The A380 is mounting a comeback

Three airlines are set to return at least a portion of their A380 fleets to service by the end of the year. British Airways will relaunch service at the end of October, while Singapore Airlines will begin flights a few days later on 4 November. Qatar Airways will reintroduce half of its A380 fleet in mid-December.

British Airways

British Airways A380s in storage in Madrid

British Airways will resume service with the A380 on 31 October with flights to Hong Kong as the BA31. The replace the 777-300ER on that flight. The following week it will add service to Frankfurt and Madrid, followed by additional service expansions by March 2022. The airline parked its A380s by the end of March 2020 and placed most of them in storage by mid-April.

Planned British Airways A380 service

DestinationStart date (tentative)Hong Kong (HKG)31 OctoberFrankfurt (FRA)8 NovemberMadrid8 NovemberDubai (DXB)3 DecemberMiami (MIA)5 DecemberLos Angeles (LAX)9 DecemberJohannesburg (JNB)11 January 2022Singapore (SIN)2 FebruaryChicago (ORD)27 MarchSan Francisco27 March

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines A380s in storage in Alice Springs, Australia

Singapore will restart A380 flying with a short hop to Kuala Lumpur. Flight time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur averages 44 minutes, meaning it may take more more time to board and deplane the aircraft than it does to fly. But, Singapore will then begin London service a few weeks later, followed by a large increase in service on 1 January 2022.

Planned Singapore Airlines A380 service

DestinationStart date (tentative)Kuala Lumpur4 NovemberLondon (LHR)18 NovemberMumbai (BOM)1 January 2022Delhi (DEL)1 JanuaryHong Kong (HKG)1 JanuaryOsaka (KIX)1 JanuaryShanghai (PVG)1 JanuarySydney1 JanuaryBeijing (PEK)10 JanuaryFrankfurt/New York27 JanuaryParis27 MarchZurich27 March

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways A380s in storage in Doha

Perhaps the most surprising resumption of A380 service comes from Qatar Airways, whose CEO has called the A380 the airlines biggest mistake. However, 13 of Qatar Airways A350s are currently grounded by Qatari regulators due to an issue affecting the composite skin underneath the paint of the aircraft. In order to have enough capacity come Christmas, Qatar Airways has decided to reactivate at least five of its 10 A380s. Unlike, British Airways and Singapore Airlines, there is no ramp up of service currently planned. Qatar A380s will operate on the London and Paris routes beginning 15 December.

Planned Qatar Airways A380 service

DestinationStart date (tentative)London15 DecemberParis15 December

The best of the A380

View some of the best British Airways, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines A380 photos from the JetPhotos catalog.

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