The slow increase in Singapore Airlines flights over the last few months sees the airline moving towards around 8% of usual capacity levels by October 2020, with the carrier currently deploying around 56 of its passenger aircraft on a mixture of both regular and cargo-only flights based on the last two weeks.
Operation of the airline’s less efficient Boeing 777-300 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft types has been almost completely eliminated since our last update, even on cargo flights, with the airline concentrating its services on Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s almost across the board.
Meanwhile another Airbus A380 has made its way to Alice Springs for long-term storage and SIA has restored six former NokScoot Boeing 777-200s into its registered fleet, following the demise of that carrier a couple of months ago.
Five SIA aircraft types remain firmly out of service, including all Airbus A330s and Airbus A380s.
Headline numbers
Here are the Singapore Airlines passenger fleet totals at 12th August 2020.
| CAAS Database: | 131 | ||
| For disposal: | -7 | ||
| In Service: | 124 | ||
| In maintenance / stored: | -68 | ||
| Active: | 56 |
The official registered aircraft data in combination with analysis of actual flight movements over the last few weeks allows us to determine the actual ‘in service’ fleet (available to the airline) of 124 planes at 12th August 2020, 56 of which are currently active.
Click here to see the official CAAS list of registered aircraft in Singapore at 31st July 2020.
Singapore Airlines Fleet at 12th August 2020
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 or cargo flights (‘Active’).
| Type |
Registered | In Service | Active |
A330-300 (full details) |
8 |
8 | 0 |
A350-900 (full details) |
26 | 26 | 23 |
| A350-900 Regional(full details) |
15 |
15 | 14 |
| A350-900 ULR(full details) |
7 | 7 | 0 |
A380-800 v1 (full details) |
6 | 6 | 0 |
| A380-800 v2(full details) |
5 | 5 | 0 |
| A380-800 v3(full details) |
8 | 8 | 0 |
777-200 (full details) |
7 | 0 | 0 |
| 777-200ER(full details) |
3 | 3 | 0 |
777-300 (full details) |
4 | 4 | 1 |
| 777-300ER(full details) |
27 | 27 | 4 |
787-10 (full details) |
15 | 15 | 14 |
| Total | 131 | 124 | 56 |
Correct at 12th August 2020.
Here are the differences between the registered and in service fleet totals in the table above:
No longer in service (but still legally registered)
- 777-200 9V-SQJ has already stopped flying for disposal.
- 777-200s 9V-SRG, -SRH, -SRL, SRJ, SRP and SRQ are ex-NokScoot aircraft and re-joined the Singapore Airlines registered fleet in July 2020. They are all stored in Alice Springs and will not operate again for the airline. For eventual disposal.
Fleet activity
Only five aircraft types remain in service with the airline, as shown in the table below outlining the number in use at each of our recent fleet update ‘snapshots’.
| SIA fleet activity timeline | ||||
| Aircraft | Apr 2020 |
May 2020 |
Jun 2020 |
Aug 2020 |
| Airbus A350 | 16 | 14 | 21 | 23 |
| Airbus A350 Regional | 10 | 9 | 12 | 14 |
| Boeing 777-300 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 18 | 18 | 11 | 4 |
| Boeing 787-10 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
Almost all Airbus A350s and Boeing 787-10s are now in consistent use, while the deployment of Boeing 777-300s and -300ERs has been progressively reduced to almost zero in recent weeks.
Here’s a graphical look at the active vs. stored fleet, including the average daily utilisation of the active aircraft during the last 14 days.
| Type | ■ Active / □ Inactive | Average Daily Utilisation | |
| A330-300 | □□□□□□□□ | 0% | — |
| A350 | ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■□□□ | 88% | 7.9h |
| A350 R | ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■□ | 93% | 6.2h |
| A350 ULR | □□□□□□□ | 0% | — |
| A380 | □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□ | 0% | — |
| 777-200 | □□□□□□ | 0% | — |
| 777‑200ER | □□□ | 0% | — |
| 777-300 | ■□□□ | 25% | 1.5h |
| 777-300ER | ■■■■□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□ | 15% | 1.4h |
| 787-10 | ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■□ | 93% | 7.6h |
The average daily utilisation of active aircraft is lowest for the few Boeing 777-300 and -300ERs that remain flying, at around 1.5 hours per day. Those fly only a handful of times a week based on data from the last 14 days.
Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s on the other hand are far busier, with the active aircraft in those fleets clocking up six to eight hours per day on average.
This still falls short of usual utilisation rates for these aircraft however, in the order of 11-12 hours per day.
Five aircraft types in the Singapore Airlines fleet remain in storage this month and are not currently being flown at all, which has been the case since early April 2020:
- Airbus A330
- Airbus A350 ULR
- Airbus A380
- Boeing 777-200
- Boeing 777-200ER
Fleet disposals
Three aircraft permanently left the Singapore Airlines fleet since our last update:
- 777-200 9V-SQN, which was re-registered to Boeing Aircraft Holding Co. as N785BC on 10th June 2020 and flew to Phoenix Goodyear Airport for storage on 18th June 2020.
- 777-200ER 9V-SVM, which was re-registered to Boeing Aircraft Holding Co. as N784BC on 17th July 2020 and flew to Phoenix Goodyear Airport for storage on 23rd July 2020.
- 777-300 9V-SYI, which was re-registered to Boeing Aircraft Holding Co. as N792BC on 21st July 2020 and flew to Phoenix Goodyear Airport for storage on 30th July 2020.
While the 777-200s were expected, this marks the first Boeing 777-300 disposal from the fleet in over three years, suggesting the four remaining aircraft (three of which are now stored as you’ll see below) are on borrowed time.
Fleet additions
No new aircraft deliveries this month, however the demise of NokScoot meant Singapore Airlines took back six Boeing 777-200s in July 2020, aircraft it owns outright and which were on operating leases to the Thai low-cost carrier.
| NokScoot Aircraft returned to SIA (July 2020) |
|||
| Registration | Previous Registration | Age (years) |
|
 NokScoot |
 Scoot |
||
| 9V-SRG | HS-XBB | 9V-OTF | 19.2 |
| 9V-SRH | HS-XBC | — | 19.1 |
| 9V-SRJ | HS-XBD | — | 18.6 |
| 9V-SRL | HS-XBE | — | 18.0 |
| 9V-SRP | HS-XBF | — | 16.9 |
| 9V-SRQ | HS-XBG | — | 16.9 |
The SIA Group took a one-off charge of S$127m in Q1 of FY20/21, from write downs of the NokScoot’s seven Boeing 777-200s, including provisions for liquidation costs.
The one remaining aircraft, HS-XBA (formerly 9V-SRF) has not been transferred back to the Singapore register as of 31st July 2020. It will presumably follow in the next update.
The flying network
August to October 2020 sees the busiest passenger schedule for Singapore Airlines services since most flights were cut in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
By October 2020, 29 passenger routes will be served with over 160 weekly services offered. The latest cities on the list include Milan, Istanbul and Perth.
There are also five SilkAir routes by early September, plus 12 Scoot routes, though in both cases there is some overlap with existing SIA destinations.
Fun fact: For every passenger flight operated by Singapore Airlines at the moment there are three cargo-only flights using passenger aircraft, covering a much wider network of cities.
The storage report: August 2020
Here’s how the fleet activity looked on 10th August 2020, which gives us an indication of which aircraft are stored (last flew 14+ days ago), compared to those in ‘active storage’ (last flew more recently).
| Last flew > 60 days ago | |
| Last flew 14-59 days ago | |
| Last flew < 14 days ago |
‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s last revenue passenger or cargo-only flight.
Airbus A330-300
All the airline’s available A330 aircraft remain stored in Singapore. None have flown for well over two months.
 |
|||
| Aircraft | Location | Last flew | Days ago |
| 9V-STC | SIN | 2 Apr 20 | 130 |
| 9V-SSC | SIN | 27 Mar 20 | 136 |
| 9V-SSD | SIN | 31 Mar 20 | 132 |
| 9V-SSE | SIN | 27 Mar 20 | 136 |
| 9V-SSF | SIN | 13 Mar 20 | 150 |
| 9V-SSG | SIN | 23 Mar 20 | 140 |
| 9V-SSH | SIN | 28 Mar 20 | 135 |
| 9V-SSI | SIN | 25 Nov 19 | 259 |
9V-SSI has not made an appearance, even on a test flight, since sustaining tail damage during a landing accident in November 2019.
Airbus A350-900
Only three of SIA’s Airbus A350-900s (in 3-class long-haul configuration) are stored at Changi, with the other 23 aircraft deployed on at least one flight in the last 14 days.
On average, each active aircraft in this fleet is currently flying six times per week.
 |
|||
| Aircraft | Location | Last flew | Days ago |
| 9V-SMA | SIN | 8 Aug 20 | 2 |
| 9V-SMB | SIN | 27 Jun 20 | 44 |
| 9V-SMC | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SMD | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SME | SIN | 15 Mar 20 | 148 |
| 9V-SMF | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SMG | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SMH | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SMI | SIN | 6 Aug 20 | 4 |
| 9V-SMJ | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SMK | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SML | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SMM | SIN | 27 Jul 20 | 14 |
| 9V-SMN | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SMO | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SMP | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SMQ | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SMR | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SMS | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SMT | SIN | 8 Aug 20 | 2 |
| 9V-SMU | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SMV | SIN | 8 Aug 20 | 2 |
| 9V-SMW | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SMY | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SMZ | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SJA | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
Airbus A350-900 Regional
In our last update there were only three Airbus A350-900 Regional aircraft in storage, but currently only one is now not flying, with 14 active in the last two weeks.
On average, each active aircraft in this fleet is currently flying eight times per week.
 |
|||
| Aircraft | Location | Last flew | Days ago |
| 9V-SHA | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SHB | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SHC | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SHD | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SHE | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SHF | SIN | 24 Jul 20 | 17 |
| 9V-SHG | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SHH | SIN | 8 Aug 20 | 2 |
| 9V-SHI | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SHJ | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SHK | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SHL | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SHM | SIN | 10 Aug 20 | 0 |
| 9V-SHN | SIN | 8 Aug 20 | 2 |
| 9V-SHO | SIN | 8 Aug 20 | 2 |
Airbus A350-900 ULR
All the airline’s 7 Airbus A350-900 ULR aircraft remain stored in Singapore, having not flown any passenger services since March 2020.
These aircraft have all conducted short functional check flights at Changi over recent weeks, however there appears to be no intention to return them to any form of service.
 |
|||
| Aircraft | Location | Last flew | Days ago |
| 9V-SGA | SIN | 25 Mar 20 | 138 |
| 9V-SGB | SIN | 22 Mar 20 | 141 |
| 9V-SGC | SIN | 30 Mar 20 | 133 |
| 9V-SGD | SIN | 25 Mar 20 | 138 |
| 9V-SGE | SIN | 24 Mar 20 | 139 |
| 9V-SGF | SIN | 27 Mar 20 | 136 |
| 9V-SGG | SIN | 23 Mar 20 | 140 |
Non-stop SIA flights to and from Los Angeles continue to be operated by 3-class long-haul Airbus A350-900s, which are coping with the non-stop westbound LAX-SIN flight against the headwinds without issue, probably due to low payload allowing more fuel to be carried.
Fun fact: Airbus A350-900 ULRs have a deactivated forward cargo hold, reducing the aircraft’s cargo carrying capacity by over 50% compared to the airline’s other A350s. That makes them unsuited to cargo-only operations.
Airbus A380-800
Seven of the airline’s flagship Airbus A380 aircraft are now in long-term storage at Alice Springs, with the other 12 aircraft stored at Changi.
No revenue flights with the A380s have been flown since March 2020, and they are not being used in the current schedule through 24th October 2020.
 |
|||
| Aircraft | Location | Last flew | Days ago |
| 9V-SKF | SIN | 24 Mar 20 | 139 |
| 9V-SKG | SIN | 25 Mar 20 | 138 |
| 9V-SKH | SIN | 22 Mar 20 | 141 |
| 9V-SKI | SIN | 20 Mar 20 | 143 |
| 9V-SKJ | SIN | 20 Mar 20 | 143 |
| 9V-SKK | ASP | 21 Mar 20 | 142 |
| 9V-SKL | SIN | 27 Mar 20 | 136 |
| 9V-SKM | SIN | 21 Mar 20 | 142 |
| 9V-SKN | SIN | 15 Oct 19 | 300 |
| 9V-SKP | ASP | 24 Mar 20 | 139 |
| 9V-SKQ | ASP | 26 Mar 20 | 137 |
| 9V-SKR | SIN | 19 Mar 20 | 144 |
| 9V-SKS | SIN | 12 Mar 20 | 151 |
| 9V-SKT | ASP | 18 Mar 20 | 145 |
| 9V-SKU | SIN | 25 Mar 20 | 138 |
| 9V-SKV | SIN | 28 Mar 20 | 135 |
| 9V-SKW | ASP | 26 Mar 20 | 137 |
| 9V-SKY | ASP | 27 Mar 20 | 136 |
| 9V-SKZ | ASP | 30 Mar 20 | 133 |
9V-SKN has now been refitted to Version 3 cabin configuration, with the latest Suites and Business Class seats, bringing the variant to a total of eight A380s. It’s unclear whether any further aircraft will be refitted.
Boeing 777-200
SIA’s recently inherited set of six Boeing 777-200s from NokScoot are now stored in Alice Springs.
 |
|||
| Aircraft | Location | Last flew | Days ago |
| 9V-SRG | ASP | 1 Feb 20 | 191 |
| 9V-SRH | ASP | 23 Mar 20 | 140 |
| 9V-SRJ | ASP | 7 Jun 20 | 64 |
| 9V-SRL | ASP | 24 Mar 20 | 139 |
| 9V-SRP | ASP | 24 Mar 20 | 139 |
| 9V-SRQ | ASP | 15 Jun 20 | 56 |
Last flight and number of days shown reflects last passenger service with NokScoot. These aircraft are almost certainly for disposal.
Boeing 777-200ER
All 3 of the airline’s Boeing 777-200ERs are stored in Alice Springs, likely to be a long-term arrangement, with 9V-SVM having now left the fleet.
 |
|||
| Aircraft | Location | Last flew | Days ago |
| 9V-SVB | ASP | 17 Mar 20 | 146 |
| 9V-SVC | ASP | 19 Mar 20 | 144 |
| 9V-SVE | ASP | 21 Mar 20 | 142 |
In its full-year analyst briefing, Singapore Airlines effectively wrote off the Boeing 777-200 and -200ERs, with no chance for their return to the active fleet.
Boeing 777-300
9V-SYL has stopped flying, leaving only a single Boeing 777-300 (9V-SYJ) operating occasional cargo-only flights.
 |
|||
| Aircraft | Location | Last flew | Days ago |
| 9V-SYF | SIN | 10 Apr 20 | 122 |
| 9V-SYH | SIN | 5 May 20 | 97 |
| 9V-SYJ | SIN | 8 Aug 20 | 2 |
| 9V-SYL | SIN | 17 Jun 20 | 54 |
Boeing 777-300ER
Singapore Airlines has stopped flying 13 of the 18 Boeing 777-300ERs that were operating in May 2020, meaning only 5 are now active in the last two weeks with 22 stored at Changi, having not flown for over a month in most cases.
These aircraft are now dedicated to cargo-only operation in the current schedule through 24th October 2020, having ceased passenger services in June 2020.
 |
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| Aircraft | Location | Last flew | Days ago |
| 9V-SWA | SIN | 29 Mar 20 | 134 |
| 9V-SWB | SIN | 24 Mar 20 | 139 |
| 9V-SWD | SIN | 19 Mar 20 | 144 |
| 9V-SWE | SIN | 3 Aug 20 | 7 |
| 9V-SWF | SIN | 21 Jun 20 | 50 |
| 9V-SWG | SIN | 30 May 20 | 72 |
| 9V-SWH | SIN | 9 Jul 20 | 32 |
| 9V-SWI | SIN | 6 May 20 | 96 |
| 9V-SWJ | SIN | 4 May 20 | 98 |
| 9V-SWK | SIN | 4 May 20 | 98 |
| 9V-SWL | SIN | 6 May 20 | 96 |
| 9V-SWM | SIN | 2 May 20 | 100 |
| 9V-SWN | SIN | 30 Jul 20 | 11 |
| 9V-SWO | SIN | 2 Apr 20 | 130 |
| 9V-SWP | SIN | 29 Mar 20 | 134 |
| 9V-SWQ | SIN | 2 Aug 20 | 8 |
| 9V-SWR | SIN | 9 Aug 20 | 1 |
| 9V-SWS | SIN | 5 Apr 20 | 127 |
| 9V-SWT | SIN | 26 Jun 20 | 45 |
| 9V-SWU | SIN | 30 Apr 20 | 102 |
| 9V-SWV | SIN | 13 Jun 20 | 58 |
| 9V-SWW | SIN | 13 Jun 20 | 58 |
| 9V-SWY | SIN | 6 Aug 20 | 4 |
| 9V-SWZ | SIN | 27 Jun 20 | 44 |
| 9V-SNA | SIN | 25 Jul 20 | |