November 2021 will be a unique month for the Airbus A380, as it operates a number of shorthaul routes in both Europe and Asia before returning to longhaul flying later in the month. This marks an exciting time for locals to experience the superjumbo jet without having to travel halfway around the world to do so.
British Airways A380 Shorthaul Routes
In the Atlantic, British Airways will reactivate its A380 aircraft for service to Miami, Dubai, and Los Angeles. But before those routes commence in early December, BA will run A380s to two cities between November 8th and December 2nd 2021:
- Frankfurt (FRA)
- BA902/903 – Sunday – Friday
- BA908/909 – Saturday
- Madrid (MAD)
- BA462/463 – Sunday – Friday
- BA456/457 – Saturday
Fares have already been loaded and award space is widely available if you want to experience the superjumbo jet.
I’ve reviewed this aircraft in first class and economy class, but don’t expect the sort of luxury you can experience on BA’s later-model aircraft like the A350, which features a much roomier business class suite.
Singapore Airlines A380 Shorthaul Routes
Singapore will resume A380 service to London and “select European cities” in late November, but before it does so it will also run the A380 on a very shorthaul route:
- Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
- SQ105/106 – daily
SIN-KUL is only 184 mies, which would certainly keep flight attendants busy for the short duration of the flight if service was offered.
Why The Shorthaul Routes?
Think about it: it has been over 1.5 years since British Airways and Singapore Arlines last ran A380s. Pilots are out-of-practice and flying frequent shorhauls will give pilots more chances to re-acclimate to the aircraft.
Furthermore, these aircraft have been mothballed for so long that any number of latent maintenance or mechanical issues might be pending. The frequent takeoffs and landings of shorthaul flights best test out systems, hopefully exposing any issues before an aircraft is halfway over the Atlantic or Pacific.
CONCLUSION
It is great to see the A380 come back into service. This also marks a great opportunity to check out the A380 on shorter routes, allowing for an A380 experience without having to fly across oceans to do so.
Will you be flying any A380 shorthual routes next month?
So book a ticket on these short-haul 380 flights and let’s all find out together whether the pilots still know how to fly the 380 and whether the planes themselves are airworthy
Interesting on the BA shorthaul routes–now I know why there were four BA A380s parked on the tarmac at Barajas last month…didn’t seem like the standard location for mothballing.
Love the A380. Caught me off guard seeing the BA A380 coming in to land at Ohare a few years ago when it first started service. The one and only A380 to come to ORD….
Saying that, we saw an Antonov 120 coming into land at OHare on Saturday (from my boys soccer at Montrose)! Even more impressive than the A380. My boy spotted that it had a million wheels lollll
This is a tremendous opportunity for Matthew!
I still advise caution of which I do not advise non-essential or non-important air travel or land travel* even for the vaccinated but I believe that Matthew’s work role as a reporter is sufficiently important to be ok with me*. Do it, Matthew, along with plenty of photos!
*I did land travel once but I brought my own food and water to avoid restaurants and I sheepishly admit that I went in the bushes at rest stops.
*earlier in the pandemic and before Matthew was vaccinated, I would not have recommended travel.
I am very much hoping we will be able to avoid the geological upheaval that would be required for Dubai to end up anywhere near the Atlantic by December!
Hi Metthew, Since you have contact with UA management, please ask them if UA plan to offer “vaccinated travel lane” flight from SFO to Singapore?