Singapore Airlines Pulls Another Airbus A380 Out Of Desert Storage

This week's good news for #A380 enthusiasts continues with the release of a second superjumbo from long-term storage. #Singapore #Airlines returned an #Airbus A380 from Australia on July 1st, flying the aircraft from #Sydney to #Changi #Airport in Singapore. Singapore Airlines had eight of the kind in the outback of Australia during the worst of the pandemic. As additional jets come back online to transport passengers around the globe, that number has now dropped to two.

The Singapore Airlines Airbus A380, registered 9V-SKP, has returned to its rightful residence in Singapore after a two-year hiatus. The plane arrived in Alice Springs on June 27, 2020, and left there on June 29, 2022, a period of almost exactly two years. The plane travelled from Alice Springs to Sydney on June 29 for a very short distance, where more work and reactivation preparations were done. The jet then departed for Singapore at 17:47 local time on July 1st after spending roughly one and a half days in Sydney. At 23:30 local time, after over eight hours, it landed in Singapore. The 11-year-old 9V-SKP, also known as MSN 076, has 245 seats in economy class, 86 seats in business class, 36 seats in premium economy, and 12 seats in first class.

Singapore Airlines gradually sent down a total of eight Airbus A380s to a long-term storage facility at Alice Springs Airport in central Australia as a result of the pandemic. These aeroplanes have been gradually emerging from storage as the state of international travel has improved. According to Planespotters.net, only two superjumbos are left as a result of the removal of 9V-SKP. They have the registrations 9V-SKK and 9V-SKL.

One of the primary locations for Singapore Airlines to keep its A380s outside of their usual home at Singapore Changi is Alice Springs, which is the location of Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (APAS). The airline had 19 superjumbos when the epidemic hit in March 2020, but two were almost immediately retired. Nine of the remaining 17 were left in Singapore, while the other eight were gradually relocated to the Australian desert.

For A380 enthusiasts who were feeling under the weather while travelling, one of the aircraft that was still in Singapore served as a special temporary restaurant. As mentioned in our review, it appears that tickets for this experience sold out in under 10 minutes.

The airline has restarted a large portion of its A380 fleet, and the aircraft are already busy transporting passengers halfway around the globe. Currently, they offer flights to the following cities:

Delhi

London

Frankfurt

Mumbai

New York

Sydney

All operational jets have a relatively recent cabin fitting that can hold 343 passengers in economy, 78 passengers in business, 44 passengers in premium economy, and six passengers in first class. The new business class seats are noteworthy because they automatically recline into a lie-flat bed and have "sculpted wings" that encircle the seat and provide support while relaxing.