Singapore Airlines increasing A380 Shanghai schedule

Singapore Airlines has been progressively reintroducing its Airbus A380s to the passenger network following COVID-19, but one of the most surprising routes announced in March 2022 was to and from Shanghai in China, while strict border controls and lockdowns were still prevalent.

With China recently relaxing its border restrictions for its own citizens, and an inevitable reintroduction of travel for foreign tourists including Singapore nationals in the pipeline, the route is getting hiked further with four weekly services now planned, all of which will use the superjumbo from late March this year.

This also follows a removal of the limit on international arriving passenger flights in China from 8th January 2023, the same day inbound quarantine was scrapped for returning residents.

The schedule

Singapore Airlines was maintaining a single weekly SQ830/833 flight to and from Shanghai during the COVID-19 pandemic, operated on Mondays using the Boeing 787-10 aircraft.

This was upgraded in mid-2022 to an Airbus A380, but more recently some additional Boeing 787-10 flights have been added to the roster to supplement the Monday superjumbo service:

• A 2nd weekly flight on Saturdays from 5th November 2022
• A 3rd weekly flight on Thursdays from 19th January 2023
• A 4th weekly flight on Tuesdays from 31st January 2023

From 26th March 2023, all four of these weekly flights will be operated by the Airbus A380, as shown below.

Singapore Airlines
Shanghai Schedule
(26th March 2023 – 28th October 2023)

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ830 A380
SIN 09:30		PVG 15:05
	SQ833 A380
PVG 16:50		SIN 22:20

This will mean the latest Business Class product and Suites cabin four times a week to and from Shanghai, in a service that almost certainly looks set to return to daily operation soon.

Prior to COVID-19, Singapore Airlines was operating 28 weekly flights between Singapore and Shanghai, operated by Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 787-10 aircraft.

The restoration of four weekly Airbus A380 flights still only represents 20% of previous seat capacity on the route (1,884 seats per week compared to 9,352 seats per week pre-pandemic), so we do expect significant further capacity hikes on this city pair in the coming months, as China continues to reopen.

Shanghai award redemption rates

These are the KrisFlyer miles needed for the Singapore – Shanghai route, based on the latest award rates since the 2022 devaluation became effective from 5th July 2022.

Saver awards in Business Class are easy to come by on this route, so it may not be a bad idea to lock in a speculative redemption for later this year, in anticipation of restriction-free tourist travel to China for Singapore residents.

Unfortunately Suites Saver awards only appear to be available to waitlist on selected dates, based on our recent searches.

Travel to China

Tourist visits to China remain unfeasible while the country continues to pause its Tourist Visa, and visa exemption for Singapore citizens remains suspended.

No timeline has been announced for rolling out the red carpet to tourists at this stage, though it is an inevitable ‘next step’.

Those who can currently travel to China include its own citizens, and those who hold a valid residence permit or are studying there.

In this case, the following process applies:

• Complete a Health Declaration Form and present the resulting QR code before departure. The form can be found here.
• Have a printed negative COVID-19 PCR test taken at most 48 hours before the departure time of the last direct flight to China (cheapest tests in Singapore can be found here).
• No testing or quarantine on arrival.

Where else is the A380 flying?

Shanghai is one of seven cities on the Singapore Airlines network currently served by the Airbus A380.

Delhi returns to the superjumbo roster from late March, while both Frankfurt and New York will be downgraded to smaller types to make way for Melbourne’s superjumbo return from mid-May.

Here’s a summary of the carrier’s A380 operation between now and late October 2023.

Singapore Airlines A380 Flights
(now-Oct 2023)

Current Flights
Flight	Dates (2023)	Days
Frankfurt SQ26/25	Now – 14 May (ending)	Daily
Hong Kong SQ894/895	Now – 25 Mar (ending)	Daily
London SQ308/319	Now – 28 Oct	Daily
London SQ322/317	Now – 28 Oct	Daily
Mumbai SQ424/423	Now – 13 Jun 1 Sep – 28 Oct	Daily
New York SQ26/25	Now – 14 May (ending)	Daily
Shanghai SQ830/833	Now – 23 Oct	Mon
Sydney SQ231/222	Now – 28 Oct	Daily
Future Flights
Flight	Dates (2023)	Days
Delhi SQ406/403	26 Mar – 14 Jun 31 Jul – 28 Oct	Daily
Hong Kong SQ892/893 (replacing SQ894/895)	26 Mar – 30 Jun 1 Aug – 28 Oct	Daily
London SQ306/305 (in addition to SQ308/319/322/317)	15 Jun – 30 Jul (peak period)	Daily
Melbourne SQ237/228	16 May – 28 Oct	Daily
Shanghai SQ830/833	28 Mar – 28 Oct	Tue, Thu, Sat (in addition to Mon)
Sydney SQ221/232 (in addition to SQ231/222)	17 May – 28 Oct	Daily

Unfortunately there’s no sign of a much-wished-for return of the superjumbo on Tokyo flights for the time being!

You can keep abreast of where the A380 is flying by referring to our continually updated First Class seats by route page.

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China is finally abandoning its ‘zero COVID’ policy and rejoining the world, with quarantine now removed for returning residents, outbound travel restrictions axed and international flight caps abolished.

While a full reopening including the return of international tourists is still pending, Singapore Airlines is already increasing to four times weekly flights on its Shanghai route, all of which will receive the carrier’s highest-capacity Airbus A380 from late March 2023.

The carrier’s China routes should see a significant ramp-up in the months ahead once borders are fully relaxed, and that looks set to inevitably include a hike to daily A380 Shanghai flights at some stage.

(Cover Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)