As the first Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10 prepares to enter revenue service tomorrow morning, marking the first ever commercial flight of the latest and largest 787 variant, here are 10 quick facts about the newest plane in the fleet – and the sky.
The 787-10 variant was never originally planned by Boeing
At first only the 787-3, 787-8 and 787-9 were launched. The -3 never saw the light of day, and customer demand for a larger version led to the launch of the -10 in June 2013.
Singapore Airlines is the world’s first operator of the 787-10
Marking only the second time the airline has been launch operator for a new aircraft type (the A380 was also launched by SIA in 2006).
It runs out of steam after about 10 hours
No additional fuel capacity or takeoff weight increase was designed into the 787-10 compared with the -9, so its range is over 2,000km less than existing 787 variants – and the A350-900. That’s why Singapore Airlines are using this plane only for regional flying, on routes up to around 8 hours.
The 787-10 range from Singapore means you won’t see these jets on routes to the USA – and most of Europe is too much of a stretch. (Image: Boeing)
95% of the aircraft’s parts are common to the 787-9
That’s the variant already operated by Singapore Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary Scoot.
Parts commonality with Scoot’s 787s will have cost benefits for the SIA Group. (Photo: Boeing)
Singapore Airlines will get the first two test planes
The first two 787-10s ever built flew the bulk of the Boeing 900-hour flight test campaign. Both are now undergoing re-work and will be delivered to Singapore Airlines as 9V-SCG and 9V-SCH in August and October this year.
The 787-10 test aircraft, pictured here parked between two production examples, will be refitted in SIA config and delivered to the airline later this year. (Photo: Singapore Airlines)
The mid fuselage section is so long it cannot be transported by air
Meaning the aircraft must be assembled where the fuselage is produced – in Charleston, South Carolina. That makes the 787-10 the first Boeing aircraft to be exclusively built there.
Even the huge Boeing ‘Dreamlifter’, a modified 747, cannot accommodate the large mid-fuselage section of the 787-10. (Photo: Scott Wright)
The aircraft is the first in the world to feature Stelia Aerospace’s ‘Symphony’ flat-bed business class seat
A version of the ‘Solstys III’ seat specially customised for Singapore Airlines to their own requirements, this exciting new product will also be fitted to the regional A350 aircraft arriving in 2019.
The Stelia ‘Symphony’ flat-bed business class seat on the Singapore Airlines 787-10. (Photo: Australian Business Traveller)
Apart from the A380, the 787-10 has by far the highest total capacity of any aircraft in the Singapore Airlines fleet
At 337 seats, no less. It can also carry 40 massive LD3 cargo containers in the underfloor hold – 2 more than the A380.
The air flowing through a 787-10 engine at takeoff power could inflate the Goodyear blimp in less than 4 seconds
Singapore Airlines opted for the Rolls Royce Trent 1000-TEN engines for their 787-10 jets. A whopping 1,500kg of air flows through each engine per second at maximum thrust.
Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur are the first two routes for the new plane
Flights to both cities start tomorrow (3rd April). After that the longer Osaka and Perth routes will feature the new jet from 3rd May and 7th May respectively.
We’ll be on board the world’s first 787-10 commercial passenger flight (SQ970 to Bangkok) tomorrow morning, so stay tuned to the blog, and to our Facebook and Instagram pages for updates, with a full review of the new business class cabin to follow.
The inaugural commercial service of the 787-10 takes off tomorrow morning. (Photo: Mike Cassidy)
Nice! Fun facts!