Singapore Airlines (SIA) has confirmed it will introduce its Airbus A380 on its route between its Singapore Changi Airport hub and Shanghai Pu Dong International Airport from the end of October as it further boosts capacity into the Chinese market. The A380 will be used for five flights per week from the start of the northern winter season on October 27, 2013, increasing overall seat capacity by 12 per cent.

During the northern summer operating season the Asian carrier operates 35 weekly flights to Shanghai using a mix of Boeing 777 equipment, but this drops to 28 weekly flights during the northern winter operating season. SIA operates alongside China Eastern Airlines on the route, while Garuda Indonesia has also served the route over recent years as a continuation of its flights from Jakarta. Air Mauritius also served the market between October 2012 and January 2013.

According to MIDT data, an estimated 1.02 million bi-directional O&D passengers flew between Singapore and Shanghai in 2012, with SIA accounting for around 58 per cent of this traffic. Demand on the route during the first six months of this year is up 2.0 per cent, but SIA has seen its own passenger share slip from 58 per cent between January and June 2012 to 54 per cent between January and June 2013.

Shanghai is just part of a comprehensive network that SIA and its sister carrier SilkAir serve in China. The two airlines currently operate a total of 116 weekly flights to ten destinations in mainland China, namely Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Xiamen. Singapore Airlines also operates 49 weekly flights to Hong Kong.

Since its inaugural flight in 2007, the A380 has proven exceptionally popular with customers, according to SIA, with strong loads on all routes it serves. Although the aircraft type has now completed six years of passenger service their remains a buzz about the superjumbo and many travellers remain eager for the opportunity to fly on the jet. SIA currently uses the aircraft on its routes to Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo Narita and Zurich.