Singapore Airlines will not extend lease on first A380 jet

Singapore

SINGAPORE Airlines Ltd (SIA) will not extend the lease on its first Airbus A380 jet when it expires next year, a further blow for Airbus Group as the manufacturer seeks to bolster new sales of the world's largest passenger plane.

"Our first five A380s are on a 10-year lease, with options to extend. The first one will expire in October next year, and we have decided not to extend it," an SIA spokesman said. "For the other four, decisions will be made later." The South-east Asian airline, which at present has 19 A380s in its fleet, was the first to fly the world's largest jetliner in 2007. Airlines usually have to give around one year's notice on whether to renew leases for large aircraft.