British Airways, the last European airline flying to Australia, will give customers the option of flight on a new A380 on the London-Singapore leg of the trip from October, in a move to enhance its offering.

The decision by the British flag carrier, which uses a Boeing 777 for direct flights from Sydney to London with a stop in Singapore, comes after Virgin Atlantic Airways this month said it would pull out of the Sydney-Hong Kong route from May.

That will leave British Airways as the only European airline flying all the way to Australia. Qantas Airways is the only Australian airline that offers flights all the way to London, but now via a stop in Dubai rather than Asia. Qantas uses an A380 all the way to London both from Sydney and Melbourne.

British Airways will begin A380 flights on the London-Singapore route three times a week in October, with the remainder of the days being flown with an older Boeing 747.

The A380 will feature on the BA11 London Heathrow to Singapore service operating on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and the returning BA12, operating on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.