First Singapore Airlines 787-10 will fly to Bangkok, KL and Osaka

Singapore Airlines announced this morning that their first Boeing 787-10, which will be delivered next month and will feature 36 of the new flat-bed ‘regional’ business class seats, and 301 economy class seats, will operate selected flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in April 2018, as we predicted for crew training, before being used to serve regular flights to launch destination Osaka in May 2018.

As launch customer for the type, these will be the first commercial services in the world to operate with the Boeing 787-10.

Which flights will have the 787-10?

(Edit 8th February 16:30: The schedules have now been announced and you can find all the details here).

The airline has not yet announced which of the two regular daily Osaka flights, nor which of the shorter Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur flights, will feature the 787-10. The timetables have also not yet been updated to reflect the new aircraft type on those routes at this stage.

As soon as we’re aware which flights you can book to experience this new aircraft with the latest regional business product, we’ll let you know.

KrisFlyer Miles

Once the flight schedule is announced, here’s what it’ll set you back in KrisFlyer miles to try out the new aircraft, based on a one-way redemption.

(Edit 8th February 16:30: The schedules have now been announced and you can find all the details here).

Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

Economy		Business
Saver	Advantage	Saver	Advantage
7,500	15,000	17,500	35,000

Bangkok (BKK)

Economy		Business
Saver	Advantage	Saver	Advantage
12,500	25,000	20,000	40,000

Osaka (KIX)

Economy		Business
Saver	Advantage	Saver	Advantage
25,000	45,000	43,000	70,000

The configuration

We originally stated back in October last year that we expected the aircraft to operate with only two classes – business and economy, and that’s exactly what Singapore Airlines has stuck with for this regional aircraft.

This will be a sigh of relief to many, who take advantage of a one-class upgrade using KrisFlyer miles from economy straight to business class, which is becoming increasingly difficult as premium economy is more widely introduced across the fleet.

The airline will fit 36 business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, and 301 in economy class. That’s a bit less in business than we first predicted (38 to 42) and much more in economy (we considered 266 to 284 was likely). One thing’s for sure – with that many seats in economy Singapore Airlines have gone for a 3-3-3 configuration down the back on the 787-10. Let’s hope the standard 32in seat pitch has been retained.

Aircraft deliveries

Singapore Airlines is ramping up 787-10 operations quickly this year, with 8 aircraft due for delivery during 2018 as shown below.

Proposed delivery schedule

Source: 787Blogger 
* – SCG and SCH are the first two 787-10s ever built, which flew as test aircraft in the certification and test campaign, but now require some re-work and customer interior fittings, hence their later delivery dates.

Future routes

The quick introduction of this new type will see 6 aircraft delivered by mid-year, so expect many more destinations to be linked by the 787-10, including the possibility of some services to Australia.

Anything currently operated by the A330 and 777-200/300 is up for grabs, as are some shorter A350 routes potentially.

Again once we know, you’ll know.

What else we know about the 787-10

• 49 aircraft ordered by Singapore Airlines in total.
• A medium-haul route focus, replacing A330 and 777-200/300 aircraft on flights up to eight hours from Singapore.
• A brand new flat-bed regional business class product, probably the Stelia Aerospace ‘Opal’ staggered 1-2-1 configuration, as pictured above.
• Panasonic Avionics Wi-Fi, as fitted to the Scoot 787 fleet, which from our experience actually works pretty well.

(Cover Photo: Boeing)