Singapore Airlines To Fly A380 Fleet For World's Shortest Route

Illustration of a Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 fleet. (Wikimedia Commons/Amanda Slater)

JAKARTA - The Airbus A380 is designed for long-haul flights, thanks to its large size and renowned quiet flight experience. However, Singaporean airlines will try something different.

If nothing goes wrong, Singapore Airlines will deploy the superjumbo on short-haul flights lasting only 60 minutes.

Travelers heading to certain flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will board the A380 fleet flight with the shortest route in the world currently operating, even being a scheduled flight.

As quoted on 19 October, Singapore Airlines confirmed to CNN Travel that the A380 fleet will be deployed on an 'ad hoc' basis on the SQ106 (Singapore - Kuala Lumpur) and SQ105 (Kuala Lumpur - Singapore) flight routes three times a week from 4 November to 2 December 2021.

The A380 will also fly on Singapore Airlines SQ126 (Singapore - Kuala Lumpur) and SQ125 (Kuala Lumpur - Singapore) routes four times a week from 5 November to 3 December.

Singapore Airlines also recently announced plans to reactivate its A380 on select return flights from Singapore to London from mid-November.

Illustration of a Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 fleet. (Wikimedia Commons/ken H)

A Singapore Airlines spokesman said the Kuala Lumpur A380 flight was scheduled "for operational requirements."

Announcing the return of the A380 last week, Singapore Airlines Head of Global Public Affairs Siva Govindasamy said Singapore Airlines recognizes the A380's enduring appeal to passengers, and that's partly why the airline is returning the plane to rotation.

"The A380 is an amazing plane. Some people just order the A380 specifically to fly on it," said Govindasamy.

Singapore Airlines is not the only airline to operate a one-off short-haul superjumbo flight this fall.

From early November 2021, British Airways will operationalize its A380 fleet for flights from London to several European destinations, a move the airline says is to 'allow crew recognition', ahead of the superjumbo's return to transatlantic service.

British Airways has yet to officially confirm which short-haul European flights the A380 will operate, but its current booking website suggests certain trips on the London route to Frankfurt, Germany and Madrid, Spain will use the aircraft.

To note, COVID-19 has made this superjumbo aircraft no longer produced by Airbus. A number of world airlines have decided to retire it, such as Lufthansa and Air France.

However, a number of operators such as Singapore Airlines and British Airways, as well as Emirates, Qantas and All Nippon Airways, remain committed to flying their A380s again.