Singapore Airlines Fleet: October 2023

Singapore Airlines has taken delivery of five new wide-body aircraft since our last fleet update in March 2023, with a further four arriving in the months ahead between now and the end of March 2024, while the final Airbus A380 refit should be completed next month.

This continues to be great news for the airline’s ability to keep expanding as travel demand shows no sign of letting up post-pandemic, with frequency hikes and even new routes on the cards.

SIA’s active passenger fleet now stands at over 130 aircraft, practically the same as pre-COVID, though that’s still around 20 aircraft short when you consider that SilkAir has now been fully merged into the mainline operation.

Here’s the latest update.

Fleet totals

The following table summarises the Singapore Airlines passenger fleet totals as of 9th October 2023.

CAAS Register (Aug ’23):	149
Recently delivered:	+2
Recently deregistered:	-1
For disposal:	-10
In Service:	140
In maintenance / stored:	-6
Active:	134

The official registered aircraft data in combination with confirmed 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 140 planes at 9th October 2023, 134 of which were recently active.

That’s 9% more than at the start of the year, when only 123 passenger aircraft were active in the fleet.

  Click here to see the official CAAS list of registered aircraft in Singapore at 29 August 2023.

SIA Passenger Fleet at 9th October 2023

The following 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 flights (‘Active’).

Type	Registered	In Service	Active
A350-900 LH	32	32	32
A350-900 MH	24	24	24
A350-900 ULR	7	7	7
A380-800	14	12	10
737-800	7	7	7
737-8 MAX	16	16	16
777-200	5	0	0
777-300ER	26	23	19
787-10	19	19	19
Total	150	140	134

All the airline’s remaining registered Boeing 777-200s will not be returning to the fleet, in addition to two older Airbus A380s and three Boeing 777-300ERs, all of which are still formally registered to the carrier.

These are therefore excluded from the ‘In Service’ column.

This reflects a future fleet of 140 aircraft, plus future deliveries of Airbus A350s, Boeing 737-8 MAXs, Boeing 787-10s and Boeing 777-9s still on order.

Recent deliveries

Since our last fleet update in March, Singapore Airlines has taken delivery of five brand new wide-body aircraft, in the form of an Airbus A350 and four Boeing 787-10s.

Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900
Recent delivery

Reg.	Variant	Delivered	Service Entry
9V-SJG	Long Haul	2 Aug 2023	6 Aug 2023 (SQ32 SIN-SFO)

9V-SJG is a long-haul ‘plus’ A350 variant, boasting 8,100 nautical miles of range, so it’s not too surprising to see it deployed on a non-stop San Francisco service for its first passenger flight.

Only two more passenger Airbus A350s are due for delivery to Singapore Airlines, both of which will be the Long Haul ‘plus’ variant:

• 9V-SJH
• 9V-SJI

After that, SIA will start taking delivery of seven Airbus A350 freighters from late 2025, which will replace the carrier’s ageing Boeing 747-400 freighters over in the cargo division.

For more detailed information about SIA’s Airbus A350 fleet, including the ‘hidden’ sub-variants like the A350 Long Haul ‘plus’ models delivered more recently, see our complete SIA A350 guide.

Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10
Recent deliveries

Reg.	Delivery	Service Entry
9V-SCS	2 Apr 2023	7 Apr 2023 (SQ402 SIN-DEL)
9V-SCT	24 Jun 2023	30 Jun 2023 (SQ402 SIN-DEL)
9V-SCR	1 Sep 2023	6 Sep 2023 (SQ223 SIN-PER)
9V-SCU	5 Sep 2023	10 Sep 2023 (SQ402 SIN-DEL)

Interestingly 9V-SCT was delivered non-stop from Seattle (Everett). Other Boeing 787-10 deliveries for the carrier fly from Charleston, where the -10 variant is exclusively built, typically routing via Japan en-route to Singapore.

Recent deregistrations

Since our last update the following Singapore Airlines aircraft have been removed from the Singapore CAAS register:

• Airbus A380 9V-SKL
  Stored in Alice Springs. This aircraft came to the end of its lease. It is owned by German investment company Lloyd Fonds AG. The aircraft had been stored in Alice Springs since February 2021. You can see a recent photo of it here, with SIA markings now removed. Fate unknown.
• Boeing 737-800 9V-MGB
  Stored in Singapore since May 2022. This aircraft was leased from the UK’s ALM (Aircraft Leasing and Management), originally until 2024, but was deregistered on 20th September 2023 and is now VH-8JS with Australia’s Rex Airlines. It flew from Singapore to Brisbane on 22nd September 2023, but has yet to enter service with the carrier.

The Star Alliance Boeing 737-8 MAX finally joins the fleet

Singapore Airlines took delivery of six new Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft in 2022, and promptly put all these aircraft into revenue service… except one.

9V-MBL was delivered on 26th February 2022, then was repainted from SilkAir colours into the Star Alliance colour scheme (photo here) in April 2022, but wasn’t brought into service until 25th April 2023.

Singapore Airlines has since revealed that the aircraft was awaiting its cabin refit, so presumably there was some supply shortage here.

This is the first SIA narrow-body aircraft to receive the Star Alliance colours, and it’s nice to now see it in action.

If you’re booked on a Boeing 737-8 MAX flight with Singapore Airlines, you now have a 1 in 16 chance of scoring a ride on this Star Alliance jet.

The final Airbus A380 is still in refit

Only one of SIA’s future 12-strong fleet of Airbus A380s still needs to have the latest cabin products fitted before it re-enters service, and that’s 9V-SKP.

This one has been in the hangar since October 2022, and based on previous refit timescales we were expecting to see it enter the fleet as the final superjumbo returning post-COVID by around mid-2023.

The latest information we have is that 9V-SKP will be back in action from November 2023.

The A380 is now being used extensively on the network, including to Hong Kong, London, Sydney and Shanghai.

Further expansion for the A380s later in 2023 includes Auckland and Tokyo, though the current superjumbo Melbourne flight sadly downgrades to a Boeing 777-300ER from November.

Fleet activity by registration

Here’s a breakdown of the SIA fleet of passenger aircraft based on recent revenue flight activity, based on an analysis conducted on 7th October 2023.

Airbus A350s

All 32 Airbus A350-900 Long Haul aircraft in the fleet were active in October 2023.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SMA	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMB	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMC	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SMD	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SME	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SMF	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMG	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMH	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SMI	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMJ	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMK	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SML	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMM	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SMN	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMO	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMP	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMQ	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SMR	SIN	24 Sep 23	13
9V-SMS	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMT	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMU	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMV	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMW	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SMY	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SMZ	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SJA	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SJB	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SJC	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SJD	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SJE	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SJF	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SJG	SIN	6 Oct 23	1

‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s most recent revenue flight.

9V-SMR might be in maintenance, given its 13-day break from service.

All 24 Airbus A350-900 Medium Haul aircraft were also flying recently.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SHA	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHB	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHC	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHD	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHE	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHF	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SHG	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHH	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHI	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHJ	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHK	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHL	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHM	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SHN	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHO	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHP	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHQ	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHR	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHS	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHT	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHU	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHV	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHW	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SHY	SIN	7 Oct 23	0

‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s most recent revenue flight.

All of the airline’s Airbus A350-900 ULR aircraft are in service, covering regular San Francisco, New York JFK and Newark flights.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SGA	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SGB	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SGC	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SGD	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SGE	SIN	5 Oct 23	2
9V-SGF	SIN	5 Oct 23	2
9V-SGG	SIN	6 Oct 23	1

‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s most recent revenue flight.

Airbus A380s

A total of ten Airbus A380s are currently in regular service, with 9V-SKP the final superjumbo under refit, as mentioned above.

9V-SKN is already in the new configuration, but is undergoing maintenance at Changi.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SKF	SIN	24 Mar 20	1,292
9V-SKK	ASP	21 Mar 20	1,295
9V-SKM	SIN	25 Sep 23	12
9V-SKN	SIN	21 May 23	139
9V-SKP	SIN	24 Mar 20	1,292
9V-SKQ	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SKR	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SKS	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SKT	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SKU	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SKV	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SKW	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SKY	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SKZ	SIN	7 Oct 23	0

‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s most recent revenue flight.

9V-SKK will see out the end of its lease in Alice Springs before leaving the fleet, while 9V-SKF is still parked at Changi awaiting its fate – sadly it will be broken up and used only for spare parts.

Boeing 737-800s

All 7 out of the 9 Boeing 737-800s that moved across from SilkAir to Singapore Airlines remain in regular service with the mainline carrier, with 9V-MGA and -MGB already deemed surplus to requirements and removed from the fleet, as revealed in May 2022.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-MGC	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MGD	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MGE	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MGK	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MGL	SIN	27 Sep 23	10
9V-MGM	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-MGN	SIN	7 Oct 23	0

‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s most recent revenue flight.

The Boeing 737-800 fleet, with its unpopular recliner Business Class seats, will thankfully wind down from 2024 through to the end of 2025, as their leases progressively expire.

Boeing 737-8 MAX

All 16 of SIA’s Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft are now in regular service, following 9V-MBL’s entry to the fleet in its Star Alliance livery.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-MBA	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBB	SIN	5 Oct 23	2
9V-MBC	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBD	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBE	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBF	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBG	SIN	28 Sep 23	9
9V-MBH	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBI	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBJ	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBK	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBL	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBM	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBN	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBO	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-MBP	SIN	7 Oct 23	0

‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s most recent revenue flight.

Boeing 777-200

Boeing 777-200s will not return to the SIA fleet, with the five aircraft still owned by the airline in storage at Alice Springs in Australia.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SRG	ASP	1 Feb 20	1,344
9V-SRH	ASP	23 Mar 20	1,293
9V-SRJ	ASP	7 Jun 20	1,217
9V-SRL	ASP	24 Mar 20	1,292
9V-SRP	ASP	24 Mar 20	1,292

‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s most recent revenue flight.

These aircraft are due to be sold.

Boeing 777-300ERs

19 of SIA’s 26 registered Boeing 777-300ERs were active over the last two weeks.

The other 7 aircraft are stored at Changi (5) or Alice Springs (2), though as we already reported 9V-SWD, -SWE and -SWF will not rejoin the fleet, leaving only 4 to be activated again.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SWB	SIN	5 Oct 23	2
9V-SWD	SIN	19 Mar 20	1,297
9V-SWE	SIN	1 Feb 21	978
9V-SWF	SIN	28 Sep 20	1,104
9V-SWG	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWH	SIN	30 Sep 23	7
9V-SWI	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SWJ	ASP	4 May 20	1,251
9V-SWK	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWL	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWM	SIN	24 Dec 21	652
9V-SWN	SIN	24 Dec 21	652
9V-SWO	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWP	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWQ	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SWR	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWS	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWT	SIN	6 Oct 23	1
9V-SWU	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWV	SIN	18 Sep 23	19
9V-SWW	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWY	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SWZ	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SNA	SIN	2 Oct 23	5
9V-SNB	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SNC	SIN	7 Oct 23	0

‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s most recent revenue flight.

Boeing 787-10s

All of SIA’s 19 Boeing 787-10s are currently active.

Aircraft	Location	Last flew	Days ago
9V-SCA	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCB	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCC	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCD	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCE	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCF	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCG	SIN	5 Oct 23	2
9V-SCH	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCI	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCJ	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCK	SIN	1 Oct 23	6
9V-SCL	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCM	SIN	3 Oct 23	4
9V-SCN	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCO	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCR	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCS	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCT	SIN	7 Oct 23	0
9V-SCU	SIN	6 Oct 23	1

‘Last flew’ dates relate to the aircraft’s most recent revenue flight.

Alice Springs storage

There are now only seven SIA group aircraft in storage at Alice Springs, as outlined in the following table.

SIA Group aircraft stored in Alice Springs
Airline	Aircraft	Total	Registrations
	Airbus A380	1	9V-SKK
	Boeing 777-200	5	9V-SRG 9V-SRH 9V-SRJ 9V-SRL 9V-SRP
	Boeing 777-300ER	1	9V-SWJ

The sole remaining A380 in Alice Springs, 9V-SKK, is leased from Hannover Leasing until the end of 2023. It will not be refitted or returning to service with Singapore Airlines.

The former NokScoot Boeing 777-200s, still owned by Singapore Airlines, will eventually be sold.

The sole Boeing 777-300ER still stored in Alice Springs, 9V-SWJ, should be returning to service with the airline. It has now been stored for over three years.

Upcoming deliveries

Based on Singapore Airlines’ latest fleet development plan, we can still expect two Boeing 777-300ERs to leave the fleet between now and the end of March 2024, while four more Boeing 787-10s are due for delivery.

Singapore Airlines Fleet Development Plan

Aircraft Type	SIA Passenger Fleet Totals
	9 Oct ’23	Leaving	Joining	31 Mar ’24
A350-900 MH	24			24
A350-900 LH	32			32
A350-900 ULR	7			7
A380-800	12			12
737-800	7			7
737-8 MAX	16			16
777-300ER	23	– 2		21
787-10	19		+ 4	23
All Types	140	– 2	+ 4	142

The Boeing 787-10s expected to be joining the fleet between now and 31st March 2024 are:

Registration	Latest Status & Location	Last flew
9V-SCP	7 test flights completed Charleston	7 Oct 2023
9V-SCQ	3 test flights completed San Antonio (stored)	1 Mar 2023
9V-SCV	Pre-flight prep Charleston (flightline)	n/a
9V-SCW	Pre-flight prep Charleston (flightline)	n/a

9V-SCP is due for delivery later this month, with the remaining three deliveries planned by 31st March 2024.

Once these four aircraft have been delivered, only a further eight Boeing 787-10s are due to join the SIA fleet.

9V-SCP is the 1,000th Boeing 787 built, and was originally due for delivery in May 2020.

The aircraft wears “1000th 787 Dreamliner” titles near the nose (as we predicted it would, given the same treatment was given to the 1,000th Boeing 747 that SIA took delivery of).

Singapore Airlines should provide a further update to its Fleet Development Plan in November 2023.

Future orders

Here’s how the latest total Singapore Airlines outstanding orders for fleet modernisation and replacement looks, including freighter aircraft.

Here’s how the same information looks for Scoot’s outstanding order book.

Delivery of Boeing 777-9s, which will sport the airline’s latest Suites and Business Class products, has slipped to 2025 at the earliest, with 2026 looking like a more realistic prospect, now that SIA has been issued its first line production slots.

Singapore Airlines is bolstering its wide-body fleet this year, most notably with Boeing 787-10s, following a three-year hiatus in deliveries for the troubled type.

We expect at a further four Boeing 787-10s to arrive between now and the end of March 2024, further allowing the airline to restore pre-COVID capacity, and even expand service to various markets.

Meanwhile the final Airbus A380 refit is nearing completion, with 9V-SKP expected to grace the skies again before the end of 2023.

(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)