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The dismantling of the two former Singapore Airlines Airbus A380s is
progressing steadily. The engines, the verticql stabilizers and some cargo
hatches have already been removed from the aircraft.
 
The A380s are the first two Superjumbo's to be demolished. The aircraft flew
for Singapore Airlines for ten years, but after the lease term expired, the
German leasing company can't find a new customer for them.
 
All valuable parts are now salvaged from the A380s by aircraft dismantler
Aerosave in Tarbes, France, and then resold. The company expects that a total
of around 92 percent of the weight can be reused.
 
Of the total of five Airbus A380s that Singapore Airlines replaced with newer
ones, only one has so far found a new user: charter company HiFly. Two others
are still waiting and are stored.
 
The five aircraft were among the first A380s that Airbus has built, and are
therefore slightly heavier than later ones, but the effort to find new users
does raise the question of how robust the second-hand market is.
 
Over the next five years, Lufthansa, Air France, Qatar Airways and Emirates,
among others, will be saying goodbye to (part of) their A380 fleet and dozens
of Superjumbo's will be offered for sale. So far, only British Airways has
shown clear interest.

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