Emirates to launch A380 service to Singapore from December

Carrier to be first to serve Singapore route with an A380 and will increase capacity for route by 46%

Dubai: Starting December 1, Emirates will become the first carrier globally to serve the Singapore route with an Airbus A380 service.

“Emirates will boost its Dubai-Singapore route with the introduction of a permanent Airbus A380 service,” the carrier said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the move comes on the back of “strong passenger demand” in both directions.

The new A380 service on the route will replace the current 354-seat Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, increasing the capacity by 46 per cent — to 1,659 seats daily, Emirates said.

The move, according to Emirates, further confirms Changi Airport’s status as Emirates’ “South East Asian hub” with over 1,100 seats daily connecting through to Brisbane, Melbourne and Colombo.

“Emirates is currently operating a two week ad-hoc Airbus A380 service between Dubai and Singapore which has received extremely positive responses from our passengers. In light of this we have decided to bring our flagship aircraft to Singapore on a permanent basis,” Salem Obaidullah, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Far East & Australasia, said in a statement.

He added that despite the current global economic uncertainty, “we remain committed to the Singapore market adding significant seat capacity — over 2,200 seats a week — which is set to foster tourism and trade between Singapore, Dubai and beyond”.

As the largest operator of the superjumbo, Emirates has 23 A380s in its fleet currently serving 19 destinations worldwide. Additional A380 destinations set to launch this year include Melbourne (from October 1) and both Singapore and Moscow (from December 1).

Emirates last year increased the frequency of flights on the Singapore-Dubai route with seven additional weekly flights, bringing the total number of flights out of Singapore to 28 — “the most number of direct Singapore-Dubai flights offered by any airline”, Emirates said.