Singapore Airlines Planning Shanghai Airbus A380 Flights From January

Singapore Airlines (SQ) will boost seat capacity early next year on flights between its Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) hub and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG). The move comes as the carrier reportedly plans to return the world’s largest commercial aircraft to the route.

Currently, the airline operates the jumbo jet between both cities, but the aircraft type will be temporarily pulled from the route later this year. The shakeup comes amid a shifting of flight schedules and allocation of aircraft, catering to seasonal demand.

A brief hiatus

According to Mainly Miles, Singapore Airlines will continue to utilize the Airbus A380 to and from Shanghai as SQ830 and SQ833 until October 29th, when the aircraft will be redeployed to routes serving Narita International Airport (NRT) in Tokyo and Auckland Airport (AKL) in mid-November.

During the brief hiatus, the carrier will still serve PVG from SIN, but the flight will be downgraded to a Boeing 777-300ER through January 3, 2024. Although fewer seats will be provided, Singapore Airlines will still offer a premium product on the route, considering the cabins of their 777-300ERs feature first class and premium economy.

More than 13,000 seats per month

On January 4th, the airline will move the A380 back to its Shanghai route. According to aviation data and analytics provider Cirium, the jumbo aircraft will be scheduled to fly daily for the remainder of the month, performing 28 flights to PVG and 28 flights back to SIN. The A380 accommodates 471 passengers in business, premium economy, economy classes, and suites. More than 13,000 seats will be offered on each route alone in the first month of 2024.

In February, the carrier will fly the A380 daily, meaning a total of 13,659 seats will be offered on each route. March will see the largest number of seats available, with flights also operating daily. Each way will see 14,601 seats offered, further showcasing the planned growth in seat capacity.

Similar to the current flight information, the PVG-bound flight will be SQ830, departing from SIN at 09:20 and arriving in Shanghai at 14:35. The return flight, SQ833, will leave PVG at 16:25 and is scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 22:15. Typically, each flight is nearly 6 hours with cruising altitudes varying each day. Singapore Airlines also faces competition on the route with China Eastern, Air China, Juneyao Airlines, and Spring Airlines, all operating flights between the two cities, according to data from FlightAware.

The A380 on other routes

Shanghai is not the only destination that will have more seats offered due to A380 allocation. To accommodate the increased demand for the northern winter season that lasts from late October 2023 to late March 2024, Singapore Airlines will deploy most, if not all, of its jumbo jets on routes to nine cities from SIN over the next nine months, including Aukland, Delhi, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Mumbai, Shanghai, Sydney, and Tokyo, according to Mainly Miles.

The carrier’s A380 operation can be categorized into three groupings:

Routes operating year roundSummer exclusive routes (from April to October)Winter exclusive routes (from November to March)

According to ch-aviation, Singapore Airlines has a fleet of 14 A380s. 10 aircraft are currently active, while four are listed as inactive.