Singapore Airlines Replaces A380 Flights to Sydney and Melbourne with Smaller Boeing 777-300ER
Singapore Airlines announced on Tuesday it has made necessary reductions in its Airbus A380 flights to Sydney and Melbourne.
Effective May 30, Singapore Airlines will be offering a single daily 777-300ER return flight from Sydney to Singapore. The Melbourne to Singapore route will likewise have the same, effective October 26.
"Operational requirements across our network will result in the deployment of our 777-300ER instead of A380s on some of our daily services from Sydney and Melbourne," Singapore Airlines said. It is also unknown if Singapore Airlines will reinstate the A380 services in the future in the mentioned routes.
It is presumed the pullout of the more sophisticated Airbus A380 has something to do with the airline's deployment into the Indian market. It implemented the ban based on concerns foreign airlines could increase their market share at the expense of government-owned Air India.
Singapore Airlines had earlier announced it will start flying its Airbus A380 to New Delhi and Mumbai from May 30. With the ban lifted, A380s may now land at India's four biggest airports: Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
The A380s, depending on configurations, can hold about 470 passengers, while the 777-300ER seats only 278.
In February, Qantas announced flights from Perth to Singapore would be cancelled. The size of aircraft on its Sydney-Singapore and Brisbane-Singapore routes will also be reduced from the larger 747s to A330s.
Singapore Airlines was the first airline in the world to operate the A380 when it was put into service in October 2007 between Singapore and Sydney.