It seems that Airbus has a competitor for new A380 sales - used A380's.

Singapore Air has signaled that they will not be renewing ...

I flew to Singapore on a SG380 several years ago . . . The whole top deck was Business, but that was still an awful lot of people. SG Business and First are absolutely marvelous, much more spacious and comfortable than US carriers, but they are in a tough fight with the gulf carriers and probably need to fly smaller planes with more frequency. European carriers are next . . .

SQ coach is better than US carrier first most of the time. Yes less leg room but better service and food.

I never did ride the SQ 380 but the other carriers I have tried have the all business upstairs and it is a lot of people but if staffed well, can still be a sweet ride. Biggest issue is they are so darn quiet you get one person snoring loudly and it will drive you bonkers.

The A380 will go down as a flop in aviation history mostly because it will be a financial loser for Airbus and ultimately a loser for the operators.

And, it is FUGLY.

SQ is only returning the very first A380 that they took deivery of as the launch customer. They have 5 more due for delivery in the near future.

The airplane being returned is overweight compared to the later models. A number of carriers have done this with other airframes. In some cases, they don't even take delivery. The first 3 B747-8F's were passed on by the buyer and ended up at Marana until a couple of carriers bought them at reduced cost.

The 380 program is in trouble, but this transaction makes economic sense for SQ.

Yes, this has little to do with the airplane, it's a move that SQ is well-known for. They keep their fleet below the 10yr mark. They did not renew the lease on those a380, they got a lease on new a380.

And Richard is even more right with regards to the weight of the newer models, plus the new bells and whistles. All the news things plus no big heavy expensive maintenance items, that's the SQ model.

Fabien, you sure have a point on mere technical issues here, why SQ is not keeping older A380s..the problem seems to be to whom should these airplanes go? Who needs them now?

However there are quite differing opinions on how sustainable big 4 engine airliners will be in the future..

just a selection..

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-a-second-chance-for-a380s-429449/

http://www.businessinsider.de/why-emirates-fly-airbus-a380-2016-9?r=US&IR=T

production lines of the A380 as well as the 747-8 are throttled back severly..

If I were Airbus I would be concerned that, at least as of now, the future of the A380 hinges on one big carrier, Emirates, and their business model again hinges on the business model of Dubai as a hub in general…

I would not bet my money on the long term stability in that region of the world..

If you consider in addition that Emirates syphons off considerable traffice from Europe, as well as the US and give local carriers a tough run on long range connections, of which quite a number of European as well as North American carriers say, that it is unfair competition..

One could also say, that betting on that one big carrier made Airbus as well as Boeing vulnerable with their airline customers in Europe and the US and Canada..

One could say that in hindsight Boeing at the beginning had been right that the future of long range flying will be point-to-point with efficient twins..sales numbers for the A350 and the B787 support that…

whether the arguments that Emirates throws in here are valid, by saying that planes like the A380 are the only long term answer to airport capacity bottlenecks remains to be seen…

with the current dwindling order numbers though for the A380 but also the 747-8 it is difficult to imagine how the manufacturers may be able to keep the production lines open and running…?

but, once you have to shut down a production line of such jets, because all that had been ordered will have been built, I 'd guess that would be the end of it…not conceivable that you could reopen those lines in the future then…

Gerd

P.S.: now if the world economy would be purring and be all well, it would be a different situation..but could be that any future upward trend in the world economy may come too late for both programs….

Word here in Asia is that SQ are returning 10 A380s and not replacing them. We, ANA, had 5 new 380s that were acquired with the purchase of Skymark. I have heard that 2 or 3 have already been sold to Emirates before we took delivery. Arent rumors fun?

There will be ancillary markets for the A380 down the line. I bet Virgin America could fill it's LA to NY run with one of those, if they put their mind to it. Because god knows the A320 is always full on that trip.

I've flown BA's 380 many times on the LA to London run, and it's a very smooth ride. By far the most silent experience ever, with a close second the lovely 787.

I hope the A380 survives into a more diversified market. It was a risky move by Airbus, but so was the 747 back in the days and that ended up being a big success eventually.

Will be flying to Dubai from Los Angeles on a A380 with Emeritas soon (business class). Anything to look forward to or avoid?

I rode one from LAX to Melbourne (15hrs) a couple years ago on Quantas. I liked the airplane as a passenger. it was quiet, and the pressurization was spot on perfect.

I don't know the particulars, but I see Boeings decision to build a smaller more economical airliner 787, a better idea than Airbus's building a behemoth. There just aren't enough customers to fill the 380's, but the 787s are closer to full when they fly.

Personally I prefer flying on the 737-800.