There’s some good news regarding what’s probably the least popular aircraft in the Singapore Airlines fleet among most of our readers, with the carrier confirming that it is trimming its Boeing 737-800 fleet by 20%, reducing the chance of suffering older cabin products on the network, including those basic recliner seats in Business Class.
The mainline carrier originally introduced nine Boeing 737-800s into its operation as part of a merger with SilkAir, but has now identified that two of these aircraft are “surplus to requirements”, according to a full-year financial update.
These two aircraft appear to have been withdrawn from operations already, meaning only seven leased Boeing 737-800s will be part of the fleet going forward.
Furthermore, the remaining 737-800 jets are gradually set for return to their lessors between mid-2024 and late 2025, meaning flat-bed Business Class fleet-wide is finally in sight, even on Singapore-KL sectors.
Why is the 737-800 disliked?
Singapore Airlines retained the original 12 SilkAir Boeing 737-800 recliner Business Class seats, in a 2-2 configuration across three rows, when it brought these older aircraft across to mainline operations.
Here’s how the seats looked in the original SilkAir fit.
And here’s how they look now.