A380 takes off for Beijing Olympics

[August 4th 2008]

Singapore Airlines has begun a week of special flights on the Airbus A380 superjumbo to Beijing in the run up to the start of the Olympic Games.

The double decker A380 has been called into service to cater for the extra demand for flights to the Olympics. The first flight took off from Singapore Changi Airport on August 2nd with 12 athletes and 18 officials from Team Singapore on board.

Over the next week, until August 8th when the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony takes place, several hundred athletes from almost a dozen countries will fly on the A380 to Beijing to compete in the Olympics. They will be joined by thousands more spectators all eagerly awaiting the greatest show on earth.

Singapore Airlines has also announced it will add a second daily flight on the A380 from Singapore to Heathrow Airport from September 20th. The Singapore to Heathrow route will be the first in the world to be operated double-daily by the new superjumbo.

Daily flights on the A380 between Singapore and Heathrow started in March, and last month the airline increased the frequency to 11 times a week. Following delivery of the sixth A380 aircraft from Airbus to Singapore Airlines in September, additional A380 flights will operate on the Singapore to Heathrow route on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

As well as Heathrow, Singapore Airlines also flies the A380 daily to Sydney and Tokyo. The airline now has firm orders for another 13 A380s plus options on a further six.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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