Singapore Airlines Fleet & Storage Report: January 2021

Singapore Airlines has kicked off 2021 by reintroducing more aircraft into service, increasing its operating fleet to 74 out of the 106 it intends to bring back into operation after COVID-19. Meanwhile another Airbus A330 has made a routine departure for a new life, and Boeing 787-10s have been setting endurance records thanks to a tennis tournament ‘down under’.

With the efficient Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s now almost permanently in use and probably a little stretched, Boeing 777-300ERs are also making a comeback on passenger flights, though their First Class cabins remain off-limits for now.

Looking forward we should also see the introduction of several ex-SilkAir Boeing 737-800s to the Singapore Airlines fleet in the coming months, plus the return of Boeing 737 MAX 8s into service, while some of the airline’s brand new Airbus A350 and Boeing 787-10 aircraft are stirring, suggesting upcoming wide-body aircraft deliveries.

Fleet totals

Here are the Singapore Airlines passenger fleet totals at 24th January 2021.

	CAAS Database:	133
	For disposal:	-27
	In Service:	106
	In maintenance / stored:	-32
	Active:	74

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 24th January 2021, 74 of which are currently active.

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

SIA Passenger Fleet at 24th January 2021

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)	5	0	0
A350-900 (full details)	26	26	26
A350-900 Regional (full details)	19	19	18
A350-900 ULR (full details)	7	7	6
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	9
787-10 (full details)	15	15	15
Total	133	106	74

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			B773	B77W	B787	Total
	LH	R	ULR
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
Dec	26	18	3	—	9	14	70
Jan 2021	26	18	6	—	9	15	74

Almost all Airbus A350s and Boeing 787-10s remain in consistent use, while the deployment of Boeing 777-300ERs is still at around a third of that fleet, with the airline actively using a total of 74 aircraft in January 2021, it’s highest total in nine 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 January and 22nd January 2021.

Boeing 777-300ER activity remains low at around 4 hours per aircraft per day. These aircraft continue to mostly be deployed on cargo-only services, with some passenger flights in the mix including to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh, 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 nine to ten hours per day on average.

Four aircraft types in the Singapore Airlines fleet remain in storage this month and are not currently being flown at all, which has mostly been the case since early April 2020:

• Airbus A330
• Airbus A380
• Boeing 777-200
• Boeing 777-200ER
• Boeing 777-300

Fleet retirements

Most of our readers are now aware of the news, but in case you missed it Singapore Airlines announced the outcome of its fleet and network review in November 2020, outlining which aircraft would not be returning to service after COVID-19.

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

9V-SSD has departed

Following the de-registration of 9V-STC in November, another Airbus A330 (9V-SSD) has been deregistered and left the fleet in December 2020.

The 6-year-old aircraft has been returned to its owner Winter Leasing of Shannon, Ireland. Registered in Austria as OE-IRE, it is now stored at San Bernadino Airport in California, USA, with no apparent onward operator.

9V-SSE should be next to depart for return from lease. The aircraft undertook a test flight on 17th January 2021, it’s first flight in nearly nine months.

The work of the A330 fleet has now been taken up by Airbus A350 Regional and Boeing 787-10 aircraft in the SIA fleet, though there are still five registered A330s in storage at Changi.

These are due for return to lessors between now and September 2021.

Long-haul tennis charters

Singapore Airlines made some use of its Boeing 787-10 fleet this month to operate charter flights from Dubai to Melbourne, carrying players and officials to the Australian Open.

The first aircraft, 9V-SCK, departed Singapore on 13th January for Dubai, then operated non-stop from Dubai to Melbourne the following evening, a flight of 13 hours and 4 minutes duration. SCK later returned to Singapore.

The following day the same SIN-DXB-MEL-SIN pattern was repeated by 9V-SCN, this time taking 13 hours and 6 minutes on the Dubai – Melbourne leg of the journey.

With the exception of the delivery of 9V-SCA in March 2018, which carried a small ‘passenger’ contingent of media and travel bloggers and took around 14 hours to reach Osaka from Charleston, SCN’s Melbourne – Dubai leg earlier this month is a new passenger-carrying endurance record for the Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10.

The aircraft has a lower certified takeoff weight than others operating around the world (e.g. with United), since it is only intended to fly SIA routes up to around 10 hours when fully loaded.

The storage report: January 2021

Here’s how SIA’s passenger fleet activity looked on 23rd January 2021, 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 nine months.

These aircraft are being progressively returned to their leasing companies, a process expected to be completed in Q3 2021.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SSE	SIN	27 Mar 20	302
9V-SSF	SIN	13 Mar 20	316
9V-SSG	SIN	23 Mar 20	306
9V-SSH	SIN	28 Mar 20	301
9V-SSI	SIN	25 Nov 19	425

9V-SSE should be next to depart for return from lease. The aircraft undertook a test flight on 17th January 2021, it’s first flight in nearly nine months.

9V-SSI has yet to make a test flight appearance after sustaining tail damage during a landing incident at Yangon in November 2019. The aircraft was ferried empty to Singapore over a year ago on 14th December 2019, but has not flown since.

Airbus A350-900

The Airbus A350-900 long-haul fleet remains at full strength in January 2021, with an operating fleet of 26 and none in storage.

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

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SMA	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMB	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMC	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMD	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SME	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMF	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMG	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMH	SIN	21 Jan 21	2
9V-SMI	SIN	20 Jan 21	3
9V-SMJ	SIN	17 Jan 21	6
9V-SMK	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SML	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMM	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SMN	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SMO	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMP	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMQ	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMR	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SMS	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMT	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMU	SIN	21 Jan 21	2
9V-SMV	SIN	21 Jan 21	2
9V-SMW	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SMY	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SMZ	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SJA	SIN	23 Jan 21	0

These 3-class A350s have also made an appearance on selected Singapore – Perth flights recently, and will be a regular fixture on some Singapore – Adelaide services in February, suggesting a bit of a ‘juggling act’ with the active fleet lately.

Airbus A350-900 Regional

There remains only one Airbus A350-900 Regional aircraft in storage or maintenance (9V-SHF), meaning 18 of this variant were flying recently, each operating an average of 12 flights per week, the busiest in the fleet by flight volumes.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SHA	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHB	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SHC	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHD	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SHE	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHF	SIN	24 Jul 20	183
9V-SHG	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SHH	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SHI	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHJ	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHK	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHL	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHM	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHN	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SHO	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHP	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHQ	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SHR	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SHS	SIN	23 Jan 21	0

Airbus A350-900 ULR

With three Airbus A350-900 ULR aircraft in service at our last monthly check, this has risen as expected to cover almost the entire fleet, to support daily San Francisco and New York JFK services.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SGA	SIN	21 Jan 21	2
9V-SGB	SIN	22 Mar 20	307
9V-SGC	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SGD	SIN	21 Jan 21	2
9V-SGE	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SGF	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SGG	SIN	22 Jan 21	1

Only 9V-SGB has yet to reappear on a passenger flight.

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 30th April 2021.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SKF	SIN	24 Mar 20	305
9V-SKG	SIN	25 Mar 20	304
9V-SKH	SIN	22 Mar 20	307
9V-SKI	SIN	20 Mar 20	309
9V-SKJ	SIN	20 Mar 20	309
9V-SKK	ASP	21 Mar 20	308
9V-SKL	SIN	27 Mar 20	302
9V-SKM	SIN	21 Mar 20	308
9V-SKN	SIN	15 Oct 19	466
9V-SKP	ASP	24 Mar 20	305
9V-SKQ	ASP	26 Mar 20	303
9V-SKR	SIN	19 Mar 20	310
9V-SKS	SIN	12 Mar 20	317
9V-SKT	ASP	18 Mar 20	311
9V-SKU	SIN	25 Mar 20	304
9V-SKV	SIN	28 Mar 20	301
9V-SKW	ASP	26 Mar 20	303
9V-SKY	ASP	27 Mar 20	302
9V-SKZ	ASP	30 Mar 20	299

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, all to be fitted with new cabin products.

Boeing 777-200

In 2020 SIA inherited back a set of seven Boeing 777-200s it was leasing to NokScoot. These aircraft are now stored in Alice Springs, with one additional aircraft hibernating at Changi for a couple of years now.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SQJ	SIN	2 Aug 18	905
9V-SRF	ASP	30 Nov 19	420
9V-SRG	ASP	1 Feb 20	357
9V-SRH	ASP	23 Mar 20	306
9V-SRJ	ASP	7 Jun 20	230
9V-SRL	ASP	24 Mar 20	305
9V-SRP	ASP	24 Mar 20	305
9V-SRQ	ASP	15 Jun 20	222

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	312
9V-SVC	ASP	19 Mar 20	310
9V-SVE	ASP	21 Mar 20	308

Boeing 777-300

As mentioned in our November 2020 fleet update, 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	288
9V-SYH	SIN	5 May 20	263
9V-SYJ	SIN	29 Oct 20	86
9V-SYL	SIN	17 Jun 20	220

Boeing 777-300ER

Nine of SIA’s 27 Boeing 777-300ERs were active over the last two weeks, with the other 18 stored at Changi.

With availability of Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s now fairly stretched, these older aircraft are being used for a mixture of cargo-only and passenger services, roughly as follows:

• Cargo-only: Beijing, Shanghai, Surabaya, Tokyo, Yangon
• Passenger: Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Kuala Lumpur

Interestingly the Boeing 777-300ER has completely taken over all passenger operations on Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh and Kuala Lumpur flights recently, though the First Class cabin is not sold on these services.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SWA	SIN	29 Mar 20	300
9V-SWB	SIN	24 Mar 20	305
9V-SWD	SIN	19 Mar 20	310
9V-SWE	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SWF	SIN	28 Sep 20	117
9V-SWG	SIN	30 May 20	238
9V-SWH	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SWI	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SWJ	SIN	4 May 20	264
9V-SWK	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SWL	SIN	7 Jan 21	16
9V-SWM	SIN	8 Dec 20	46
9V-SWN	SIN	5 Dec 20	49
9V-SWO	SIN	20 Dec 20	34
9V-SWP	SIN	13 Jan 21	10
9V-SWQ	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SWR	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SWS	SIN	18 Jan 21	5
9V-SWT	SIN	21 Jan 21	2
9V-SWU	SIN	30 Apr 20	268
9V-SWV	SIN	13 Jun 20	224
9V-SWW	SIN	13 Jun 20	224
9V-SWY	SIN	5 Dec 20	49
9V-SWZ	SIN	27 Jun 20	210
9V-SNA	SIN	23 Jun 20	214
9V-SNB	SIN	16 Mar 20	313
9V-SNC	SIN	14 Jun 20	223

The nine active Boeing 777-300ERs in the fleet are flying only seven flights per week, in other words a round-trip every other per aircraft day on average.

Boeing 787-10

All of SIA’s 15 Boeing 787-10s are currently active, flying a mixture of passenger and cargo-only flights.

On average, each active Boeing 787-10 aircraft is currently flying 11 flights per week.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SCA	SIN	19 Jan 21	4
9V-SCB	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCC	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCD	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCE	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCF	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCG	SIN	22 Jan 21	1
9V-SCH	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCI	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCJ	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCK	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCL	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCM	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCN	SIN	23 Jan 21	0
9V-SCO	SIN	23 Jan 21	0

Alice Springs storage

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

That’s a recently reduced number, with the return of the first Boeing 737 MAX 8 (9V-MBA) to Changi.

That leaves five of SilkAir’s six Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets at the facility, which have been grounded since mid-2019, but are in the process of being recertified for service.

We expect them to join the Singapore Airlines fleet later this year, which should also mean new flat-bed seats in Business Class.

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	5
	Airbus A320	3
	Boeing 787-8	3

With five further SilkAir Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft due to leave the Alice Springs storage facility in the coming months, it will be interesting to see if the SIA Group retains its parking spots at the airport, which could perhaps mean more mainline aircraft like Airbus A380s heading south for better defence against the elements.

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, for a total of 16 such aircraft.

Last month we already noted that 9V-SHT, the airline’s next Airbus A350 Regional, had already completed its first flight in Toulouse. The aircraft has now flown a second test flight and is likely the next A350 in line for delivery at some stage.

For the first time in many months, there’s been SIA fleet activity over in Charleston, with Boeing 787-10 9V-SCQ making its first flight.

Singapore 787-10 9V-SCQ B1 flight today as BOE17.#Aviation #Planes #SingaporeAirlines #IFlyCHS #AviationNews #CHS #CHSairport #BoeingSC #BoeingCharleston #Charleston #charlestonlife #boeing #BoeingNews pic.twitter.com/AhVulVPWSc

— Devin (@BoeingSCSpotter) January 12, 2021

Along with 9V-SCP, which has already flown and wears ‘1,000th 787 Dreamliner’ titles, these aircraft should be delivered this year.

Due to the confidential nature of discussions with the manufacturers over revised delivery timelines, unfortunately we have no current indication of timescales for this year’s new aircraft delivery schedule. Hopefully we’ll be able to shed more light in future monthly fleet updates.

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 February 2021.

(Cover Photo: Lucas Wunderlich)