SIA to use A380 to serve Beijing from August

SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) will start using its Airbus A380 jumbo jet to serve Beijing from August, with the 471-seat plane replacing two flights currently operated by smaller aircraft.

From Aug 1, the A380 will be deployed on flight SQ802, which will depart from Changi Airport at 8.30 am and touch down in Beijing at 2.40 pm. The return flight, SQ807, will depart Beijing at 4.35 pm and arrive in Singapore at 10.55 pm.

Beijing Capital International Airport will be served three times daily, using both the A380 and the Boeing 777.

Last month, SIA started using its A380 to operate flights to New Delhi and Mumbai. Other cities where it also deploys the double-decker jet include Hong Kong, London, Sydney, New York, Tokyo and Zurich.

Collectively, SIA and its regional wing SilkAir serve 11 cities in China with a total of 120 flights weekly. SIA also operates 49 flights per week to Hong Kong.

SilkAir launched its first flight to Mandalay, Myanmar from Changi Airport yesterday morning. Flights from Singapore to Mandalay will be operated on a thrice weekly basis (via Yangon), on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft being used offer both Business and Economy class seats.

"As Myanmar continues to open up, we see significant potential for air travel to the country," said SilkAir's chief executive Leslie Thng. "We have seen increased demand for both leisure and business travel to Myanmar over the past few years and are excited to be developing this new market."

SilkAir's flight to Mandalay will depart at 11.35 am from Changi and arrive at Mandalay International Airport at 3 pm. The return flight departs at 3.55 pm and lands in Singapore at 8.50 pm.

With this latest addition, SilkAir's network spans 48 cities across 12 countries.

Shares in SIA closed at $10.58 yesterday, up two cents.

This article was first published on June 11, 2014.
Get The Business Times for more stories.