Singapore Airlines Fleet & Storage Report: November 2020

This month Singapore Airlines has been actively operating its highest number of passenger aircraft since the COVID-19 pandemic decimated flight schedules in March 2020, with 66 of its wide body jets flying a mixture of passenger and cargo-only flights over the last two weeks.

Before we dive in to our regular monthly update and storage report, here are some key news items for the SIA fleet this month:

• The Boeing 777-300 has left service, sealing a 22-year history of SIA flying the type and winding up operation of both the 2006 First Class and 2009 Regional Business Class seats.
• Four brand new Airbus A350 Regionals delivered last month have all entered revenue service, making this sub-fleet the second largest for the airline in terms of active aircraft.
• The Airbus A350 ULR fleet, in storage since March 2020, is being brought back into action next month with at least two needed for a resumption of the Singapore – San Francisco route.
• The A380 Version 3 fleet gained an extra refit, with only three left to receive the new cabins, following confirmation that seven older aircraft will not rejoin the fleet after COVID-19.
• A Boeing 787-10 flown to the US for repairs due to a manufacturing defect has returned to Singapore and is back in service.

Fleet totals

Here are the Singapore Airlines passenger fleet totals at 28th November 2020.

	CAAS Database:	135
	For disposal:	-29
	In Service:	106
	In maintenance / stored:	-40
	Active:	66

The official registered aircraft data in combination with recent retirement announcements and analysis of actual flight movements over the last few weeks allows us to determine the actual ‘in service’ fleet (available to the airline) of 106 planes at 28th November 2020, 66 of which are currently active.

  Click here to see the official CAAS list of registered aircraft in Singapore at 31st October 2020.

SIA Passenger Fleet at 28th November 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)	7	0	0
A350-900 (full details)	26	26	25
A350-900 Regional (full details)	19	19	17
A350-900 ULR (full details)	7	7	0
A380-800 v1 (full details)	6	0	0
A380-800 v2 (full details)	4	3	0
A380-800 v3 (full details)	9	9	0
777-200 (full details)	8	0	0
777-200ER (full details)	3	0	0
777-300 (full details)	4	0	0
777-300ER (full details)	27	27	10
787-10 (full details)	15	15	14
Total	135	106	66

Correct at 28th November 2020.

Following confirmation that all the airline’s remaining Airbus A330s, Boeing 777-200s, Boeing 777-200ERs and Boeing 777-300s will not be returning to the fleet after COVID-19, in addition to seven older Airbus A380s, we have removed these from the ‘In Service’ column.

This reflects a future fleet of 106 aircraft, plus future near-term deliveries of Airbus A350s and Boeing 787-10s.

There will also be a number of Boeing 737-800s and potentially some Boeing 737 MAX 8s joining the fleet in 2021, as the SilkAir merger progresses.

Fleet activity

Only four aircraft types are currently in service with the airline, as shown in the table below outlining the number in use at each of our recent fleet update ‘snapshots’.

An aircraft is considered ‘active’ if it has flown at least one passenger or cargo-only flight in the last 14 days.

SIA fleet activity timeline (2020)
	A350	A350R	B773	B77W	B787	Total
Apr	16	10	4	18	15	63
May	14	9	3	18	15	59
Jun	21	12	2	11	15	61
Aug	23	14	1	4	14	56
Sep	24	13	1	7	12	57
Oct	24	13	1	4	12	54
Nov	25	17	—	10	14	66

Almost all Airbus A350s and Boeing 787-10s are now in consistent use, while the deployment of Boeing 777-300ERs has increased over recent weeks, with the airline actively using 66 aircraft in November 2020, it’s highest total in seven months.

Here’s a graphical look at the active vs. stored fleet, including the average daily utilisation per active aircraft based on the 7-day period between 16th November and 22nd November 2020.

The increased active fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs this month also coincided with a ramp-up in their average flying activity, from 1.6 hours per aircraft per day in October to 5.9 hours in November. The aircraft continue to mostly be deployed on cargo-only services, with some passenger flights in the mix including to Bangkok and Surabaya, where the First Class cabin is not sold.

Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s on the other hand are far busier, with the active aircraft in those fleets clocking up seven to ten hours per day on average.

The Airbus A350 long-haul fleet is now very stretched, due to the significant downtime the aircraft are spending in Europe and the USA (over two days each time they visit in some cases), to accommodate the restricted schedule and minimise crew layover durations in high-risk countries.

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 retirements

Some of these types will not be returning to service even after COVID-19, following a fleet and network review undertaken by the airline and announced earlier this month alongside the first half financial results.

This will include all Airbus A330s, which are being returned to their lessors as planned by next year, all Boeing 777-200, -200ERs, and -300s, and seven older Airbus A380s.

The Boeing 777-300 has left service

The last Boeing 777-300 has now been withdrawn from service.

9V-SYJ, which has been the only one of four remaining 777-300 aircraft flying for the carrier over the last five months, made its final flight on 29th October 2020 from Bangkok to Singapore. That has sealed the fate of both the 2006 First Class and 2009 Regional Business Class seats.

Singapore Airlines operated the Boeing 777-300 from December 1998 to October 2020, and at one time there were 12 of the type in its fleet.

The carrier opted for the more capable Boeing 777-300ER variant for its deliveries since November 2006, an aircraft that became far more popular globally than its predecessor and indeed in the Singapore Airlines fleet, with 27 still registered to the carrier and no retirements yet announced.

More A350s enter service

Four brand new Airbus A350 Regional aircraft, all delivered in October 2020, entered revenue service since our last update.

• 9V-SHP to Mumbai on 28th October 2020 (SQ8022, cargo-only)
• 9V-SHQ to Mumbai on 4th November 2020 (SQ8022, cargo-only)
• 9V-SHR to Hong Kong on 19th November 2020 (SQ871)
• 9V-SHS to Mumbai on 22nd November 2020 (SQ8024, cargo-only)

Only two of the airline’s 19 Airbus A350 Regionals are not currently active; 9V-SHD, which stopped flying in early November, and 9V-SHF, which hasn’t flown for over four months.

The A350 ULR is back in December

Another A350 sub-fleet is rejoining active service next month, the Ultra Long Range (ULR) variant, which we didn’t expect to see back in action this year.

That will happen on 15th December 2020 with three times weekly service to San Francisco. Oddly this route doesn’t even require the range of the ULR model and was originally scheduled to be served only by the regular 3-class long-haul Airbus A350 this winter.

Here’s how the limited return of the ULR will look on the route.

From 15th December 2020

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ34 A359 ULR
SIN 18:40		SFO 17:20
	SQ33 A359 ULR
SFO 20:50		SIN 06:25(+2)

As with the airline’s other long-haul services, the aircraft and crew will rest together in San Francisco for around 51 hours before returning to Singapore, meaning at least two A350 ULRs will need to be activated from storage for this route.

That’s because each time an aircraft departs on this route, it doesn’t land back until nearly 84 hours later.

Even though these seven aircraft have been grounded in Singapore since US flights were suspended in late March 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, they have made occasional test flights at Changi, the most recent being yesterday (27th November).

Aircraft	Number of test flights (since March ’20)	Most recent test flight
9V-SGA	2	18 Sep 2020
9V-SGB	4	27 Nov 2020
9V-SGC	2	26 Sep 2020
9V-SGD	2	8 Oct 2020
9V-SGE	2	20 Oct 2020
9V-SGF	2	22 Oct 2020
9V-SGG	2	16 Oct 2020

It will be interesting to see which pair of aircraft are brought back, or whether more than two (perhaps even all seven) will be used on sequential rotation as a form of ‘active storage’ for this fleet, which can be cheaper than keeping the aircraft in long-term storage.

A380 refits: Four down, three to go

Singapore Airlines did reveal some good news to us this month, with confirmation that all 12 of the carrier’s future Airbus A380 fleet is destined to receive the latest 2017 cabin products, with a fourth retrofit recently completed and three more in the pipeline.

Though it’s not yet been confirmed, we are predicting that all six of the carrier’s older Version 1 Airbus A380s will be put out to pasture, and one of the Version 2 aircraft.

Specific registrations have not been revealed.

The storage report: November 2020

Here’s how SIA’s passenger fleet activity looked on 28th November 2020, which gives us an indication of which aircraft are stored (last flew 14+ days ago), compared to those either active or 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 Airbus A330 aircraft remain stored in Singapore. None have flown passenger flights for the last eight months.

These aircraft are being progressively returned to their leasing companies, a process expected to be completed in 2021.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-STC	SIN	2 Apr 20	240
9V-SSD	SIN	31 Mar 20	242
9V-SSE	SIN	27 Mar 20	246
9V-SSF	SIN	13 Mar 20	260
9V-SSG	SIN	23 Mar 20	250
9V-SSH	SIN	28 Mar 20	245
9V-SSI	SIN	25 Nov 19	369

9V-STC completed a test flight on 9th November 2020. It is destined for onward operator Air Canada as C-GHKC, but has yet to be formally deregistered and leave Changi.

9V-SSI has not made an appearance, even on a test flight, since sustaining tail damage during a landing incident at Yangon in November 2019. The aircraft was ferried empty to Singapore almost a year ago on 14th December 2019.

Airbus A350-900

Only one of SIA’s long-haul Airbus A350-900s (9V-SME) is stored at Changi, or potentially undergoing maintenance, with the other 25 aircraft deployed on at least one flight in the last 14 days.

On average, each active aircraft in this fleet is currently flying seven flights per week.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SMA	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SMB	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SMC	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMD	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SME	SIN	15 Mar 20	258
9V-SMF	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMG	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMH	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMI	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SMJ	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMK	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SML	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SMM	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SMN	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SMO	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SMP	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SMQ	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SMR	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMS	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMT	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMU	SIN	25 Nov 20	3
9V-SMV	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMW	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMY	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SMZ	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SJA	SIN	28 Nov 20	0

9V-SME took a test flight this morning (28th November). It is the first time the aircraft has flown in over 8 months, suggesting it will be returned to service, which would bring the A350 long-haul fleet back to full strength for the first time since the pandemic.

Airbus A350-900 Regional

There continue to be two Airbus A350-900 Regional aircraft in storage / maintenance, though as mentioned above the four recently delivered aircraft are now in service.

Overall 17 of this variant were flying over the last two weeks, each operating an average of nine flights per week.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SHA	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SHB	SIN	26 Nov 20	2
9V-SHC	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SHD	SIN	13 Nov 20	15
9V-SHE	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SHF	SIN	24 Jul 20	127
9V-SHG	SIN	25 Nov 20	3
9V-SHH	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SHI	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SHJ	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SHK	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SHL	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SHM	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SHN	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SHO	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SHP	SIN	26 Nov 20	2
9V-SHQ	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SHR	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SHS	SIN	27 Nov 20	1

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.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SGA	SIN	25 Mar 20	248
9V-SGB	SIN	22 Mar 20	251
9V-SGC	SIN	30 Mar 20	243
9V-SGD	SIN	25 Mar 20	248
9V-SGE	SIN	24 Mar 20	249
9V-SGF	SIN	27 Mar 20	246
9V-SGG	SIN	23 Mar 20	250

As mentioned above, we will see at least two of these back in action from mid-December on the reinstated non-stop San Francisco flights.

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 31st January 2021.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SKF	SIN	24 Mar 20	249
9V-SKG	SIN	25 Mar 20	248
9V-SKH	SIN	22 Mar 20	251
9V-SKI	SIN	20 Mar 20	253
9V-SKJ	SIN	20 Mar 20	253
9V-SKK	ASP	21 Mar 20	252
9V-SKL	SIN	27 Mar 20	246
9V-SKM	SIN	21 Mar 20	252
9V-SKN	SIN	15 Oct 19	410
9V-SKP	ASP	24 Mar 20	249
9V-SKQ	ASP	26 Mar 20	247
9V-SKR	SIN	19 Mar 20	254
9V-SKS	SIN	12 Mar 20	261
9V-SKT	ASP	18 Mar 20	255
9V-SKU	SIN	25 Mar 20	248
9V-SKV	SIN	28 Mar 20	245
9V-SKW	ASP	26 Mar 20	247
9V-SKY	ASP	27 Mar 20	246
9V-SKZ	ASP	30 Mar 20	243

With First Class and Suites not being sold on any Singapore Airlines flight between now and 31st October 2021, there looks to be no imminent return for the superjumbo fleet, though SIA has now confirmed 12 of the aircraft will be remaining under current plans for the post-COVID recovery.

Boeing 777-200

SIA’s recently inherited set of seven Boeing 777-200s from NokScoot are now stored in Alice Springs, with one registered aircraft hibernating at Changi.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SQJ	SIN	10 Aug 18	841
9V-SRF	ASP	30 Nov 19	364
9V-SRG	ASP	1 Feb 20	301
9V-SRH	ASP	23 Mar 20	250
9V-SRJ	ASP	7 Jun 20	174
9V-SRL	ASP	24 Mar 20	249
9V-SRP	ASP	24 Mar 20	249
9V-SRQ	ASP	15 Jun 20	166

Last flight and number of days shown reflects most recent passenger service with NokScoot in the case of SRF to SRQ. All these aircraft are for disposal.

Boeing 777-200ER

All 3 of the airline’s Boeing 777-200ERs are stored in Alice Springs, and are now confirmed as for disposal.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SVB	ASP	17 Mar 20	256
9V-SVC	ASP	19 Mar 20	254
9V-SVE	ASP	21 Mar 20	252

Boeing 777-300

As mentioned above, Singapore Airlines has ceased operating its last Boeing 777-300 (9V-SYJ), with all four remaining aircraft in the fleet for disposal.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SYF	SIN	10 Apr 20	232
9V-SYH	SIN	5 May 20	207
9V-SYJ	SIN	29 Oct 20	30
9V-SYL	SIN	17 Jun 20	164

Boeing 777-300ER

Ten of SIA’s 27 Boeing 777-300ERs were active over the last two weeks, the highest total seen since June, with the other 17 stored at Changi.

These aircraft are now mostly dedicated to cargo-only operation in the current schedule through 31st January 2021, having ceased almost all passenger services in June 2020.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SWA	SIN	29 Mar 20	244
9V-SWB	SIN	24 Mar 20	249
9V-SWD	SIN	19 Mar 20	254
9V-SWE	SIN	23 Nov 20	5
9V-SWF	SIN	28 Sep 20	61
9V-SWG	SIN	30 May 20	182
9V-SWH	SIN	22 Nov 20	6
9V-SWI	SIN	6 May 20	206
9V-SWJ	SIN	4 May 20	208
9V-SWK	SIN	4 May 20	208
9V-SWL	SIN	6 May 20	206
9V-SWM	SIN	21 Nov 20	7
9V-SWN	SIN	20 Nov 20	8
9V-SWO	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SWP	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SWQ	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SWR	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SWS	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SWT	SIN	23 Mar 20	250
9V-SWU	SIN	30 Apr 20	212
9V-SWV	SIN	13 Jun 20	168
9V-SWW	SIN	13 Jun 20	168
9V-SWY	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SWZ	SIN	22 Aug 20	98
9V-SNA	SIN	25 Jul 20	126
9V-SNB	SIN	16 Mar 20	257
9V-SNC	SIN	14 Jun 20	167

On average the ten active Boeing 777-300ERs in the fleet are flying only two flights per week, including cargo-only flights to Tokyo and Istanbul.

Boeing 787-10

Only one of SIA’s 15 Boeing 787-10s is currently inactive, with the remainder flying a mixture of passenger and cargo-only flights.

On average, each active Boeing 787-10 aircraft is currently flying 13 flights per week, the busiest in the fleet by flight volumes.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SCA	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SCB	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SCC	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SCD	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SCE	SIN	26 Nov 20	2
9V-SCF	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SCG	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SCH	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SCI	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SCJ	SIN	27 Nov 20	1
9V-SCK	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SCL	SIN	26 Nov 20	2
9V-SCM	SIN	16 Sep 20	73
9V-SCN	SIN	28 Nov 20	0
9V-SCO	SIN	28 Nov 20	0

9V-SCI was flown back from Victorville, California on 29th October 2020, having been there for just over three weeks whilst repairs were conducted by Boeing. The aircraft was one of eight worldwide affected by a manufacturing defect in its tail.

It operated back to Singapore via Los Angeles, then returned to service on 4th November 2020 with a cargo-only service to Chennai.

Alice Springs storage

29 Singapore Airlines Group aircraft are currently in long-term storage at Alice Springs airport in Australia, where the hot, dry climate is far more conducive to preservation.

These include SilkAir’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets, which have been grounded since mid-2019, and some Scoot aircraft.

SIA Group aircraft stored in Alice Springs
Airline	Aircraft	Total
	Airbus A380	7
	Boeing 777-200	7
	Boeing 777-200ER	3
	Boeing 737 MAX 8	6
	Airbus A320	3
	Boeing 787-8	3

Future aircraft deliveries

The SIA Group still has large order books with Airbus and Boeing for its fleet modernisation and replacement strategy over the next few years. These comprise:

Additionally, Scoot is taking 10 Airbus A321neo aircraft through leasing companies over the coming years.

Singapore Airlines has now concluded its negotiations with Airbus regarding future aircraft deliveries for the group, however discussions with Boeing remain ongoing.

The airline would not be pressed on whether any cancellations may result from the proposed changes at a recent analyst briefing, when asked whether the discussions were purely for deferral.

“We are not ready to disclose at this point, because negotiation is at an advanced stage”

Tan Kai Ping, EVP Finance and Strategy, Singapore Airlines

Essentially of course, negotiations with Airbus and Boeing will seek to reduce SIA’s new aircraft intake, potentially spreading out this large commitment for 136 additional new aircraft across a longer time period.

Cathay Pacific recently announced it had deferred its Boeing 777-9 order to “beyond 2025”, so we expect to hear similar news from SIA once negotiations are concluded.

Full details

As always 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
• Boeing 777-200ER
• Boeing 777-300
• Boeing 777-300ER
• Boeing 787-10

If the seat types and routes interest you more – see our Seats Guide.

Stay tuned for the next fleet (and aircraft storage) update in December 2020.

(Cover Photo: TK Kurikawa / Shutterstock)