News

SIA cuts A380 flights to Australia

23 Apr 2014 by Alex McWhirter

Singapore Airlines A380 passengers will have fewer opportunities to fly the superjumbo Down Under in the coming months.

From May 29, there will be only a single A380 flight, compared with two flights currently, to both Sydney and Melbourne.

And Melbourne will lose its superjumbo service altogether from the end of October, reports airlineroute.net.

The news should not come as a surprise to Business Traveller readers as SIA operates a variety of aircraft between Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne and there are regular changes.

One reason is because SIA classifies Australia as a "regional destination", irrespective of the fact that flights from Singapore to either Sydney or Melbourne are actually farther in distance than is London to Boston or New York.

The upshot is that those flying with SIA to either Sydney or Melbourne should choose their flights carefully to avoid disappointment.

Why is SIA taking this decision? Officially, the airline has no comment to make but its A380 fleet is worked hard so there is little slack for new routes.

In the coming weeks it is both reducing A380 flights to London (see news, April 3) and inaugurating a superjumbo service to both Mumbai and Delhi (see news, April 7).

But SIA, like other Asian carriers, has been hit by the rise in the Gulf carriers, while the busy kangaroo route linking Europe with Australasia is not as lucrative as before.

All information is subject to change and final details of A380 operation into Sydney for this winter are not yet available.

singaporeair.com

Alex McWhirter

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