European plane maker Airbus on Wednesday suffered a fresh blow to its A380 superjumbo programme after Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it would not renew the lease on its oldest A380.
SIA, whose aircraft choices are closely watched by the global aviation industry, became the launch customer of the A380 in 2007 and now has 19 of the world's largest commercial aircraft in its fleet, with five more awaiting delivery.
"Our first five A380s are on 10-year leases, with options to extend. The first expires in October 2017, and we have decided not to extend it," SIA said in a statement.
"This decision was the result of a regular review of our fleet requirements, and decisions will be made on the four others later."
But it added that "we have five more (A380s) on firm order with Airbus, deliveries of which will start in the second half of 2017."