All 12 of Singapore Airlines' A380s have been refitted with new suites.
All 12 of Singapore Airlines' A380s have been refitted with new suites.
Singapore Airlines is bringing back its Airbus A380 superjumbo to boost New Zealand capacity from November and is adding more services to Christchurch.
From November 22, the Singapore-Auckland service will be operated by the 471-seater double decker, replacing the A350-900. This will add 1526 more seats a week between thetwo cities.
The airline is the latest to announce a boost in services to New Zealand, which should at least slow down the steep fare increases faced by travellers during the past year. Analysis by Flight Centre’s FCM points to fares moderating in the second half of the year.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) general manager New Zealand, George Robertson, said the return of the popular A380 underlined SIA’s commitment to serving the New Zealand market.
“For close to 50 years, SIA has operated to Aotearoa, helping to keep the country connected to the world,” Robertson said.
“Re-deploying our A380 to Auckland to help meet the demand for travel during the busy year-end period reinforces our commitment to New Zealand.”
He said the return of seasonal A380 operations also marks a significant milestone in the airline’s continued recovery since borders reopened to New Zealand a little over a year ago.
The airline’s 12 A380s have all been refitted with new interiors.
The A380 will operate to Auckland through to March 31 next year, with SQ285 scheduled to depart Singapore at 10.25pm local time and arrive in Auckland the following day at 1.20 pm. The return service, SQ286, will depart Auckland at 3.15pm and arrive back at Singapore’s Changi Airport at 8.55pm.
Singapore Airlines last flew its Airbus A380s on scheduled services to Auckland in 2020.
It will be the first time Singapore’s A380 has operated scheduled services to New Zealand since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.
It will also fly an additional three flights a week between Singapore and Christchurch from November 19 to February 16. The additional three-times-weekly service will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from Singapore and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Christchurch.
It operates daily at present.
The additional flights into Christchurch will add a further 759 seats a week to the South Island and support what is shaping to be a busy period for inbound and outbound travel, Robertson said.
The A380 into Auckland is fitted with six luxurious suites, at the front of the upper deck.
Behind the suites, 78 Business Class seats are configured in a 1-2-1 layout, delivering customers direct aisle access from every seat.
On the main deck, the Premium Economy cabin is located in the nose of the A380, offering customers a secluded cabin of 44 seats in a 2-4-2 layout, while Economy Class is fitted with 343 seats in a 3-4-3 layout.
The A350-900 on the Christchurch flights has 42 Business Class, 24 Premium Economy and 187 Economy Class seats onboard the 253-seat aircraft.
Departing from Changi Airport at 10pm local time, SQ295 will arrive in Christchurch the next day at 12.50pm. The return flight, SQ296, will then depart Christchurch at 2.20pm, arriving in Singapore at 8pm.
The additional Christchurch flights will be progressively loaded into the system for sale from Thursday 25 May.
Singapore Airlines’ joint venture alliance partner, Air New Zealand, will continue to operate a daily service from Auckland to Singapore over the year-end peak period. Together, the joint venture partners will operate a total of 31 weekly flights between the two countries.
Last week Singapore Airlines announced a record operating profit of $S2.6 billion ($3.1b) for the past year as borders reopened and travel rebounded.
The group profit compared to a $S962m ($1.155b) loss in the previous year.
Emirates is also flying A380s to New Zealand with daily flights to Auckland and Christchurch.
