Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines Fleet & Storage Report: February 2021

Singapore Airlines has scaled back its active passenger aircraft total slightly to 72 in recent weeks, from 74 in January 2021, as the carrier prepares to introduce Boeing 737-800s into its fleet from March 2021. Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s continue to cover the bulk of the operating network.

Meanwhile another Airbus A330 has departed Singapore back to its lessor, dwindling the total in this (stored) fleet to just four aircraft, and there’s been an Airbus A380 ‘shuffle’ in anticipation of the next cabin refit at Changi.

Fleet totals

Here are the Singapore Airlines passenger fleet totals at 27th February 2021.

  CAAS Database: 132  
  For disposal:
-26
 
  In Service: 106  
  In maintenance / stored:
-34
 
  Active: 72  

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 27th February 2021, 72 of which are recently active.

  Click here to see the official CAAS list of registered aircraft in Singapore at 31st January 2021.

SIA Passenger Fleet at 27th February 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
!A330v3.png(full details)
4
0 0
A350-900
!A359.png(full details)
26 26 25
A350-900 Regional
!A359.png(full details)
19
19 17
A350-900 ULR
!A359.png(full details)
7 7 6
A380-800 v1
!A388.png(full details)
6 0 0
A380-800 v2
!A388.png(full details)
4 3 0
A380-800 v3
!A388.png(full details)
9 9 0
777-200
!B772.png(full details)
8 0 0
777-200ER
!B772.png(full details)
3 0 0
777-300
!B773.png(full details)
4 0 0
777-300ER
!B773.png(full details)
27 27 9
787-10
!B78X.png(full details)
15 15 15
Total 132 106 72

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.

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There will also a nine Boeing 737-800s and an unknown number of Boeing 737 MAX 8s joining the fleet in 2021, as the SilkAir merger enters its final stage.

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 monthly 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
Feb
2021
25 17 6 9 15 72

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 72 aircraft in February 2021.

Here’s a graphical look at the active vs. stored fleet, including the average daily utilisation per active aircraft based on the seven-day period between 15th February and 21st February 2021.

Type Active / Inactive   Average Daily Utilisation
A330-300 □□□□□ 0%
A350 ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■□ 96% 12.0h
A350 R ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■□ 89% 7.8h
A350 ULR ■■■■■■ 86% 13.2h
A380 □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□ 0%
777-200 □□□□□□□□ 0%
777-200ER □□□ 0%
777-300 □□□□ 0%
777-300ER ■■■■■■■■■□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□ 33% 2.0h
787-10 ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ 100% 6.7h

Boeing 777-300ER activity was low at just 2 hours per active aircraft per day. These aircraft continue to mostly be deployed on cargo-only services, with some shorter passenger flights in the mix including to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh, where the First Class cabin is not sold.

Passengers on routes including Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh have benefitted from long-haul Business Class seats on SIA’s Boeing 777-300ER lately, however the small First Class cabin is not available for booking. (Photo: MainlyMiles)

Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s on the other hand are far busier, with the active aircraft in those fleets clocking up seven to 13 hours per day on average.

Other 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

Another Airbus A330 has departed

Following the de-registration of 9V-STC in November last year and 9V-SSD the following month, another Airbus A330 (9V-SSE) was deregistered in January 2021.

9V-SSE operated for Singapore Airlines from January 2015 to March 2020

The aircraft is now back with its lessor on the Austrian register as OE-IEK. It was ferried from Singapore to Pinal Airpark (MZJ) in Arizona for storage in mid-February.

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It’s fair to say -SSE wasn’t the luckiest A330 in the Singapore Airlines fleet over its five-year service life. It suffered an engine failure on departure out of Dhaka in February 2018, when a fan blade separated from the engine, causing it to divert to Mandalay.

In January 2020, it was struck by a catering truck, causing damage to its cargo door, requiring its complete removal and replacement.

9V-SSE had an unlucky streak over its short service life with SIA

9V-SSF will presumably be the next A330 to depart for return from lease.

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 four registered A330s in storage at Changi.

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

Airbus A380s shuffle for a refit

Earlier this week one of SIA’s Airbus A380s (9V-SKL) was flown to storage in Alice Springs, but this wasn’t a net addition to the seven superjumbos already parked there.

Shortly after it arrived, a previously stored A380 (9V-SKQ) was flown from Alice Springs to Sydney, for a short maintenance visit.

Source: FlightAware

SKQ has since been flown back to Singapore, where it will be the fifth older A380 to be refitted with the airline’s latest cabin products, SIA confirmed to Mainly Miles.

9V-SKL had been stored at Changi since its last passenger service on 27th March 2020, while 9V-SKQ had been in desert storage for a total of almost eight months, having been relocated to the Alice Springs facility on 27th June 2020.

More A380 refits have meant swapping a pair of the jets between Changi and Alice Springs. (Photo: Mike Fuchslocher / Shutterstock)

We understand the cabin refit programme for the three remaining aircraft, including 9V-SKQ, will be completed by the end of this year, bringing the fleet of A380s with the latest products to 12 – it’s future total.

Boeing 737-800s are coming

The merger of SilkAir into Singapore Airlines is set to enter its final stage next month, with nine Boeing 737-800s progressively moving across to the SIA mainline fleet, and the first three of eight confirmed routes picking up narrow-body SQ service.

(click to enlarge)

These aircraft had not been formally transferred to the Singapore Airlines Air Operator Certificate at the last CAAS registry update on 31st January 2021, however we expect them to start moving across this month.

Here are details of the nine aircraft, including the date of their final passenger flight with SilkAir.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is B738-Label-Small.jpg
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-MGA SIN 20 Mar 20 343
9V-MGB SIN 23 Mar 20 340
9V-MGC SIN 9 Feb 21 17
9V-MGD SIN 3 Jan 21 54
9V-MGE SIN 24 Jan 21 33
9V-MGK SIN 18 Mar 20 345
9V-MGL SIN 15 Dec 20 73
9V-MGM SIN 19 Mar 20 344
9V-MGN SIN 20 Mar 20 343

We understand all nine aircraft have now been repainted in SIA colours.

Don’t miss our full rundown of what to expect on board these narrow-body aircraft, from food and drink to windowless seats, entertainment options and cabin crew uniforms, as they start to enter service with SIA.

The storage report: February 2021

Here’s how SIA’s passenger fleet activity looked on 26th February 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 ten months.

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

!A330v3 Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SSF SIN 13 Mar 20 350
9V-SSG SIN 23 Mar 20 340
9V-SSH SIN 28 Mar 20 335
9V-SSI SIN 25 Nov 19 459

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 14 months ago in mid-December 2019, but has not flown since.

Airbus A350-900

The Airbus A350-900 long-haul fleet remains at almost full strength in February 2021, with an operating fleet of 26 and only one aircraft not flying recently, presumably for routine maintenance.

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

!A359 Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SMA SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMB SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMC SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMD SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SME SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMF SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMG SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SMH SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMI SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMJ SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMK SIN 14 Feb 21 12
9V-SML SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMM SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SMN SIN 7 Feb 21 19
9V-SMO SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMP SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SMQ SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SMR SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SMS SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SMT SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMU SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SMV SIN 24 Feb 21 2
9V-SMW SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMY SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SMZ SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SJA SIN 26 Feb 21 0

Airbus A350-900 Regional

There are currently two Airbus A350-900 Regional aircraft in storage or maintenance (9V-SHC and 9V-SHF), meaning 17 of this variant were flying recently, each operating an average of nine flights per week, the busiest in the fleet by flight volumes.

!A359R Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SHA SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SHB SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SHC SIN 6 Feb 21 20
9V-SHD SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SHE SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHF SIN 24 Jul 20 217
9V-SHG SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHH SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHI SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHJ SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHK SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHL SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHM SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHN SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SHO SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHP SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SHQ SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SHR SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SHS SIN 26 Feb 21 0

Airbus A350-900 ULR

Almost all Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 ULR aircraft are in service, covering daily San Francisco and New York JFK services.

!A359 ULR Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SGA SIN 24 Feb 21 2
9V-SGB SIN 22 Mar 20 341
9V-SGC SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SGD SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SGE SIN 24 Feb 21 2
9V-SGF SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SGG SIN 26 Feb 21 0

Only 9V-SGB has yet to reappear on a passenger flight, however it made a test flight in Singapore on 25th February 2021, suggesting it too may be joining the active fleet in the coming days.

Interestingly 9V-SGF was used on two Singapore – Hanoi – Singapore flights this month (22/2 and 23/2), replacing the usual Airbus A350 Regional, and giving those booked in Economy Class a nice upgrade to Premium Economy.

Airbus A380-800

Seven of the airline’s 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.

!A388 Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SKF SIN 24 Mar 20 339
9V-SKG SIN 25 Mar 20 338
9V-SKH SIN 22 Mar 20 341
9V-SKI SIN 20 Mar 20 343
9V-SKJ SIN 20 Mar 20 343
9V-SKK ASP 21 Mar 20 342
9V-SKL ASP 27 Mar 20 336
9V-SKM SIN 21 Mar 20 342
9V-SKN SIN 15 Oct 19 500
9V-SKP ASP 24 Mar 20 339
9V-SKQ SIN 26 Mar 20 337
9V-SKR SIN 19 Mar 20 344
9V-SKS SIN 12 Mar 20 351
9V-SKT ASP 18 Mar 20 345
9V-SKU SIN 25 Mar 20 338
9V-SKV SIN 28 Mar 20 335
9V-SKW ASP 26 Mar 20 337
9V-SKY ASP 27 Mar 20 336
9V-SKZ ASP 30 Mar 20 333

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 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 the now-defunct NokScoot. These aircraft are now stored in Alice Springs, with one additional aircraft hibernating at Changi for a couple of years now.

!B772 Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SQJ SIN 2 Aug 18 939
9V-SRF ASP 30 Nov 19 454
9V-SRG ASP 1 Feb 20 391
9V-SRH ASP 23 Mar 20 340
9V-SRJ ASP 7 Jun 20 264
9V-SRL ASP 24 Mar 20 339
9V-SRP ASP 24 Mar 20 339
9V-SRQ ASP 15 Jun 20 256

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 confirmed as for disposal.

!B772ER Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SVB ASP 17 Mar 20 346
9V-SVC ASP 19 Mar 20 344
9V-SVE ASP 21 Mar 20 342

Boeing 777-300

As mentioned in our November 2020 fleet update, Singapore Airlines has now ceased operating its last Boeing 777-300 (9V-SYJ), with all four remaining aircraft in the registered fleet flagged for disposal.

!B773 Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SYF SIN 10 Apr 20 322
9V-SYH SIN 5 May 20 297
9V-SYJ SIN 29 Oct 20 120
9V-SYL SIN 17 Jun 20 254

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

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

!B773ER Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SWA SIN 29 Mar 20 334
9V-SWB SIN 24 Mar 20 339
9V-SWD SIN 19 Mar 20 344
9V-SWE SIN 1 Feb 21 25
9V-SWF SIN 28 Sep 20 151
9V-SWG SIN 30 May 20 272
9V-SWH SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SWI SIN 11 Feb 21 15
9V-SWJ SIN 4 May 20 298
9V-SWK SIN 13 Feb 21 13
9V-SWL SIN 7 Jan 21 50
9V-SWM SIN 13 Feb 21 13
9V-SWN SIN 8 Feb 21 18
9V-SWO SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SWP SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SWQ SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SWR SIN 24 Feb 21 2
9V-SWS SIN 20 Feb 21 6
9V-SWT SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SWU SIN 30 Apr 20 302
9V-SWV SIN 13 Jun 20 258
9V-SWW SIN 13 Jun 20 258
9V-SWY SIN 5 Dec 20 83
9V-SWZ SIN 27 Jun 20 244
9V-SNA SIN 23 Jun 20 248
9V-SNB SIN 16 Mar 20 347
9V-SNC SIN 14 Jun 20 257

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

!B78X Label
Aircraft Location Last flew Days ago
9V-SCA SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SCB SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SCC SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SCD SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SCE SIN 23 Feb 21 3
9V-SCF SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SCG SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SCH SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SCI SIN 21 Feb 21 5
9V-SCJ SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SCK SIN 25 Feb 21 1
9V-SCL SIN 24 Feb 21 2
9V-SCM SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SCN SIN 26 Feb 21 0
9V-SCO SIN 26 Feb 21 0

Alice Springs storage

27 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.

Two of SilkAir’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft (9V-MBA and 9V-MBF) have now been returned to Changi.

That leaves four 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
Singapore_Airlines Airbus A380 7
Boeing 777-200 7
Boeing 777-200ER 3
SilkAir Boeing 737 MAX 8 4
Scoot Airbus A320 3
Boeing 787-8 3

With the remaining four 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

Earlier this month, Singapore Airlines concluded its negotiations with Airbus and Boeing for deferring aircraft orders into subsequent years, significantly reducing its near-term capital expenditure.

As part of the deal with Boeing, the airline also swapped orders for 14 Boeing 787-10 aircraft to 11 of the Boeing 777-9 model, reducing the outstanding order book of 787s to 15, while increasing the total number of 777-9 orders to 31.

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The latest SIA Group orders for fleet modernisation and replacement is as follows.

SIA Group Aircraft Orders

(click to enlarge)

Additionally, Scoot has committed to taking 10 Airbus A321neo aircraft through leasing companies over the coming months, for a total of 16 such aircraft including its firm orders.

Confirmed upcoming Airbus A350 deliveries for SIA include:

  • A350 Regional (9V-SHT)
  • A350 Regional (9V-SHU)
  • A350 Long-Haul (9V-SJB)
  • A350 Regional (9V-SHV)

This will increase the A350 Regional fleet to at least 22, though as you can see there is also another 3-class version in the mix, which will be the 27th such variant.

Actual delivery order may differ and delivery dates are not known at the time of writing, with some of these aircraft still to perform initial test flights.

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On the Boeing 787-10 side it’s a different story. Last month we reported how 9V-SCQ had made its first flight, however that aircraft has now been flown to Victorville in California for storage.

9V-SCP, the 1,000th Boeing 787 built, was looking well and truly ‘taped up’ in Charleston earlier this month.

Similarly two Boeing 787-8s destined for Scoot are now in storage, in Portland and Victorville respectively, so it looks as though delivery of these aircraft has been deferred for some time.

Summary

No major changes to the Singapore Airlines flight schedules between January and February 2021 means the operating fleet of active passenger aircraft, some of which are being deployed on cargo-only services, remains steady at around 72.

Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s are still doing the bulk of the flying, and while brand new Dreamliners for the fleet look some way away, there are indications of fresh Regional and Long-Haul A350 variants heading our way from the Toulouse factory in the coming months.

The next big change for the Singapore Airlines fleet will be the introduction of nine narrow-body Boeing 737-800 aircraft from SilkAir, marking what is set to be a new chapter in the carrier’s history, ultimately involving the introduction of the Boeing 737 MAX, decked out with new flat-bed Business Class seats.

(Cover Photo: Mathieu Marquer)

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