We are finally entering the last lap of Singapore Airlines’ long-awaited refurbishment of its Airbus A380 fleet into the latest cabin configurations, including new Suites and Business Class seats, with the news that the fifth refit has been completed, leaving only two to go.
9V-SKR, which was stored at Changi since March 2020, is the latest aircraft to have the work completed. It entered service on Wednesday to Sydney and has since flown on a London flight, ticking off the airline’s current two A380 routes.
Five down, two to go
The five newest Singapore Airlines Airbus A380s (9V-SKU onwards) came delivered fresh with the latest cabin products, so this fifth refit means ten aircraft now boast the latest seats.
That means only two A380s still need to have the work completed.
Mainly Miles understands these will be:
- 9V-SKP, stored in Alice Springs since July 2020
- 9V-SKQ, returned to Singapore from Alice Springs in February 2021
Singapore Airlines already confirmed to us that 9V-SKQ is currently undergoing the cabin renovation at Changi.
“The aircraft, registration 9V-SKQ… will be retro-fitted as part of our plan to have all 12 remaining A380s in our fleet fitted with the latest A380 cabin product.”
Singapore Airlines spokesperson, February 2021
The refitted Airbus A380s in the SIA fleet (-SKM, -SKN, -SKR, -SKS and -SKT) match the same cabin configuration as those newly delivered from Airbus in 2017 and 2018 (-SKU to -SKZ):
- 6 Suites Class
- 78 Business Class
- 44 Premium Economy Class
- 343 Economy Class
- 471 Total
It’s the densest configuration Singapore Airlines has installed on the A380 since it started operating the aircraft in 2007, with 30 more seats in total than the old Version 1 examples and 92 more seats than found on the Version 2 jets.
Retired A380s
Here’s a bit of nostalgia for the A380 lovers, showing the 12 Airbus A380s Singapore Airlines has operated over the years that have now been retired and/or scrapped.
Singapore Airlines Retired A380 Fleet
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| Aircraft | Current / Last Location |
Version | Fate / Status |
| 9V-SKA | LDE | V1 | Scrapped Jan 2020 |
| 9V-SKB | LDE | V1 | Scrapped Feb 2020 |
| 9V-SKC | LDE | V1 | Stored (as 9H-MIP) |
| 9V-SKD | LDE | V1 | Stored (as 9H-DPD) |
| 9V-SKE | LDE | V1 | Scrapped May 2021 |
| 9V-SKF | SIN | V1 | Stored |
| 9V-SKG | SIN | V1 | Scrapped Oct 2021 |
| 9V-SKH | SIN | V1 | Scrapped Oct 2021 |
| 9V-SKI | SIN | V1 | Stored |
| 9V-SKJ | SIN | V1 | Stored |
| 9V-SKK | ASP | V1 | Stored |
| 9V-SKL | ASP | V2 | Stored |
ASP Alice Springs Airport, Australia
LDE Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport, France
SIN Singapore Changi Airport
Future A380 fleet
Here’s the status of SIA’s 12 A380s returning to service post-COVID, including those that are already actively flying again, since November 2021.
Singapore Airlines A380 Fleet
(as of 22nd January 2022)
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| Aircraft | Current Location |
Version | Fate / Status |
| 9V-SKM | SIN | V3^ | In Service |
| 9V-SKN | SIN | V3^ | In Service |
| 9V-SKP | ASP | V2 | Future Refit & Re-entry |
| 9V-SKQ | SIN | V2 (V3 pending) |
Refit & Re-entry |
| 9V-SKR | SIN | V3^ | In Service |
| 9V-SKS | SIN | V3^ | In Service |
| 9V-SKT | SIN | V3^ | In Service |
| 9V-SKU | SIN | V3 | In Service |
| 9V-SKV | SIN | V3 | In Service |
| 9V-SKW | SIN | V3 | Stored Future Re-entry |
| 9V-SKY | SIN | V3 | In Service |
| 9V-SKZ | ASP | V3 | Stored Future Re-entry |
^ Refitted from V2
ASP Alice Springs Airport, Australia
SIN Singapore Changi Airport
Interestingly there are now more refitted Airbus A380s flying in the SIA fleet than those originally delivered to the airline with the new cabins in 2017-18.
By May 2022, eight Airbus A380s will be required to operate the planned schedule, plus the requirement for at least one operational spare, suggesting we will see at least one additional Version 3 aircraft return to service in the coming months.
SIA’s future fleet of 12 Airbus A380s comprises 10 owned and two leased aircraft.
New cabin products
All Singapore Airlines A380 Version 3 aircraft have the latest cabin products, including the new Suites and Business Class seats.
There’s also a large 44-seat Premium Economy Class section, in the space the Suites cabin used to occupy at the forward main deck.
The aircraft also feature the latest KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Here are our reviews of the Suites (double bed) and Business Class cabins on these A380s.
- Suites: US$500k – US$1m
- Business: US$150k – US$300k
- Premium: US$15k
- Economy: US$5k
Older cabin products are not returning
Singapore Airlines confirmed back in November 2020 that all 12 of its Airbus A380s returning to the fleet would feature the latest cabin products prior to re-entry to service, meaning we had already seen the end of the longstanding 2006 Business Class and 2007 Suites from the Singapore Airlines network.
Don’t miss our heartfelt farewells to products we’ll probably all miss, even if they were a little past their prime.
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Farewell 2006 Business Class |
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Farewell 2007 Suites |
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Farewell 2006 Business Class |
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Farewell 2007 Suites |
‘The 63D trick’ in Economy Class
With more than half of SIA’s operating Airbus A380 fleet being the refitted aircraft, there’s an interesting trick when flying Economy Class to score yourself lots of legroom at no additional cost.
That’s because seat 62D is missing on these jets, because of the location of the underfloor crew rest area escape hatch, whereas the crew rest is in a different location on the five aircraft delivered from new with the latest seats (9V-SKU to -SKZ).
Here’s how it looks (pre-refit, but the space is still there):
63D is therefore your go-to seat choice in Economy on the A380 Version 3, with no additional charges, since right now you have around a 63% chance of success to score one of the five refitted aircraft that are in service.
India A380 delays
Singapore Airlines originally planned for Airbus A380 operation to Mumbai starting on 10th January 2022 and Delhi from 27th March 2022.
Unfortunately due to Omicron concerns India has reinstated arrival quarantine for travellers from Singapore, so despite being a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) country, booked loads are likely to be suppressed for the time being.
A380 operation has been deferred and is now plan