Of the five already left the fleet, four went to the Dr. Peters Group for scrapping and one to Hi Fly. Thai Airways has a fleet of 6 Airbus As, all are currently grounded and stored. Thai Airways has been in a difficult financial position for years, with the situation only worsening this year due to COVID While there is no information on when the aircraft will return, the airline is also not planning to retire them. News News See all. What to Expect at Dubai Airshow ? November 1, Reviews See all.
Exclusive See all. Top Aviation Jokes and Memes November 12, CEO Talks See all. Travel See all. Qantas moved quickly to send all of its As for years-long storage in the Mojave desert. However, recently, CEO Alan Joyce has reaffirmed a future for the A, and reports suggest that the plane could even return to service sooner than predicted.
The carrier retired half of its flee t in January, citing the high environmental impact and low efficiency of the superjumbo. However, the other half of the fleet could return to the skies if demand rises in the coming years.
The airline will likely stay on target to retire all of its superjumbos by though. The launch operator of the A, Singapore Airlines retired seven superjumbos amid the crisis last year. However, the remaining 12 As are very likely to return to service, with Singapore investing in cabin retrofits for the older jets.
While the final number of As returning could be lower, expect to see them return to the skies in the future. With two complete decks, and powered by four engines, the plane weighs 1. Many passengers appreciated the plane for its smooth cruising potential and the quietness of the cabins. While the future of commercial aviation is heading toward smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft that can be deployed on leaner, more seasonal routes and hopefully emit fewer greenhouse gases overall , the A will still loom large in the passenger psyche.
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes. Nov 12, , am EST. Four-engine aircraft including the Airbus A and Boeing were among the most impacted during the pandemic. Airlines no longer needed the amount of space that the aircraft offered combined with the excessive cost of two additional engines when only two were needed. The A also didn't have the benefit of having a second life in the air cargo realm, as other airliners did, despite its size.
Though, that didn't stop some airlines from using the A as a makeshift freighter. Destined to fly passengers, the A is now getting the chance to do it once more as three airlines have plans to resume scheduled flights with the aircraft before the end of Singapore Airlines is the latest airline to announce plans that bring back the A thanks to the new "vaccinated travel lane" program that allows vaccinated visitors to skip quarantine upon arrival in Singapore. The nautical-mile flight is among the shortest to ever be flown by the A in a scheduled capacity.
Singapore Airlines uses its As to offer a premium experience in the sky, unlike anything its smaller planes could offer. Suites are offered in first class, for example, and two can be combined to form a "double suite" with a bed for two.
Frankfurt, Germany and Madrid, Spain will be the first destinations from London as a means of getting flight crews reacclimated with the plane. The iconic red, white, and blue As sat in storage around Europe and as far as the Middle East. A total of passengers can be seated in British Airways' A configuration, which includes 97 business class seats and 14 first class suites. The Japanese carrier had planned to use the aircraft to fly solely between Tokyo and Honolulu, Hawaii before the pandemic hit.
Those flights are scheduled to resume in January, according to the airline's most recent schedule. Though, that may change depending on the travel landscape in Japan.
Emirates, in its role as the world's largest Airbus A operator, is unsurprisingly flying the most A flights of any airline. Dubai opened to international travelers in July , ahead of most global tourist destinations, and Emirates responded by adding A flights to London and Paris.
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