Frankfurt For fans of the Airbus A380 it is bitter news that Singapore Airlines announced a few days ago. From May 15 next year, the airline will no longer be flying to Frankfurt with the double-decker, which is popular because of the space it offers. From that day on, the largest German hub will be served by the Boeing 777, which – like the A380 up to now – will continue to fly from Frankfurt to New York.
Singapore Airlines only used the A380 again in March of this year on the connection between Singapore and New York via Frankfurt. The return of the generously equipped double-decker on the route, which is in high demand, was celebrated with great enthusiasm. But now it is needed elsewhere.
“We have further optimized our network and taken a close look at how the individual markets are developing and which aircraft are needed for this,” explains Alastair Hay-Campbell, General Manager at Singapore Airlines for the Germany, Switzerland and Austria region.
On routes to Australia, for example, the A380 can be used far more efficiently than on the Singapore-Frankfurt-New York connection: “For this route we need three A380s with crews for the rotations, and one jet is sufficient for shuttle traffic between Singapore and Sydney or Melbourne. The company also sees more potential for the A380 in Asia.
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However, the manager makes one thing clear: “The withdrawal of the A380 must not be seen as an indication that the demand for tickets in Frankfurt is decreasing. We continue to see good booking figures from both private travelers and business customers.”
Only one airline will fly the A380 in Frankfurt in the future
Hay-Campbell promises that the switch to the Boeing 777 will not have any disadvantages for customers: “Just because we are now using the A380 on other routes, our passengers in Frankfurt do not have to do without comfort.” The aircraft tube of the Boeing 777 is something smaller, but there are also four classes on board.
However, there is one difference: the airline has only installed its first-class suites in the A380. In the Boeing 777 there is first class, but not as a suite. However, another consequence of the deduction is likely to cause problems for many passengers in Frankfurt. Anyone who wants to fly an A380 here will probably only be able to do so with one provider from mid-May 2023: Emirates.
>> Read about this: Said dead and yet alive: Where the A380 still flies
At the end of last week, a Lufthansa A380 could also be seen at the largest German hub. Lufthansa brought the double-decker back from retirement in Teruel, Spain. But the jet will only stay here for maintenance work. Lufthansa wants to station the reactivated A380 machines in Munich.
At the beginning of the pandemic, many airlines said they wanted to phase out the A380. This also included Lufthansa. With its four engines, the aircraft consumes a lot of kerosene. Although the double-decker offers plenty of space, it needs to be put to good use. This is only possible on a few routes.
Singapore Airlines is one of the few airlines that has stuck with the wide-body jet. “We never said there was no future for the A380,” said Hay-Campbell. The aircraft was also part of the fleet planning during the crisis and will remain so. However, the pandemic has massively changed aviation, and Singapore Airlines also had to react to this.
The German airline actually wanted to finally phase out the giant jumbo. But now the airline is bringing the aircraft back into the fleet.
(Photo: dpa)
The airline has adjusted the fleet size accordingly. Once upon a time, 19 of the double-deckers flew for society. “We currently have twelve A380s, eleven of which are in service. An aircraft is undergoing a cabin upgrade,” says Hay-Campbell. “There is a market for the A380. But the aircraft has to be used on the right routes.”
But even if the A380 will fly longer than many thought at the beginning of the pandemic, the giant jumbo is an example of how risky the development of a new aircraft can be. Airbus has invested around twelve billion euros. The calculation: The take-off and landing capacities at the major airports around the world are becoming ever tighter, so larger aircraft are needed to be able to continue growing there.
However, this market forecast turned out to be only partially correct. At the same time, there was a trend towards direct connections beyond the major hubs with smaller long-haul aircraft. Even before the pandemic, the first airlines therefore began to return their A380s. New ones were no longer ordered, Airbus handed over the last double-decker at the end of 2021 – to the largest customer Emirates.
Delivery problems at Boeing help the A380
But now the environment has changed again. Boeing is currently having major problems delivering new jets. That is why airlines like Lufthansa are forced to use the existing fleet. This also includes A380s that are actually permanently parked.
At the same time, however, there are airlines that are finally phasing out the largest long-haul jet. A few days ago, China Southern Airlines announced that it would no longer allow the jet to take off. The company held on to the plane during the pandemic, but it’s over now. Two of the five machines have been shut down for a long time, now the rest will follow.
A380 fans in Frankfurt, on the other hand, can still hope. Perhaps there will be a second airline next to Emirates in the future that will fly to the hub. The South Korean airline Asiana has been gradually bringing its own double-deckers back into flight operations since the summer.
From January 12, 2023, the super jumbo will be used on the route from Seoul to Sydney. But Frankfurt should also be headed for with the A380, at least that’s the plan so far. However, the project was recently pushed back. It is still unclear whether and when the Korean company will send the double-decker to Frankfurt.
More: Airlines are planning more space and comfort in the cabin