Singapore  - Singapore Airlines (SIA), the only operator of the world's largest passenger aircraft, is adding an additional A380 service on the Singapore to London route on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, the carrier said on Thursday.

Passenger loads on the Singapore-London route "have been exceptionally encouraging," said Huang Cheng Eng, SIA's executive vice president for marketing. "The deployment of another A380 on this route will cater to continual strong demand."

The additional service will boost the number of superjumbo flights between the two cities to 11 times a week, up from seven.

The increase in the double-decker's flights to Heathrow will follow the scheduled delivery of SIA's fifth A380 aircraft from European manufacturer Airbus in late June 2008 with the service taking effect from July 16.

There will be a temporary break in A380 operations from July 31 to August 9, SIA said. "The aircraft will be deployed to Beijing for a week, to cater for increased demand in the lead-up to the start of the Olympic Games."

SIA ordered 19 superjumbos. By the end of March next year, the carrier will have eight A380s in its fleet.

The airline started flights on the double-decker in October to Sydney, London in March and Narita this week. (dpa)