Singapore Airlines has made another change in its operations to Dubai, with the original plan being to deploy the airline’s A380s on the route for the Summer 2026 season, before reverting to the smaller Boeing 777-300ERs once the IATA Winter Season began. However, the latest scheduling update shows that the airline is committed to operating the A380s to Dubai all year round, thereby increasing the airline’s capacity share in the market, but also maintaining its competitive advantage.

Ultimately, this results in Dubai joining London Heathrow and Sydney as the airline’s year-round A380 destination, while the remaining A380 destinations within Singapore Airlines’ network remain seasonal.

Four Daily A380 Flights Between Singapore & Dubai

Credit: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

While previous data indicated that Singapore Airlines would only be using its Airbus A380 to Dubai for the upcoming IATA Summer Season, starting March 27, as per updated schedule data published on Cirium, the airline has decided to utilize the aircraft type on this route, all year round, scheduling daily Airbus A380 services until March 2027. This latest development would mean there will be four A380 services operating between Singapore and Dubai International Airport (DXB) for the rest of the year, starting in March.

While the carrier currently deploys its Boeing 777-300ERs on this route, once the IATA Summer Season begins, Singapore Airlines’ daily A380 service will be competing against the three daily A380 services and a fourth Boeing 777-300ER service operated by Emirates on this route. The schedule will be as follows:

*It is worth noting that the 777 service operated by Emirates continues onward to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The reason for this switch is quite possibly because of the high levels of demand the airline sees on this route, especially within the premium cabins, which is always lucrative for an airline. Seat data from aeroLOPA shows that the 777-300ERs the airline is currently using have a total capacity of 264 seats, of which four are first class seats, and 48 are business class seats, the A380 is configured to carry 471 passengers (+78.4% capacity), with six passengers in first class (+50%) and 78 passengers in business class (+62.5%), providing a significant increase in capacity.

Singapore Changi Will Host Five Different A380s

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While Singapore is home to Singapore Airlines and its fleet of 12 A380s, and Emirates being the world’s largest operator of the type, operating multiple daily flights with the type to Singapore does not say much about the market, one can be confident that Singapore is a lucrative market, when three other airlines also operate A380s to the destination, making Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), one of the few in the world to see such a diversity of A380 operators.

Apart from Singapore Airlines and Emirates, the three other A380 operators SIN will see this year are the daily service by Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi, the daily service by Qantas from Sydney (Singapore Airlines also operates double daily on this route), and services by Qatar Airways from Doha (limited number of flights across January and March). These operations not only indicate Singapore is a good market for A380 operations, but also, based on the operators, it can be deduced that the Middle East – Singapore and Singapore – Australia markets see very high demand and remain profitable for airlines.

Apart from London, Sydney, and Dubai being year-round A380 destinations for Singapore Airlines, data published by Aviation A2Z indicates that the airline also deploys its A380s to other destinations to cater to seasonal demands, and this includes Delhi, Mumbai, Frankfurt, Auckland, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

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Singapore Airlines’ A380 History

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Singapore Airlines was the launch customer for the A380, which began commercial operations with the airline in 2007, and the carrier took delivery of a total of 24 examples of the type, making the airline the second largest operator of the type after Emirates. Incidentally, the airline was also the first to retire an A380, when in 2017, the carrier retired the first of its A380s at just 10 years of age.

Since then, the airline has retired half of its fleet, and today operates 12 examples of the type. However, Singapore Airlines does see the value in the A380 operations, which is also why they were amongst the first operators to resume A380 services during the initial post-pandemic recovery. The airline also retrofitted its A380s with updated cabins in 2017, introducing luxurious A380 suites in First Class and new cabins throughout the aircraft, making them one of the best first-class products in the sky.

While the airline operated the A380s to a lot more destinations previously, including a fifth freedom service to New York JFK via Frankfurt, its shrinking subfleet of A380s does mean it has had to be more selective with where the aircraft are deployed. Have you flown on Singapore Airlines’ A380s before? Let us know of your experience in the comments below!