Friday, July 18, 2008

Singapore Airlines History

A380

On September 29, 2000, SIA announced an order for 25 Airbus A3XX (as the A380 was known at the time). The US$8.6 billion order comprised a firm order of 10 aircraft, with options on another 15 airframes.The order was confirmed by Singapore Airlines on July 12, 2001. In January 2005, the airline unveiled the slogan "First to Fly the A380 - Experience the Difference in 2006", to promote itself as the first airline to take delivery of the A380-800, which was expected to take place in the second quarter of 2006.In June 2005, Airbus confirmed that due to unforeseen technical problems, initial deliveries of the Airbus A380 would be delayed by up to six months,with the first delivery now slated for November 2006. The announcement was met with fury by SIA's chief executive officer, Chew Choon Seng, who threatened to sue Airbus, saying:
“Airbus took some time to acknowledge the delay in the timetable for the A380's entry into service…I would have expected more sincerity.”
He further stated that SIA will be turning its attention to Boeing instead, since it would be receiving the Boeing 777-300ER before the A380. Nevertheless, SIA has indicated that this would not affect its promotional campaign.
In February 2006, the first A380 in full Singapore Airlines livery was flown to Singapore, where it was displayed at Asian Aerospace 2006. On June 14, 2006, Singapore Airlines placed an initial order for the Boeing 787 as part of its future aircraft expansion. The order consisted of 20 787-9s and rights for 20 more. This order came one day after Airbus announced that the A380 superjumbo would be delayed by another 6 months.
A third delay was announced on 3 October 2006, pushing the initial delivery of the first A380 to October 2007.
On 25 October 2007, the first commercial A380 service, flight number SQ 380, flew 455 passengers from Singapore to Sydney, touching down in Sydney Airport at 5:24 pm local time, where it received significant attention from the media.The airline donated all revenue generated from the flight to three charities in a ceremony the next day in Sydney. SIA began regular services with the A380 on 28 October 2007.


Singapore Airlines A380 landing in
Kingsford Smith International Airport
(Sydney International Airport)(SYD)
(YSSY)

No comments: