Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
australian aviation logo

Video: Watch as second Singapore A380 leaves ‘boneyard’

written by Adam Thorn | July 30, 2021

The second Singapore A380 departs from Alice Springs (Paul Totani)

Australian Aviation reader Paul Totani was at Alice Springs this week to capture the moment the second Singapore Airlines A380 left the desert.

The video below shows how the aircraft, 9V-SKW msn 251, departed the aircraft storage facility at 11:23am on Wednesday and headed to Sydney for maintenance. It will then eventually return to service like the last of its aircraft to leave Alice Springs, 9V-SKQ, in February.

 

Singapore Airlines, the launch customer for the double-decker, is set to retire seven of its A380s but crucially keep 12 in service.

It comes despite speculation the aircraft is nearing the end of its time in the skies, globally. Most notably, in May last year, Air France retired its entire fleet, while Airbus has already began suspending production.

==
==

The vote of confidence comes after Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said in February he believes the airline’s A380 fleet will still be profitable when the COVID crisis ends.

In an interview with Brussels-based Eurocontrol, Joyce said it was “heartbreaking” to see the aircraft stored in the Mojave Desert and insisted that curfews and expensive airport slots meant flying them will still be profitable.

“We have reconfigured six of them with brand new product onboards. In fact, one aircraft just being reconfigured flew directly to the Mojave Desert,” said Joyce.

“It’s there with new seats on it and that nobody’s ever sat on, which is unbelievably disappointing. But we do think if you look at the Qantas network, there are going to be opportunities to deploy those aircraft.

“We do have scheduling windows, because if you’ve ever been in LA, at between 10 o’clock and midnight, you see six or seven Qantas aircraft departing to Australia, because it’s the only time that works with curfews, so instead of flying multiple frequencies right on top of each other.

“An A380, that’s fully or nearly fully written down, if it generates cash, will absolutely work. Airports that have slot restrictions, like Heathrow, where a slot is extremely expensive, then the aircraft works for that. And the similar scheduling windows that worked for Australia are unique.

“So we do believe there’s a need for that fleet. And we do believe that it will generate cash. And it’s all going to be about cash when we start up international.”

Meanwhile, Australian Aviation reported in September 2020 how the Alice Springs boneyard was reaching its new expanded capacity of 100 aircraft after the Northern Territory government invested $3.5 million into the site in July.

Australian Aviation previously reported how the NT government made the investment, which included building new roads to ensure the facility’s capacity could be quickly doubled, to help create 55 local jobs.

Tom Vincent, who owns the Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (APAS) maintenance facility, previously told the ABC that parking spaces were “definitely in demand”.

“As soon as extra spots for storage come online, there are aircraft filling those spots,” Vincent said.

In July 2020, the facility was storing 44 aircraft and had already received a $1 million infrastructure grant.

This investment package doubled its workforce and is predicted to inject more than $10 million dollars, directly and indirectly, into the state’s economy. Before the pandemic, APAS was home to just 18 aircraft at any one time.

Like many so-called boneyards, APAS is chosen by airlines because its low precipitation and hot weather reduce rust, while staff are on-hand to carry out the 100-plus maintenance tasks per year required to keep aircraft operational.

You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member today!

Comments (3)

  • T Bolot

    says:

    SYD
    SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
    SIN
    SINGAPORE
    took off from
    Sydney – SYD
    landed at
    Singapore Changi – SIN
    FRI 30/07/2021
    12:41 AEST
    (on time)
    FRI 30/07/2021

  • WAYNE C JENKINSON

    says:

    I agree with QF CEO, the demand into LAX and Heathrow will be substantial once we open up, when that will be is of course the big question. The flights to this part of the world are huge out of LA on any day of the week pre covid. Now that Virgin is caput for Int QF will reap alot of that trade along with ANZ. It will be interesting to see how the cash vs reward seat battle works as I suspect there a lot of FF out there who will expect to be able to use points for int travel once it starts and of course airlines will be looking for the cash flyer. QF pricing will also be interesting as I have always found QF to be the most expensive airline to fly with in recent times.

    • Vannus

      says:

      Maybe you can offset ‘most expensive airline’ with the fact QANTAS has been voted the ‘world’s safest airline’ for several years’ in a row now.

Comments are closed.

You don't have credit card details available. You will be redirected to update payment method page. Click OK to continue.