Singapore Airlines revealed some sad though not unexpected news today, when it confirmed that seven of its flagship Airbus A380 aircraft will not be returning to the fleet as part of the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, shrinking the carrier’s superjumbo total by over a third.
The announcement was made as part of the airline’s half-year results update, which also revealed continuing net losses in the second quarter of the financial year totalling S$2.3 billion, for a half-year net loss of S$3.5 billion.
SIA had already primed us for news about the future of the Airbus A380 fleet as part of its network review at the last financial update, stating that the carrying value of these older aircraft was likely to result in a material impairment of around S$1 billion.
In addition, 19 other aircraft will be retired from the fleet, leading to a total impairment charge of S$1.3 billion, comprising:
- 4 Boeing 777-200 / -200ERs
- 4 Boeing 777-300s (non-ERs)
- 9 Airbus A320s
- 2 Airbus A319s
Airbus A380 retirements
While SIA has not specified which aircraft in particular will be leaving the fleet, it almost inevitably involves the six oldest Version 1 aircraft, ranging from 11 to 13 years old, and likely at least one of the Version 2 aircraft, which are between 9 and 10 years old.
Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 Fleet
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| Aircraft | Current Location |
Version | Age (years) |
| 9V-SKF | SIN | V1 | 12.7 |
| 9V-SKG | SIN | V1 | 12.0 |
| 9V-SKH | SIN | V1 | 11.9 |
| 9V-SKI | SIN | V1 | 11.8 |
| 9V-SKJ | SIN | V1 | 11.8 |
| 9V-SKK | |||