocate for airlines to increase capacity, though Singapore Airlines would not be faulted for doing so. 

Singapore Airlines has been a consistent fixture at Sydney Airport for more than 50 years and remained with us throughout the COVID pandemic, he said. Singapore Airlines operated the first-ever commercial A380 flight back in 2007.