Singapore Airlines brings A380s back to Frankfurt and New York from March

Singapore Airlines is gradually revealing its confirmed flight schedules for the upcoming northern summer season from late March to late October 2022, and there’s one aircraft type most of us have our eyes on wherever it gets deployed – the Airbus A380.

With a former fleet of 19 superjumbos, SIA has been forced to cut seven older aircraft from its fleet for a total of 12 set to return to service, five of which are now seeing regular action on the airline’s London and Sydney routes.

Frankfurt and New York are next

After a two-year gap for SIA’s A380s to and from the USA, the airline has confirmed to TPG that from the start of the summer schedule on 27th March 2022 the daily SQ26/25 service from Singapore to New York via Frankfurt will be operated by the carrier’s Airbus A380, in the latest fit with 2017 cabin products.

“After nearly two years of restrictions, we are seeing tremendous demand for international travel, and that includes premium cabins.”

“In addition to a new Business Class, we’re excited to bring our newest, most luxurious Suites cabin to U.S. travelers for the first time, offering a new standard in comfort aboard the world’s largest aircraft.”

Joey Seow, SIA Regional Vice President – Americas

This aircraft-intensive route will require around three A380s to operate on a daily basis, so we should see at least eight active superjumbos in the schedule for summer 2022.

This will also represent the first return of the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 on a “fifth freedom” route since the pandemic hit, with passengers travelling solely from Frankfurt to New York or vice-versa also able to book and travel on these flights.

The schedule

Here’s how the flight schedule looks for A380 services over this seven-month summer period to and from New York via Frankfurt.

Singapore Frankfurt New York
Flight Schedule
(27 Mar 2022 – 29 Oct 2022)

	SQ26 A380		Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
SIN 23:55		FRA 06:45*
FRA 08:35		JFK 11:10

* Next day

Good news is that the flights will operate as designated VTL services in the New York – Frankfurt – Singapore direction (SQ25) right through the summer, allowing quarantine-free travel in both directions including to Singapore itself.

New York Frankfurt Singapore
Flight Schedule
(28 Mar 2022 – 29 Oct 2022)

	SQ25 A380		Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
JFK 20:55		FRA 10:40*
FRA 12:30		SIN 06:50*

* Next day

These flights will operate alongside the daily non-stop Airbus A350 ULR service between Singapore and New York. It has not yet been confirmed whether this will operate to and from JFK (like it has since COVID-19) or Newark (like it did previously) come April next year.

Update: Singapore Airlines has extended SQ23/24 non-stop A350 ULR flights between Singapore and New York (JFK) airport for the summer season. There will be no service to and from Newark.

These will also operate as designated VTL flights, in addition to the A380 flights via Frankfurt, as shown below (click to expand):

New York – Singapore VTL Flights

New cabin products

All 12 of Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380s returning to passenger service feature the airline’s latest 2017 cabin products, as we exclusively revealed in November 2020, in a 471-seat configuration:

• 6 Suites
• 78 Business Class
• 44 Premium Economy Class
• 343 Economy Class

That means passengers have the 2017 Suites to look forward to (see our review), not to mention the excellent 2017 Business Class – our personal favourite in the carrier’s lineup (see our review).

There’s even the option at the middle seat pairs in Business Class to retract the divider for couples travelling together, who also benefit from a ‘double bed’ at the three bulkhead positions – Rows 11, 91 and 96.

This is definitely a step up from the airline’s older A380s, in Business Class at least (we still have a soft spot for the ‘old Suites’ over the new ones).

In Flight Entertainment

Another benefit of SIA’s latest A380 aircraft is the Wi-Fi system, which is brought right up to date with the latest Inmarsat GX Aviation technology.

This includes a free allowance based on cabin class, with those in Suites enjoying unlimited complimentary access.

In an enhancement last year, all KrisFlyer members travelling in Premium Economy and Economy Class on these newer aircraft also benefit from a 30MB complimentary allowance.

Free Wi-Fi allowance
(Airbus A380s)

Class	Not KF/PPS	KrisFlyer	PPS Club*
Suites	Unlimited
Business	100MB
Premium & Economy	None	30MB	100MB

* includes supplementary PPS Club cardholders

Check out our full guide to the Wi-Fi systems installed and applicable access charges across the Singapore Airlines fleet.

The Singapore Airlines A380s also boast the latest in flight entertainment systems, including the personalised myKrisWorld feature allowing you to bookmark and resume your viewing on different flights, and to customise and save personal preferences.

KrisFlyer redemptions

These are the KrisFlyer award rates for the Singapore – New York route, for those flying the full journey in one go via Frankfurt.

KrisFlyer Redemption (one-way) Singapore ⇄ New York
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	40,000	75,000
Premium Economy	73,000	n/a
Business	99,000	140,000
First / Suites	132,000	237,000

For those based in Germany or the USA looking at redeeming the “fifth freedom” transatlantic portion of the SQ25/26 trip, the following award rates apply:

KrisFlyer Redemption (one-way) Frankfurt ⇄ New York
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	22,500	40,000
Premium Economy	47,000	n/a
Business	72,000	85,000
First / Suites	86,000	140,000

Finally if you’re just using this service to fly between Singapore and Frankfurt, why not do it on the A380, with the following rates in force:

KrisFlyer Redemption (one-way) Singapore ⇄ Frankfurt
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	38,000	70,000
Premium Economy	64,500	n/a
Business	92,000	120,000
First / Suites	125,000	220,000

Farewell old products

If you were a fan of the older Airbus A380 cabin products, unfortunately it has been confirmed all 12 aircraft in the future fleet will sport the latest fit like these New York and Frankfurt flights will enjoy.

Here are our heartfelt farewells to products we’ll all miss, even if they were a little past their prime.

Lounges

Singapore Airlines passengers have access to the Lufthansa lounges in Frankfurt (Senator Lounge for First Class and Star Alliance Gold, Business Lounge for those in Business Class without status).

Here’s our recent review of the Lufthansa Senator Lounge near the B gates.

At New York JFK all Singapore Airlines lounge-worthy passengers are currently invited to use the excellent Virgin Clubhouse at Terminal 4, located after security in the ‘A’ concourse above boarding gates A4 / A5.

Previously this was only for First Class / Suites and PPS Club members, but since the temporary closure of alternative facilities, even Business Class passengers are welcomed here, at the time of writing.

It’s exciting news to hear about a return to the USA for Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380s, with the New York via Frankfurt route being upgauged even earlier than expected.

This will also mark the debut of the carrier’s sought-after ‘new A380’ cabin products on flights to and from the USA, not to mention providing a “fifth freedom” transatlantic option with the latest seats and a Vaccinated Travel Lane route back to Singapore for two-way quarantine-free trips.

If you already have a ticket on SQ25/26 from 27th March to 29th October 2022 – lucky you. If you log on to your booking you should now see the seat map reflecting this latest A380, including the new Business Class and Suites cabins.

(Cover Photo: Peter Russell)