Last week Singapore Airlines revealed that its first Boeing 737-800 aircraft transferred from SilkAir would be joining the mainline operation in the coming weeks, with services to Phuket and Brunei kicking off from March 2021.
This new era for the airline will see it operate narrow-body passenger aircraft for the first time in over 30 years, as it folds its ‘regional wing’ into full SIA operations.
With initial schedules and seat maps now revealed, here’s all you need to know about this latest addition to the SIA fleet next time you’re booking and see the following in the search results:
Which aircraft?
In total, nine ex-SilkAir Boeing 737-800s will be joining the Singapore Airlines fleet over the coming weeks and months.
While SIA has not stated which specific nine (out of 17) Boeing 737-800 aircraft are moving across, we already know that six of them have now been repainted in SIA colours and will definitely be part of the new fleet.
We have also listed below the additional two three rumoured to be joining them, for a total of nine, though this remains subject to confirmation.
Edit: Thanks to the SQTalk gurus, there are now seven confirmed repaints completed (9V-MGD added).
SilkAir Boeing 737-800 aircraft moving to SIA
| Registration | Age (years) |
Current Livery |
Fate |
| 9V-MGA | 7.0 |  |
Transfer to SIA |
| 9V-MGB | 6.9 | |
Transfer to SIA |
| 9V-MGC | 6.8 |  |
Transfer to SIA (TBC) |
| 9V-MGD | 6.7 | |
Transfer to SIA |
| 9V-MGE | 6.5 | |
Transfer to SIA (TBC) |
| 9V-MGF | 6.4 | |
For disposal |
| 9V-MGG | 6.3 | |
For disposal |
| 9V-MGH | 6.3 | |
For disposal |
| 9V-MGI | 6.0 | |
For disposal |
| 9V-MGJ | 5.8 | |
For disposal |
| 9V-MGK | 5.7 | |
Transfer to SIA |
| 9V-MGL | 5.5 | |
Transfer to SIA |
| 9V-MGM | 5.4 | |
Transfer to SIA |
| 9V-MGN | 5.4 | |
Transfer to SIA |
| 9V-MGO | 4.8 | |
For disposal |
| 9V-MGP | 4.7 | |
For disposal |
| 9V-MGQ | 4.3 | |
For disposal |
Nine of SilkAir’s Boeing 737-800s are on operating leases, though we don’t know exactly how this relates to those being transferred to SIA or disposed of. It’s likely that SIA’s fleet will be a mixture of owned and leased aircraft.
Which routes?
These aircraft will launch their Singapore Airlines service with flights to Phuket and Brunei in March 2021, before being progressively rolled out on additional routes.
Here’s how the confirmed schedules look, up to 30th April 2021.
Phuket
From 4th March 2021
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
SQ726 737-800 |
◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◼ | |
| SIN 08:40 |
HKT 09:30 |
||||||||
|
SQ736 737-800 |
◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◼ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | |
| SIN 16:20 |
HKT 17:15 |
||||||||
|
SQ725 737-800 |
◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◼ | |
| HKT 10:15 |
SIN 13:15 |
||||||||
|
SQ735 737-800 |
◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◼ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | |
| HKT 18:00 |
SIN 21:00 |
||||||||
Some minor timing changes take effect from the switch to the northern summer timetable on 28th March 2021, with the same days of operation.
Brunei
From 15th March 2021
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ148 737-800 |
◼ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◼ | ◻ | ◼ | |
| SIN 09:05 |
BWN 11:15 |
||||||||
|
SQ147 737-800 |
◼ | ◻ | ◻ | ◻ | ◼ | ◻ | ◼ | |
| BWN 12:05 |
SIN 14:15 |
||||||||
Flights are already bookable via the Singapore Airlines website or mobile app.
All current SilkAir routes will eventually shift across to Singapore Airlines Boeing 737 operation, so in addition to Phuket we can expect the following:
- Cebu
- Chongqing
- Kathmandu
- Kuala Lumpur
- Malé
- Medan
Singapore Airlines has also confirmed that we’ll be seeing these nine Boeing 737-800s operating not only former SilkAir routes, but also to and from points on its own current network.
With a range of around 6 hours, that includes options across much of the airline’s current Asia-Pacific network, potentially as far afield as Perth and Shanghai.
Deploying these narrow-body aircraft on many cargo-light routes while passenger demand remains low, as opposed to using Airbus A350s or Boeing 787s for example, will help the airline better manage costs potentially for years to come as demand gradually returns post-COVID.
Customers will benefit from a step up to the Singapore Airlines inflight experience as we transition the SilkAir narrow-body operations to SIA, starting with the 737-800 aircraft, in Q4 FY20/21. The integration of SilkAir into SIA will also deliver greater economies of scale for the Group, and allow it to deploy the right aircraft to meet the demand for air travel as it returns.
Singapore Airlines
This wasn’t supposed to be happening
Singapore Airlines only intended to bring SilkAir’s brand new Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft into its own operation as part of the merger between the two carriers.
That proposal ensured a more seamless cabin standard across the board, with brand new flat-bed seats in Business Class, Wi-Fi connectivity, and seat-back in-flight entertainment from tip-to-tail.