Singapore Airlines has rebounded strongly from the pandemic. As a result, it is now taking more planes out of storage to fly passengers to destinations around the world. According to website Simple Flying, Singapore Airlines has brought back an Airbus A380 from storage in Alice Springs in the Australian outback. On July 1st, it flew the jet from Sydney to Singapore’s Changi Airport. Initially there was a short trip from Alice Springs to Sydney. This took place on the 29th June. In Sydney works taking approximately one and a half days were completed to prepare the jet to help it move back into full use. The plane arrived in Singapore on the 1st July at 11:30pm local time after an 8 hour flight.
Background
Initially, during the height of the pandemic, Singapore Airlines had stored 8 aircrafts of this type in Alice Springs in the Australian outback. As more jets were brought back into use to fly passengers around the world, there are now just 2 planes of this type being stored there. This is an achievement for Singapore Airlines as stored planes incur a cost not only in rent to the facility where they are being stored, but also in increased wear and tear.
The plane being moved back into work most recently on the 1st July was an Airbus 380 registered 9V-SKP and is now back at its proper home in Singapore. It is 11 years old and in terms of seating has 12 first class seats, 86 business class seats, 36 in premium economy, and 245 seats in economy class. The aircraft has spent just over two years in Alice Springs, flying into the storage facility on June 27th, 2020, and flying out on June 29th, 2022.
What Happened During The Pandemic?
Keeping these planes was clearly big business for the storage facility especially since planes were being stored for such a long time. The storage facility being used was Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (APAS) in Alice Springs. This was one of the main sites for Singapore Airlines to store its A380s outside of their typical home at Singapore Changi Airport. When the pandemic struck in March 2020, the airline had 19 superjumbos in operation but almost immediately retired two planes. Of the remaining 17, eight were gradually moved to that site while the remaining nine stayed in Singapore. Having been re-activated the A380 will be flying to cities such as Delhi, London, Frankfurt, Mumbai, New York and Sydney.
As one can see Singapore continues to recover from the pandemic and is therefore able to bring more planes back into service. We have already heard how the airline is benefiting from increased demand and is filling the void left by other airlines. Nevertheless, there are still planes languishing in storage which indicates that there is still some more way to go before the airline completely recovers. It is likely however that other planes will get released as pandemic restrictions start to ease in China and other parts of Asia.
All in all, however Singapore Airlines is continuing its recovery and therefore this is a positive story for this airline.
