In our final monthly update of the Singapore Airlines fleet for 2018 we examine how the 119 registered aircraft reported by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has changed month-on-month, how the aircraft are distributed, which are in active service and which are set for disposal.
Finally, a look ahead to what we might expect to see in 2019.
Headline numbers
Here’s how the Singapore Airlines fleet totals look at 6th December 2018.
| CAAS Database: | 119 | ||
| For disposal: | -1 | ||
| In Service: | 118 | ||
| In routine maintenance, or delivered but yet to enter service: | -6 | ||
| Active: | 112 |
The official registered aircraft data in combination with analysis of actual flight data over the last few weeks allows us to determine the actual ‘in service’ fleet of 118 planes at 6th December 2018, 112 of which are currently active.
Click here to see the official CAAS list of registered aircraft in Singapore at 30th November 2018.
Singapore Airlines Fleet at 6th December 2018
This table shows the Singapore Airlines fleet including how many of each aircraft type are legally registered (‘Registered’), available to the airline (‘In Service’) and currently operating revenue passenger flights (‘Active’).
| Type & Layout |
Registered | In Service | Active |
| A330-300 30 J (2009 RJ) 255 Y (2006 Y) (full details) |
19 | 19 | 19 |
| A350-900 42 J (2013 J) 24 W (2015 W) 187 Y (2013 Y) (full details) |
21 | 21 | 21 |
| A350-900 Regional 40 J (2018 RJ) 263 Y (2017 Y) (full details) |
1 | 1 | 0 |
| A350-900 ULR 67 J (2013 J) 94 W (2018 W) (full details) |
6 | 6 | 5 |
| A380-800 v1 12 R (2006 R) 60 J (2006 J) 36 W (2015 W) 333 Y (2006 Y) (full details) |
6 | 6 | 6 |
| A380-800 v2 12 R (2006 R) 86 J (2006 J) 36 W (2015 W) 245 Y (2006 Y) (full details) |
8 | 8 | 6 |
| A380-800 v3 6 R (2017 R) 78 J (2017 J) 44 W (2015 W) 343 Y (2017 Y) (full details) |
5 | 5 | 5 |
| 777-200 38 J (2009 RJ) 228 Y (2006 Y) (full details) |
8 | 7 | 7 |
| 777-200ER 26 J (2006 J) 245 Y (2006 Y) (full details) |
6 | 6 | 6 |
| 777-300 8 F (2006 F) 50 J (2009 RJ) 226 Y (2006 Y) (full details) |
5 | 5 | 4 |
| 777-300ER v1 8 F (2006 F) 42 J (2006 J) 228 Y (2006 Y) (full details) |
1 | 1 | 1 |
| 777-300ER v2 4 F (2013 F) 48 J (2013 J) 28 W (2015 W) 184 Y (2013 Y) (full details) |
26 | 26 | 25 |
| 787-10 36 J (2018 RJ) 301 Y (2017 Y) (full details) |
7 | 7 | 7 |
| Total | 119 | 118 | 112 |
Correct at 6th December 2018
Differences between registered, in service and active aircraft in the table:
No longer in service (but still legally registered)
- 777-200 9V-SQJ has already stopped flying for disposal.
Note: 777-200 9V-SQL, previously reported as for disposal after a 6-week break from flying, returned to service in late November. Apologies for any confusion.
Additional to the above, not currently active
- A350-900 Regional 9V-SHB has been delivered but has not yet entered revenue service.
- A350-900 ULR 9V-SGF has been delivered but has not yet entered revenue service.
- A380-800 v2 9V-SKQ is undergoing maintenance in Singapore.
- A380-800 v2 9V-SKS is undergoing maintenance in Singapore.
- 777-300 9V-SYH has been withdrawn from service. It’s not known whether this is for routine maintenance or possible disposal at this stage.
- 777-300ER v2 9V-SWI is undergoing maintenance and cabin refit in Singapore.
Changes this month
Since November 2018 (and since the CAAS database at 31st October 2018) the following changes have been recorded:
Airbus A330
- 1 aircraft, 9V-STB, was de-registered having been flown to Belgium on 8th November as OO-SFG. It commenced passenger service with Brussels Airlines on 1st December.
- The registered A330 fleet now stands at 19 aircraft, with all 19 active.
Airbus A350-900
- No changes, with 21 aircraft registered and active.
Airbus A350-900 Regional
- 1 new aircraft has been registered since the last update, the first A350-900 Regional 9V-SHB, which was delivered to Singapore on 1st December. It has yet to enter commercial service, which is planned for 17th December to Adelaide.
Airbus A350-900ULR
- 1 A350-900ULR delivered (but inactive) at last month’s update, 9V-SGD, entered commercial service to Newark on 8th November.
- 2 new aircraft have been registered since the last update – 9V-SGE, which was delivered to Singapore on 16th November, and 9V-SGF, which arrived on 23rd November.
- 9V-SGE entered commercial service on 29th November to Newark, while 9V-SGF has yet to enter service.
- The registered A350-900ULR fleet now stands at 6 aircraft, with 5 active at 6th December 2018.
Airbus A380
- Active aircraft total remains unchanged since November – 9V-SKQ and 9V-SKS are in routine maintenance in Singapore.
- Currently 19 aircraft registered, 19 in service and 17 active.
Boeing 777-200
- No changes, with 8 aircraft registered and 7 active.
Boeing 777-200ER
- No changes, with 6 aircraft registered and active.
Boeing 777-300
- 9V-SYH has been withdrawn from service, but remains legally registered. Its fate is unknown at this stage.
- The registered 777-300 fleet now stands at 5 aircraft, with 4 active.
Boeing 777-300ER
- One aircraft, 9V-SWL, left routine maintenance and re-entered active service to Hong Kong on 22nd November 2018.
- Currently 27 aircraft registered, 27 in service and 26 active.
Boeing 787-10
- No changes, with 7 aircraft registered and active.
What to expect in 2019
Airbus A330
One more A330 aircraft is due to be returned to its leasing company between January and March 2019. More will likely leave later in the year as additional A350 Regional and Boeing 787-10 deliveries continue.
Airbus A350-900 ULR
The final A350-900 ULR aircraft should be delivered this month, bringing the fleet of this variant to 7 aircraft with no outstanding orders.
Singapore Airlines has the option to convert future A350 orders to the ULR variant if it chooses to, though the current fleet plan to 31st March 2019 does not call for this.
Airbus A350-900 Regional
The first of the A350 Regional fleet, 9V-SHB, will commence services to Adelaide from 17th December and Jakarta the following day.
One more aircraft is expected to be delivered in late December, 9V-SHA, to support flights with this variant to Brisbane and Kuala Lumpur from 7th January 2019.
The planned A350-900 Regional fleet stands at 3 aircraft by 31st March 2019, meaning one more (probably 9V-SHC) should join the fleet in the Jan-Mar time frame.
No further A350-900 Regional deliveries are planned after 9V-SHC until the next financial year, after 1st April 2019.
Some additional A350s may also be delivered in the standard long-haul configuration next year, as SIA has not disclosed (or perhaps even firmly decided itself yet) the balance between regional and standard configuration for outstanding orders.
Airbus A380
The first Airbus A380s with refitted cabin products should emerge in 2019, though we understand this will be in the second half of the year. It now seems impossible this project can be completed for all 14 aircraft by the end of 2020.
Boeing 777-200 / -200ER
The operating fleet of 777-200s and -200ERs (7 aircraft and 6 aircraft respectively) should now remain stable through the end of the financial year.
Expect more departures of these older aircraft after 1st April 2019, as additional A350s and 787s arrive.
Boeing 777-300ER
One 777-300ER aircraft with 2006 cabin products, 9V-SWT, is stubbornly hanging around in the operating fleet and continuing to make revenue flights sporadically on routes including Jakarta, Hong Kong, Manila, and Shanghai.
9V-SWI, the penultimate aircraft undergoing the cabin refit, should return to service this month. Perhaps then 9V-SWT will start the same process, finally giving us a long-awaited common configuration on the 777-300ER fleet – a process SIA first promised would be finished over 2 years ago.
Boeing 787-10
Delivery of the final Boeing 787-10 aircraft due to arrive this year, 9V-SGH, has been postponed again and looks set to happen either later this month or into January.
The aircraft (destined to the 9V-SCH) was the first Boeing 787-10 test aircraft built and is still either undergoing change incorporation and cabin re-work in Charleston, or is potentially ready with delivery postponed at SIA’s request.
No further 787-10 deliveries are planned after 9V-SCH until the next financial year, after 1st April 2019.
Full details
As usual you can see full details of each aircraft type in the Singapore Airlines fleet at the following links, including aircraft registrations specific to each configuration.
- Airbus A330
- Airbus A350 (3 versions)
- Airbus A380 (3 versions)
- Boeing 777-200 (2 versions)
- Boeing 777-200ER
- Boeing 777-300
- Boeing 777-300ER (2 versions)
- Boeing 787-10
If the seat types and routes interest you more – see our Seats Guide.
Stay tuned for the next fleet update in early January 2019.
(Cover Photo: Gordon Bevan)
Wow. 😎