Where the A380 flies: Japan and intra-Asia routes decline while Australia & Middle East grow

[flee 5]

The A380 is once again under media scrutiny, despite there being no major movement on the type. Comments from Air France and Qantas about not taking further A380s have long been assumed, and it has been apparent that Malaysia Airlines does not even have the need for its A380s. Singapore Airlines not renewing the lease on its first A380 is hardly surprising, and offers no definitive conclusion about the A380 or second-hand market; early A380s had different production and are not as efficient as later models. The lack of movement on the A380neo continues to irk the model's largest customer by far, Emirates, and may not make for a productive relationship as Emirates weighs an A350 or 787 order.

For most, the A380 continues to fly. How and where it flies is changing. Flights to and from the Middle East are becoming more common as Gulf airlines, and mostly Emirates, take delivery of A380s. A further shift to the Middle East is inevitable. In Japan there has been a near exodus of A380s; airlines dropping the type as they moved from Narita to Haneda, which cannot accommodate the A380 during the day, and Singapore Airlines down-gauging. Intra-Asia flying is decreasing – notable given the growth of A380s based in the region. Services by the A380 to Australia are growing, perhaps as it becomes an easy market for airlines to redeploy capacity amid European security concerns and trans-Pacific overcapacity.

This report focuses on the largest market pairs for the A380 (excluded are smaller market pairs such as Europe/Middle East-Africa, Australia/Asia-North America, Europe-South America). CAPA in Feb-2016 examined specific airports that the A380 serves.

See: http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/where-the-a380-flies-japan-and-intra-asia-routes-decline-while-australia--middle-east-grow-302562

[S V Choong 4]

Has ANA cancelled their A380 orders or are they still pressing ahead for them?

[flee 5]

ANA Group has ordered 3 A380s as part of an agreement for them to buy Skymark. They are expected to honour that agreement.