Singapore Airlines is famous for having been the original operator of the Airbus A380, with the double-decker quadjet entering service with the Asian carrier more than 18 years ago, back in October of 2007. According to data made available by ch-aviation, the Star Alliance member now has 12 ‘superjumbos’ at its disposal, with their average age of 11.8 years old being more than three years above the carrier’s fleet-wide mean (8.7 years).

Of these 12 aircraft, 10 are listed as being active at the time of writing by ch-aviation, while two (9V-SKS and 9V-SKT) are undergoing maintenance procedures at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN). This is where Singapore Airlines flies its A380s out of, with data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, showing that the carrier has scheduled 428 services with the type this December. Let’s take a look and see where exactly they fly.

London Heathrow Airport Comes Out On Top

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Two different destinations see twice-daily A380 service from Singapore Airlines this month, but, while their frequencies are identical, London Heathrow Airport (LHR) comes out on top in terms of available seat miles (ASMs), with 197,522,328 of these on offer in each direction. Singapore Airlines actually operates four flights a day between Changi and Heathrow, with Cirium’s data showing that the Boeing 777-300ER is used for the other two.

Passengers traveling on this route who want to sample the A380 should aim for flights SQ308 and SQ322 from Singapore (departing at 9:00 am and 11:25 pm respectively) and SQ317 and SQ319 from London (10:40 am and 8:35 pm respectively). As the launch customer of the A380, Singapore Airlines was also the first carrier to fly the type to Heathrow, with Simon Eastburn, LHR’s Director of Airline Business Development, saying in 2018:

“This pioneering aircraft has helped us reduce noise and improve efficiency whilst supporting continued passenger demand for long-haul routes. This is one of the most popular aircraft for many passengers.”

Sydney Also Sees Two Flights A Day

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Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) in Australia is the other destination to which Singapore Airlines is flying its Airbus A380s on a twice-daily basis this December, with these 62 round trips accounting for a grand total of 114,092,214 ASMs in each direction. These two flights a day are joined by one rotation with the Airbus A350-900 and one with the Boeing 777-300ER on this 3,907-mile (6,288 km) route from Singapore to Australia.

Passengers eyeing the A380 on this route should aim for flights SQ231 and SQ221 from Singapore (departing at 12:45 am and 8:40 pm respectively) and SQ232 and SQ222 from Sydney (departing at 12:15 pm and 4:10 pm respectively). Generally speaking, you can expect a block time of just over eight hours.

According to present fleet data made available by aeroLOPA, Singapore Airlines configures its Airbus A380s in a four-class configuration that has space for a grand total of 471 passengers. This capacity is split between six first class suites, 78 business class flatbeds, 44 premium economy recliners, and 343 economy seats. The upper deck consists solely of first and business class seats, with premium economy and economy downstairs.

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The Best Of The Rest

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Three more routes from Changi Airport will see Singapore Airlines operate regular Airbus A380 flights this month, with two destinations being served on a daily basis by the carrier’s superjumbos. These are Mumbai (BOM) and New Delhi (DEL), reflecting the importance of the Indian market in Singapore Airlines’ daily operations. Completing the daily A380 flights on these two Indian routes are daily rotations on each by the Boeing 787.

Last but not least, Frankfurt Airport (FRA) doesn’t quite see a daily frequency from Singapore Airlines’ A380s this December. While one rotation a day will operate for the most part this month, the type will not be present on this corridor on December 24, 25, and 26. The A380 rotation is one of two daily flights that Singapore Airlines operates between Changi and Frankfurt, with the other using the 777-300ER and continuing to New York JFK Airport.