Singapore Airlines fleet
passenger fleet consists of wide-body aircraft from five aircraft families: the Airbus A330, Airbus A350 XWB, Airbus A380, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The airline also operates Boeing 747-400 cargo aircraft. As of 29 February 2020, there were 132 passenger aircraft and seven freighters registered in the Singapore Airlines fleet.
Current fleet
As of 31 May 2020, the Singapore Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:Airbus A330
Singapore Airlines introduced the Airbus A330-300 in January 2009, with the delivery of the first of an initial batch of leased aircraft. It was the first aircraft in the fleet to feature a new regional business class product with 30 lie-flat leather seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, which has since been retrofitted on other regional aircraft in the fleet.Five further A330s were delivered in 2009, progressively replacing older Boeing 777-200s on medium-haul routes, and the fleet stood at 19 examples by June 2011. All the aircraft were acquired on five-year leases with the option to extend if necessary, designed to fill the airline's capacity requirements until the delivery of Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s.
The airline committed to an additional 15 A330 aircraft in June 2011, which were delivered between 2013 and 2015, continuing to replace older Boeing 777s in the fleet. In January 2016 the airline confirmed its intention to eventually replace all A330 aircraft with Airbus A350s in a medium-range configuration.
Airbus A350
Singapore Airlines placed an order for thirty Airbus A350-900 aircraft in 2006, with another thirty ordered in 2013. The airline took delivery of the first of the aircraft in February 2016 and flew its delivery flight to Singapore on 2 March. The airline began operating regular A350 services on 9 May 2016.On 13 October 2015, Singapore Airlines announced that it had placed orders for seven Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft, which will see the return of non-stop flights from Singapore to both New York and Los Angeles. The first A350-900ULR was delivered to Singapore Airlines in the third quarter of 2018, allowing the non-stop flights to New York to begin on 11 October 2018, with the non-stop flights to Los Angeles beginning on 2 November 2018 and a new non-stop service to Seattle commencing in September 2019.
Airbus A380
Singapore Airlines became the first airline to operate the Airbus A380-800 on 25 October 2007, after a series of delays. The airline placed orders for nineteen A380s with six options. The first flight was a return trip from Singapore to Sydney, with a flight designation of Flight 380 to signify the first commercial flight of the A380. To mark this moment in aviation history, SIA auctioned all the tickets in a special agreement with eBay, beginning on 27 August 2007 for two weeks, and donated all the proceeds to charity. Close to $1.3 million was raised for charity through the auction.The airline also uses the A380 to serve commemorative or seasonal flights. Singapore Airlines became the first to operate commercial A380 flights into Beijing from 2 to 8 August 2008 to meet higher passenger traffic during the Beijing Summer Olympic Games, and operated the A380 seasonally to Osaka in August 2012. On 9 August 2015, a Singapore Airlines A380 took part in the Singapore National Day Parade as part of Singapore's 50th anniversary celebrations. The aircraft was painted with a special livery and operated a special Charity Flight on 29 May 2015.
In 2012, Singapore Airlines agreed to order five more A380s, to be delivered from 2017. They feature new Suites, Business Class and Economy cabins, as well as Premium Economy seats which were already being rolled out on existing A380s. In 2016, the airline confirmed that one A380 would be returned to its leasing company in October 2017 at the end of its ten-year lease, with a decision still to be made regarding retention of four additional A380 aircraft whose leases expire between January and June 2018. The first A380 was taken out of service in August 2017.
Boeing 747
was established as a separate airline in 2001 to operate Singapore Airlines' cargo aircraft. It ceased operations in 2018 and its fleet of seven Boeing 747-400F freighters was transferred to Singapore Airlines.Boeing 777
Singapore Airlines' 777-200ERs were the first to enter service, with the first delivered on 5 May 1997. While Singapore Airlines lists some of its 777-200ER jets as 777-200 aircraft, all of the supposed -200 series aircraft were all built with enhancements usually exclusive to the -200ER, with the single modification being the Trent 892 engines derated to the -884 spec used on the standard -200 aircraft, reducing the MTOW and thus aircraft fees at the airport when categorized by maximum takeoff weight.On 10 December 1998, Singapore Airlines took delivery of its first Boeing 777-300.
The airline announced the order of 19 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in August 2004 with the order signed on 23 December 2004, during which an unused option for the Boeing 777 family was converted into an order for a Boeing 777-300ER. Singapore Airlines became the world's largest operator of the Boeing 777 when it took delivery of its 58th such aircraft, a Boeing 777-300, on 6 May 2005. It has since been surpassed by Emirates, which as of November 2017 has 159 examples in its fleet. The airline's new Boeing 777-300ERs entered commercial service on 5 December 2006.
On 9 July 2013, Singapore Airlines, in collaboration with two design firms, James Park Associates and DesignworksUSA, unveiled the next generation of cabin products for First, Business, and Economy class, that entered service in newly delivered Boeing 777-300ERs. The product was later extended to all Boeing 777-300ERs. Singapore Airlines also introduced its new Premium Economy product on 9 August 2015 on the Boeing 777-300ER with the retro fit completed late 2018.
Boeing 787
Singapore Airlines placed an order for 20 Boeing 787-9 aircraft in 2006, choosing it over the initial Airbus A350 design. Later in 2012, when Singapore Airlines ordered the Airbus A350 XWB the 787-9 order was transferred to its low-cost subsidiary, Scoot.In 2013, Singapore Airlines placed a new order for thirty Boeing 787-10 aircraft. On 8 February 2018, Singapore Airlines announced the Boeing 787-10 would initially be used on crew-training flights before commencing regular services in May 2018. On 28 March 2018, the new regional cabin product was unveiled following the delivery of the first Boeing 787-10.
In October 2018, Singapore Airlines converted two of its Boeing 787-10s on order to Boeing 787-8s and allocated the two aircraft to Scoot.
Future fleet
SilkAir merger
On 18 May 2018, Singapore Airlines announced that it and its subsidiary SilkAir would merge. The merger is set to take place in late 2021 or early 2022, with SilkAir's Airbus A319s and its Airbus A320 fleet to be phased out and the narrowbody fleet to consist of Boeing 737-800s and Boeing 737 MAX 8s. Some of these aircraft will be integrated into the parent company after their passenger cabins undergo an upgrade to bring them to a standard comparable to the passenger cabins of Singapore Airlines' widebody aircraft. As of February 2020 there were seventeen 737-800s and six 737 MAX 8s in the SilkAir fleet, with another 31 MAX 8s on order.Boeing 777X
On 9 February 2017, Singapore Airlines signed a letter of intent to purchase 39 aircraft - 20 Boeing 777-9s and an additional 19 Boeing 787-10s. The deal also includes options for 12 more aircraft. The proposed order, which is valued at US$13.8 billion based on published list prices, includes flexibility for the Singapore Airlines Group to substitute the 787-10 orders for other variants of the 787 family.On 23 October 2017, the deal was finalised at the White House and was witnessed by Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and U.S. President Donald Trump during a state visit. The Boeing 777-9s will be delivered to the airline in the 2021-2022 financial year.
Fleet history
Since 1937, the predecessors of Singapore Airlines operated the Airspeed Consul, Boeing 707, Boeing 737, Bristol Britannia, Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-4, de Havilland Comet 4, Fokker F27 Friendship, Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation and the Vickers Viscount.After its incorporation as Singapore Airlines Limited on 28 January 1972 after Malaysia–Singapore Airlines was split to form Malaysian Airline System and Singapore Airlines, the airline acquired seven Boeing 707s and five Boeing 737s from MSA on 30 September 1972. Its first purchase since incorporation was for another second-hand Boeing 707 that was delivered on 1 October 1972.
The first Boeing 747-200 for the airline was delivered soon after on 31 July 1973, which also marked SIA's first direct delivery of a new aircraft. Boeing 727s were delivered from 30 August 1977, Boeing 747-300s from 29 April 1983, and Boeing 757s from 12 November 1984.
Having exclusively purchased Boeings since 1972, in 1977 SIA placed an order for four McDonnell Douglas DC-10s.
In 1979, the airline ordered A300B4s, its first aircraft from Airbus, which joined the fleet the following year. Other Airbus models flown include the Airbus A310 from 1984 and the Airbus A340-300 from 26 October 1996.
In 1977, and from 1979 to 1980, British Airways operated a Concorde which was dual-liveried with Singapore Airlines' livery on the port side and British Airways' livery on the starboard side. It was used on the London to Singapore via Bahrain service. The service was withdrawn for financial reasons and complaints about noise from the Malaysian government.
The airline ordered five McDonnell Douglas MD-11s on 16 January 1990, to operate long-haul routes with demand deemed too thin for the Boeing 747. When it was revealed that the MD-11's performance was below expectations in terms of range and fuel burn, the order was cancelled in favour of the Airbus A340-300. The cancellation was seen as particularly damaging to McDonnell Douglas due to the company's reputation. Several years later Airbus, in turn, suffered a setback, however, when rival Boeing successfully negotiated to take SIA's existing A340-300 fleet as well as any still on order in exchange for ten orders for the Boeing 777 in 1999, with Airbus calling the move an "act of desperation" on Boeing's part.
In September 2009, the Airbus A380 marked a milestone with the airline when, with the tenth aircraft delivered, its fleet of A380s exceeded that of the Boeing 747-400 for the first time.
| Aircraft | Total | Year introduced | Year retired | Replacement | Notes/references |
| Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde | 1 | 1977 | 1980 | - | Painted in Singapore Airlines' colours only on the left side, never registered under a Singaporean operational certificate. Operated solely with British Airways flight crews. Co-operated with Singapore Airlines and British Airways cabin crews, and dually marketed by both airlines. |
| Airbus A300B4-200 | 8 | 1980 | 1985 | Airbus A310 | |
| Airbus A310-200 | 6 | 1984 | 2000 | Boeing 777-200ER | |
| Airbus A310-300 | 17 | 1987 | 2005 | Boeing 777-200ER | |
| Airbus A340-300 | 17 | 1996 | 2003 | Boeing 777-200ER | 8 aircraft were transferred to Emirates between 2003 and 2004. 4 aircraft were transferred to Gulf Air in 2003. |
| Airbus A340-500 | 5 | 2003 | 2013 | Airbus A350-900ULR | |
| Boeing 707-320B | 4 | 1972 | 1980 | Airbus A300B4-200 | Transferred from former Malaysia–Singapore Airlines |
| Boeing 707-320C | 6 | 1972 | 1982 | Airbus A300B4-200 | Transferred from former Malaysia–Singapore Airlines |
| Boeing 727-200 | 6 | 1977 | 1985 | Airbus A310 | |
| Boeing 737-100 | 5 | 1972 | 1980 | Airbus A310 | Transferred from former Malaysia–Singapore Airlines |
| Boeing 737-300 | 1 | 1992 | 1996 | - | Converted freighter bearing the Singapore Airlines Cargo branding |
| Boeing 747-200B | 19 | 1973 | 1994 | Boeing 747-400 | |
| Boeing 747-200C/M | 1 | 1991 | 1992 | - | |
| Boeing 747-200F | 3 | 1992 | 1995 | Boeing 747-400F | |
| Boeing 747-300 | 11 | 1983 | 2001 | Boeing 747-400 | |
| Boeing 747-300M | 3 | 1986 | 2001 | Boeing 747-400 | |
| Boeing 747-400 | 43 | 1989 | 2012 | Airbus A380 | |
| Boeing 757-200 | 4 | 1984 | 1990 | Airbus A310-300 | |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 46 | 1997 | 2020 | Airbus A350-900 Boeing 787-10 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | 7 | 1978 | 1983 | Boeing 747-300 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF | 1 | 1979 | 1979 | - |