Singapore Airlines to launch A380 Flights to Tokyo in May

Tokyo will become the fourth city in the world to receive Airbus A380 commercial flights, when Singapore Airlines starts services to the Japanese capital on 20 May 2008.

The inaugural A380 flight to Tokyo - SQ636 - will depart Singapore’s Changi Airport on Tuesday, 20 May 2008, at 0040hrs and arrive at Tokyo’s Narita Airport at 0830hrs (all times local), on a special schedule to coincide with the 30th anniversary celebrations of Narita Airport. The return flight, SQ637, will depart Narita at 1300hrs on Tuesday, 20 May 2008. The aircraft will touch down at Changi Airport on the same day at 1905hrs.

Thereafter, the Singapore Airlines A380 will commence regular scheduled services, operating SQ638 daily on the Singapore-Tokyo sector from 20 May 2008, and on SQ637 for the return leg from 21 May 2008.

Singapore Airlines is the first airline in the world to fly the A380: the world’s largest commercial aircraft. Tokyo is Singapore Airlines’ third A380 destination, following the commencement of the Singapore-Sydney service on 25 October 2007 and the Singapore-London service on 18 March 2008.

“We are proud to operate the inaugural A380 flight into Japan, the A380’s first Asian destination. The fact that Tokyo is the A380’s first Asian city highlights Singapore Airlines’ 40 years of dedicated service to the Japanese market,” said Mr. Huang Cheng Eng, Singapore Airlines’ Executive Vice President, Marketing and the Regions.

“We are sure that our Japanese customers will be delighted to try our extensive range of new cabin products and the state-of-the-art entertainment system on board the A380,” Mr Huang added.

Besides operating to Tokyo 20 times weekly, Singapore Airlines also flies daily to Nagoya, five times weekly to Fukuoka and 17 times weekly to Osaka.

Customers who hold ticketed bookings on flights to be operated by the A380 will be automatically accommodated on the new aircraft without any change required to their tickets. Customers holding bookings, but not yet ticketed, may need to check if there have been changes to their fares as a result of the aircraft change.

The Singapore Airlines A380 heralds a new era in air travel, with its cabin offerings providing unprecedented comfort, space and luxury. The aircraft is the quietest large passenger aircraft ever built, and delivers substantial fuel burn reductions per seat kilometre over the next largest aircraft. This means it becomes a cleaner, greener alternative for long-haul travel, while allowing for the addition of extra capacity to congested airports, like London.

The Singapore Airlines A380 seats 471 passengers in three classes - 12 in the ultra-luxurious Singapore Airlines Suites, 60 in Business Class, configured in a spacious 1-2-1 layout on the upper deck, and 399 in Economy Class. The airline currently has three A380s in service, a further 16 on firm order and options on six more.

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