Airbus delivered its first A380 to Singapore Airlines on 15 October 2007. Wikipedia's A380 article gives that date. A report published on the day itself said the aircraft, registered 9V-SKA, would be handed over in Toulouse that Monday, once its certificates of registration and airworthiness had arrived. Airways magazine's anniversary piece says the delivery came 19 months behind schedule.

A long road to Toulouse

The A380 first flew on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse-Blagnac, according to Wikipedia, as the prototype F-WWOW. Airways says Singapore Airlines placed its order on 29 September 2000, for 25 aircraft that were then still called the A3XX. That makes the wait from order to delivery just over seven years.

Airways quotes the airline's then chief executive, Chew Choon Seng, calling the aircraft "the new queen of the skies".

The flight to Sydney

The same report from 15 October 2007 said the aircraft was due to reach Changi Airport on Wednesday 17 October. I have not found a source that confirms the arrival itself, so I am treating that as the plan rather than the fact.

The first passenger flight is better documented. Wikipedia says the A380 entered service on 25 October 2007 as flight SQ380 between Singapore and Sydney. Airways agrees on the date and route, and says the passengers had bought their seats in a charity auction. Flight International's website reported on 26 October that the debut had gone without trouble.

Scheduled service

The 15 October report also said Singapore Airlines would begin scheduled A380 services between Singapore and Sydney on Sunday 28 October 2007. That is the only source I opened for that date, and it is an announcement written before the event. I could not find a later account confirming the start, so I would call 28 October the planned date of regular service, not a verified one.

What the airline said about it

Wikipedia reports that two months after entry into service, Chew said the A380 was burning 20% less fuel per seat-mile than the airline's 747-400s. That is the airline's own comparison, not an independent measurement.

What happened to 9V-SKA

Airways says 9V-SKA was withdrawn from the Singapore Airlines fleet on 25 August 2017. The type itself went on much longer. Wikipedia counts 254 A380s built, including three test aircraft, and says the last one was delivered to Emirates on 16 December 2021.

On my screen

The A380 has not gone away from the sky above me. On 27 September 2026 the BBBRadar desk unit caught a British Airways A380, G-XLEB, as BAW7D, flying Heathrow to Los Angeles at 8,050 feet. On 6 October it caught A6-EVA as UAE39, Dubai to Birmingham, at 19,525 feet.

The label reads Airbus A380-800 in plain text, with the registration and route on the line below, so there is no guessing which type has just crossed. Nothing about those two flights is connected to the 2007 delivery. They are simply the same type, nineteen years on, still turning up in ordinary traffic.

What I could not confirm

I could not find a second source for the 28 October start of scheduled service or for the Changi arrival date. Airways and Wikipedia give slightly different accounts of the charity auction prices, so I have left the figures out.

Sources

  • Airways, "10/15/2007: Airbus Delivers First A380 to Singapore Airlines", 15 October 2024: https://www.airwaysmag.com/new-post/airbus-first-a380-singapore-airlines
  • Asia Travel Tips, "The first Singapore Airlines A380", 15 October 2007: https://www.asiatraveltips.com/news07/1510-SingaporeAirlines.shtml
  • Wikipedia, "Airbus A380": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A380
  • FlightGlobal, "SIA puts first A380 into commercial service", 26 October 2007: https://www.flightglobal.com/sia-puts-first-a380-into-commercial-service/76915.article
  • Wonderwall.sg, "2007 Airbus first A380 Singapore Airlines": https://wonderwall.sg/Places/2007-airbus-first-a380-singapore-airlines
  • Radar catches: BBBRadar desk unit, 27 September and 6 October 2026