Singapore Airlines brings the A380 back to Shanghai

Many of our readers keenly await details of Singapore Airlines’ flagship Airbus A380 routes, but it’s safe to say the type has been suffering from more of a retraction than an expansion on the network lately, with continued news of an increasingly lacklustre network for the upcoming summer season.

That’s taken the form of a reduction in both Sydney and Hong Kong A380 services announced in recent weeks, but before that it was the Shanghai route that was bearing the brunt.

Back in early December SIA deferred its planned reinstatement of Shanghai A380 service by three months, from January to April 2024, then just a few weeks later the type got axed from the route altogether until late October 2024.

Well there’s good news to report, with SIA now confirming in a new schedule update that the A380 will operate a daily service to and from Shanghai from early August to mid-September 2024, then from mid-October 2024 on a permanent basis, replacing a Boeing 777-300ER.

There are also Saver awards available in both Suites and Business Class, allowing KrisFlyer members to redeem the airline’s flagship cabin products on this route once again.

The schedule

A380 services to and from Shanghai in the northern summer 2024 season were originally due to operate on an overnight Singapore – Shanghai flight, with a morning flight in the return direction, the SQ826/827 rotation.

However, Singapore Airlines has allocated the superjumbo to its former daytime slot for this unexpected summer return on the route.

Here’s how the updated summer 2024 schedule for Shanghai looks, including these newly-added A380 services.

Singapore Shanghai
31st March 2024 – 26th October 2024

All services operate daily

			Aircraft	Dates
	SQ826		359 MH A350 MH	31 Mar – 31 Aug
SIN 01:15		PVG 06:35	787 787-10	1 Sep – 26 Oct
	SQ828		359 LH A350 LH	All
SIN 07:55		PVG 13:25
	SQ830		77W 777-300ER	31 Mar – 4 Aug 15 Sep – 14 Oct
SIN 09:30		PVG 15:05	388 A380	5 Aug – 14 Sep 15 Oct – 26 Oct
	SQ832		359 LH A350 LH	All
SIN 12:45		PVG 18:05
	SQ836		787 787-10	All
SIN 17:25		PVG 22:45

Shanghai Singapore
31st March 2024 – 26th October 2024

All services operate daily

			Aircraft	Dates
	SQ825		787 787-10	All
PVG 00:35		SIN 05:55
	SQ827		359 MH A350 MH	31 Mar – 31 Aug
PVG 08:05		SIN 13:25	787 787-10	1 Sep – 26 Oct
	SQ831		359 LH A350 LH	All
PVG 14:30		SIN 19:50
	SQ833		77W 777-300ER	31 Mar – 4 Aug 15 Sep – 14 Oct
PVG 16:50		SIN 22:20	388 A380	5 Aug – 14 Sep 15 Oct – 26 Oct
	SQ835		359 LH A350 LH	All
PVG 19:10		SIN 00:30*

* Next day

As you can see, it’s the well-timed daylight service SQ830/833 that picks up the Airbus A380 during these periods, offering a good opportunity to experience the 2017 Suites or 2017 Business Class product and service for around 5 hours 30 minutes, without ‘wasting’ any time sleeping if you don’t want to.

We’ve updated our dedicated network-wide Business Class seats by route and First Class seats by route pages for all Singapore Airlines routes to reflect this latest change.

KrisFlyer awards

Here are the latest KrisFlyer award rates for the Singapore – Shanghai route, including for the Suites cabin.

KrisFlyer Redemption Singapore ⇄ Shanghai
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	21,500	40,000
Premium Economy	34,500	n/a
Business	43,000	65,000
First / Suites	58,500	98,000

Shanghai does well on our KrisFlyer miles per minute analysis in Business Class, with a saver award clocking in at 134 miles per minute (network average 143), though Suites is more run-of-the-mill at 183 miles per minute (close to the First/Suites combined network average of 181).

We’re seeing Saver Suites availability on SQ830 from Singapore to Shanghai for 58,500 miles practically every single day from 5th August 2024 through to 14th September 2024, the A380’s first stint on the route this summer.

This is replicated from 15th October 2024 onwards too, while availability is also loaded in the Shanghai to Singapore direction over these periods.

With 78 seats available in Business Class, compared to 48 on the 777-300ER, it’s also no surprise that Saver awards in this cabin on the A380 at 43,000 miles each way are wide open.

2017 cabin products

This A380 service will mean a return to China for SIA’s latest Airbus A380 cabin products once again.

2017 Suites

The biggest selling point of the newly configured A380s is the latest Suites cabin, located on the forward upper deck with a capacity of just six, three either side of a central aisle.

Two of the Suite pairs (1A/2A and 1F/2F) can combine to form a double suite if you are travelling with someone else.

You can read our review of the double suite on a flight from Singapore to Hong Kong in 2018 below.

Although Singapore Airlines stopped short of installing showers in the latest A380 fit, there are two large washrooms at the front of the cabin, one of which is so big it has its own separate vanity area.

We also enjoyed the ‘A380 Restaurant@Changi’ experience on board the new Suites cabin back in October 2020 – see our review here.

These new Suites will return to the Shanghai route on a regular basis for the first time since October 2023 as a result of this announcement.

Suite selection

If you’re flying on the Shanghai route during these periods on the Airbus A380, the Suite seat map will now (very happily) look like this:

Couples will clearly want to go for the two double suite options at 1A/2A or 1F/2F. Here the dividing screen between the suites retracts and allows for a double bed setup.

Suites 3A and 3F are standalone options, lacking the ability to combine with adjacent suites. They also have the smallest footprint and are close to the galley, potentially leading to some light and noise disturbance.

While we don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun by blocking the double suites, as solo travellers we would still choose row 1 or row 2 for not only a larger suite (row 3 suites are the smallest), but less potential disturbance.

2017 Business Class

Another great advantage of the new Singapore Airlines A380 cabins is the excellent Business Class product, our personal favourite in the fleet, with 78 of these seats occupying the rest of the upper deck in a 1-2-1 layout.

There’s the option at the middle seat pairs 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.

It’s certainly great to see this product offered to and from China once again with this daily A380 Shanghai service.

Where else are SIA’s A380s flying?

Here’s a summary of where SIA is operating its Airbus A380s, between now and late October 2024.

Singapore to/from	NW23/24 (Mar ’24)	NS24 (Apr ’24 – Oct ’24)
Auckland
Delhi		*
Frankfurt
Hong Kong		*
London Heathrow
Mumbai		*
Shanghai		*
Sydney
Tokyo Narita

* Partial operation during the season

Do note that there are some temporary reductions in place practically season-wide for the airline’s A380 services, which Singapore Airlines has confirmed to Mainly Miles is due to scheduled maintenance checks.

“Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) Airbus A380 aircraft will undergo regular maintenance in the coming months. As a result, there will be adjustments to our aircraft deployment plans for selected flights on our Delhi, Hong Kong SAR, Mumbai, and Sydney services from April 2024 to October 2024.”

SIA Spokesperson

The A380 will be removed from the following regular routes this coming summer 2024 season, and replaced temporarily with Boeing 777-300ER operation in all cases:

• Hong Kong (SQ892/893)
  1st April – 9th June
  17th June – 23rd June
  16th September – 14th October
• Mumbai (SQ424/423)
  24th June – 14th July
• Delhi (SQ406/403)
  15th July – 4th August
• Sydney (SQ221/232)
  4th August – 13th September
  14th October – 26th October

As you can see, the return of the Airbus A380 on daily Shanghai flights closely mimics the period where one of the two daily Sydney services downgrades to the Boeing 777-300ER.

For full details including the schedules, check out our updated dedicated guide on where SIA is flying its Airbus A380s between now and late October 2024.

A380 Shanghai service continues in the winter season

If you’re travelling to or from Shanghai in the northern winter season from 27th October 2024 onwards, the good news is that Singapore Airlines is retaining Airbus A380 operation on one of four daily flights.

In this case, operation shifts to the overnight 1am departure from Singapore, with a morning departure on return from Shanghai, as show in the following schedule.

Singapore Shanghai
27th October 2024 – 29th March 2025

All services operate daily

			Aircraft	Dates
	SQ826		388 A380	All
SIN 01:15		PVG 06:30
	SQ828		359 LH A350 LH	All
SIN 07:20		PVG 12:45
	SQ830		77W 777-300ER	All
SIN 09:20		PVG 14:25
	SQ836		787 787-10	All
SIN 17:25		PVG 22:45

Shanghai Singapore
27th October 2024 – 29th March 2025

All services operate daily

			Aircraft	Dates
	SQ825		787 787-10	All
PVG 00:10		SIN 06:00
	SQ827x		388 A380	All
PVG 08:20		SIN 14:10
	SQ831		359 LH A350 LH	All
PVG 13:50		SIN 19:40
	SQ833		77W 777-300ER	All
PVG 13:50		SIN 19:40

As you can see there will be two flights per day in each direction on this route with a First Class cabin during the upcoming winter season based on current plans, with SQ830/833 operated by a four-class Boeing 777-300ER including the 2013 First Class seats.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s the A380 flight in the winter months though, which switches to SQ826/827!

After a few months of Airbus A380 retractions on the Singapore Airlines route network, including a complete removal of the type to and from Shanghai for the entire summer 2024 season, a slight reversal has now been confirmed.

This will see a daily SQ830/833 Shanghai flight operated by the Airbus A380 after all during the upcoming season, between early August and mid-September, then again from mid-October onwards.

Daily operation is also planned from November 2024 through to March 2025, albeit on the overnight SQ826/827 service, which returns to Changi in the morning, a potentially less attractive timing for those wanting to maximise the cabin experience, especially in Suites.

Nonetheless there is saver award space loaded in this sought-after cabin, well worth considering at 58,500 miles each way.

(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)