Singapore Airlines is bringing its flagship Airbus A380 back to Melbourne on a year-round basis, extending the airline’s temporary superjumbo service to the Victorian capital: previously due to end in March 2017 before reverting to a Boeing 777.
Instead, SQ’s A380s will continue gracing Melbourne’s skies, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson confirmed with the jet now appearing daily on flight SQ217 from Singapore and SQ218 from Melbourne.
The world’s largest passenger aircraft offers travellers a choice between Suites Class, business class, premium economy and economy.
‘Suites Class’ is Singapore parlance for ‘A380 first class’, with these passengers gaining access to a dedicated Singapore Airlines first class lounge in Melbourne or The Private Room in Singapore before their flight, after which, they’ll fly in style and privacy with all suites featuring closing doors:
Business class too provides fully-flat beds with direct aisle access courtesy of the 1-2-1 cabin layout, with plenty of space to work and relax during the day as well.
Premium economy instead comes in a 2-4-2 arrangement, with reclining seats offering 38 inches of total space – known as ‘pitch’ – plus a padded leg rest and swing-down foot rest:
Melbournians can catch the A380 on flight SQ218 – departing the Coffee Capital at 1:05am daily to reach Singapore at 5:45am – and aboard SQ217 on the return: wheels-up at 10:45am for a 9:10pm touchdown later that evening.
In recent times, Singapore Airlines has also upgraded selected Brisbane-Singapore flights from Airbus A330s to the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, complete with A380-style fully-flat beds in place of the less-appealing ‘sloping sleepers’ found on the A330s.