The rise of the global health crisis undoubtedly saw flight activity with the Airbus A380 go down. However, the superjumbo is certainly not out. The plane has been slowly making its way out of storage facilities. Over the last week, two additional carriers have announced their intentions to redeploy the quadjet.
November returns
The two most recent airlines that have announced the return of the superjumbo are both based in the Asia-Pacific region. The first of these is Singapore Airlines, which confirmed that the type will be found on vaccine travel lane flights to and from London Heathrow from the middle of next month.
Singapore Airlines currently holds a total of 17 units and has been moving some of these around in recent months. When its A380s start operating again, the carrier will support British Airways, Qatar Airways, and Emirates to make Heathrow the most diverse A380 hub once again.
From November 18th, the aircraft will depart Singapore Changi to operate flight SQ322 at 23:35. The plane will then return from Heathrow the next morning to perform flight SQ317 at 10:55.
Heavily reliant on international travel, Singapore’s operations were rocked amid the stringent restrictions of the pandemic. Therefore, the return of the city-state's flag carrier's superjumbo to the United Kingdom’s largest airport is a significant step forward for travel in the region.
A comeback for Australia
Notably, Qantas, which, in regular times, heavily relies on Singapore for connections, quickly jumped on this momentum. After 18 months of international grounding, the flag carrier of Australia is returning overseas for normal scheduled operations in November.
The airline will be flying to the likes of Singapore, South Africa, Japan, the United States, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The carrier is even flying directly to India with its Airbus A330 for the first time in a decade.
In April, Qantas expressed that it plans to reactivate all of its 12 A380s that were sent to the United States for storage in June 2020. It was expected that the planes would start returning from mid-2022, but Qantas this week confirmed that the superjumbo will be back in service in April. The first of the jets will be back in Australia by Christmas for crew to refamiliarize with the type ahead of the reintroduction.
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Across the industry
Altogether, Qantas and Singapore airlines join the likes of Qatar Airways and British Airways, which are also preparing to redeploy the A380. The plane will also be a key feature in All Nippon Airways’ services, with the Japanese carrier taking on its third and final unit this month. Naturally, Emirates, with its 120 units, will continue to dominate A380 operations for years to come.
Despite the A380 disappearing from the air due to airlines preferring to deploy more efficient solutions, it is a passenger favorite across the globe amid its luxury and comfort. Therefore, there will be plenty of fans of the widebody type that will be glad to see it returning in this next chapter.
What are your thoughts about the return of the Airbus A380? Are you looking forward to flying on the plane again? Let us know what you think of the aircraft and its prospects in the industry in the comment section.