flightglobal.com has obtained images of the second Airbus A380 for Singapore Airlines (SIA), which has recently been handed over to the flight test team in Toulouse, which shows the aircraft without the carrier's tail art (pictured below).
The aircraft (manufacturer's serial number 005) has been transferred to the flight test department to be prepared for its first flight, after which it will be ferried to Airbus's Finkenwerder plant in Hamburg for outfitting, where it will sit next to MSN003. Airbus says it expects to perform MSN005's first flight "within weeks".
However, unlike the other four A380s for SIA to have completed assembly, which are currently undergoing rewiring and testing in Toulouse, MSN005 is lacking SIA's logo of a golden bird with outspread wings, against the deep midnight blue of the tail. The tail does feature the yellow stripe along the tail. This omission of the bird has led to speculation that SIA may choose a special livery for the aircraft.
SIA has celebrated its fleet choices previously, giving monikers to its aircraft such as Megatop for its Boeing 747-400s, Jubilee for its 777s and the now-defunct Leadership for its A340-500s. Each of these aircraft types has been accompanied by a one-off paint scheme.
Source: Flight International
