economie

Airlines are falling in love again with the Airbus A380. Here’s every route flown by the world’s largest passenger jet.

If you’re looking for the A380 routes closest to you, try this interactive map.
1. Emirates
A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380.

The launch customer of the superjumbo jet has the second-most A380s, but the airline actually operates fewer of these models than the third-place carrier.

Singapore Airlines has a fleet of 13, per data from Ch-aviation. But two of these A380s are on maintenance, and another is in storage.

Singapore Airlines is one of just 10 airlines in the world to receive a five-star rating from Skytrax.

Skytrax named Singapore Airlines' business class the world's second-best behind Qatar Airways. The airline offers enormous suites, which have both an armchair and a bed, on its A380s. Two of these can also be uniquely combined to create a double bed.

Singapore flies the A380 between Singapore Changi Airport and Delhi, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London Heathrow and Sydney.

3. British Airways
A Qatar Airways Airbus A380.

Qatar Airways cleaned up at this year's Skytrax awards, winning both best airline and best business class.

Like Emirates, the airline's A380 includes a bar for business-class passengers. It also has huge bathrooms — but no showers.

The A380s also aren't equipped with its flagship business-class product, QSuite, which you'll find on the A350 and Boeing 777 and 787.

Following delays to the Boeing 777X, Qatar reversed plans to retire the A380.

Its former CEO, Akbar Al-Bakar, said in 2021 that buying the planes was a "big mistake," given its high operating costs.

However, on the sidelines of July's Farnborough Airshow, Qatar's new CEO, Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said the quad-engine is getting a second life.

"His Excellency, maybe he gave this comment years ago based on the situation of the industry, but today it's different," he said, referring to Al-Bakar.

Qatar has 10 A380s, but two are in storage.

The airline operates the A380 between Doha and Bangkok, London Heathrow, Paris CDG, and Perth and Sydney in Australia.

5. Qantas
The Residence's bedroom on board an Etihad A380.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is the third operator in the Middle East, but it is often overshadowed by Emirates and Qatar. That's the case with its A380 fleet, too.

The airline has 10 A380s, but one is on maintenance, and five are in storage. It's the only airline with at least half its superjumbo jets in storage.

But Etihad's A380s are unique as they offer the most extravagant ticket in commercial aviation: The Residence.

For $24,000, you can book the only three-room suite on an airliner, complete with a bedroom and shower.

Etihad flies its A380s from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow and New York (JFK).

Two new destinations are also on the horizon: Paris from November 1, and Singapore from February 1, 2025.

Etihad plans for one of its jets in storage to be reactivated before the start of next year.

"We will have our sixth A380 online next year as we build our capacity further to cater for the travel needs of our guests," said CEO Antonoaldo Neves in a press release.

7. Korean Air
A Lufthansa Airbus A380.

The German flag carrier is the second European operator of the A380. Lufthansa has eight A380s, six of which are active.

The airline appears to prefer the only other double-decker passenger jet. Lufthansa has 26 Boeing 747 jets — the most of any passenger airline, according to Ch-aviation data

Lufthansa initially retired all 14 of its A380s during the pandemic before changing its mind as travel bounced back. The other six were sold back to Airbus, Airways Magazine reported last year.

Even with the third-least A380s in the skies, Lufthansa operates quite a few routes. Like BA, they mostly go to the US.

Its A380s go between Munich and: Boston, Delhi, Los Angeles, New York (JFK), and Washington, DC.

9. Asiana Airlines
A ceremony celebrated the delivery of ANA's first A380 in 2019.

ANA is the newest customer of the Airbus A380, with its first delivered in 2019.

The Japanese airline has three, which are only used between Tokyo Narita and Honolulu.

ANA is another five-star airline, with an impressive business-class product. But you'll need to fly on a Boeing 777 to experience "The Room" — or in first class, "The Suite," which includes a 43-inch TV.

12. Global Airlines
Global Airlines hopes to start operating in 2025.

Hi Fly Malta also has an A380, per Ch-aviation data. The charter airline is a subsidiary of the Portuguese airline Hi Fly and has been working with Global Airlines.

Global Airlines hopes to fly the superjumbo jet between London Gatwick and New York JFK, but its plans have been questioned due to the high cost of operating the A380.

The airline completed its first transatlantic flight in May — ferrying its A380 from California to Glasgow via a stop in Montreal.

The 11-year-old jet, formerly owned by China Southern Airlines, had been sitting in a Mojave boneyard and is being refurbished.

Global Airlines plans to acquire another three A380s, with ambitions to start flights next year.