Reservations for dinner onboard a grounded Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 sold out within just 30 minutes of being put on sale the carrier revealed on Monday. Prices for the dining experience at Singapore Changi airport ranged from around S$53.50 in Economy to S$96.30 in premium economy, S$321 for Business Class and S$642 ($474) in one of the airline’s luxe First Class suites.
As part of efforts to comply with strict social distancing guidelines, only half of the 379 seats onboard the double-deck aircraft were available to book. Singapore Airlines announced the unique dining experience late last month as a way to make some money while most flights remain grounded because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The temporary restaurant, dubbed ‘A380 @Changi’, will be open for just two days on October 24 and 25. Alongside the restaurant, the airline will offer behind the scenes tours of its training facilities in Singapore and even an at-home dining experience featuring 10 menus featuring First Class and Business Class meals.
Demand for the restaurant experience has been so strong that the airline plans to open a waitlist on Monday evening to give eager diners a second chance to snag a reservation.
In a statement, the airline said it would study the waitlist in an effort to “potentially accommodate some of those who are still interested in this unique dining experience”. More dates could be added if demand is strong enough.
The decision to open a pop-up restaurant came after Singapore Airlines rejected a proposal for a so-called ‘flight to nowhere’. A sightseeing tour from Qantas took to the skies on Saturday, taking off and landing back into Syndey seven hours later. The flight was the fastest-selling in the airline’s history.
Singapore Airlines, however, cooled to the idea of a flight to nowhere over environmental concerns.
“With Covid-19 drastically reducing the number of flights operated by the SIA Group, we have created unique activities that would allow us to engage with our fans and customers during this time,” explained SIA’s chief executive Goh Choon Phong.
“There has been a lot of interest in our customer engagement initiatives over the last few weeks, and I would like to thank everyone for their great ideas and suggestions. We are very encouraged by and grateful for the enthusiasm and passion that we have seen. All of us are eagerly looking forward to welcoming you to discover your Singapore Airlines,” Phong continued.
Singapore Airlines recorded a record $827 million net loss in the quarter to the end of June. Demand for air travel is likely to remain severely suppressed until the end of 2021 and most airlines don’t anticipate a substantial recovery until 2023 to 2024.
