New A380 flights from Heathrow
The Airbus A380 superjumbo will become an even more familiar sight at Heathrow airport as Singapore Airlines announces more flights to Singapore using the new plane.
Singapore Airlines will take delivery of its sixth A380 from Airbus later this month and will use the new plane on flights between Heathrow and Singapore.
The airline has been operating its second daily service between Heathrow and Singapore using an A380 on four days a week, and a Boeing 747-400 on the other days. But from September 20th it will also be able to use the superjumbo on flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. A third daily flight between Heathrow and Singapore will still be operated by the Boeing 747-400.
The A380 originally used on the second daily service was relocated to Beijing for 10 days in the run up to the Olympic Games to cater for increased demand for flights to the Chinese city.
Singapore was the first airline to take delivery of the double decker A380 and the first to introduce the plane on flights from Heathrow. But Emirates Airline also started flights from Heathrow using the A380 in July, this time for flights to Dubai. Emirates has 58 superjumbos on order and also now uses the plane on flights between Dubai and New York, and Dubai and Sydney-Auckland.
And in June Australian airline Qantas said it would operate flights from Heathrow to Sydney and Heathrow to Singapore on the A380 from next January. Qantas is now operating two return services each week to Los Angeles – one from Sydney and one from Melbourne. It will run two return Melbourne to LA flights and three return Sydney to LA flights when it takes delivery of its second A380 in November.
Yesterday Singapore Airlines reduced the fuel surcharge on tickets for travel on short and medium haul flights following the recent decrease in jet fuel prices. The fuel surcharge on flights between Singapore and South East Asia has been reduced from $40 to $36.
The fuel surcharge on long haul flights remains the same. On flights between Singapore and cities in Europe and South Africa the surcharge stays at $110. And on flights between Singapore and cities in the USA and Canada it remains at $180.
Written by: Nick Purdom