It may seem like only yesterday, but you have to wind the clock back over eight years to recall the very first delivery of the Airbus A350 in the Singapore Airlines fleet, with 9V-SMA handed over to the carrier on 2nd March 2016, the 26th A350 built and at the time only the 15th to be delivered to an airline globally.

Fast forward to today, and over 600 Airbus A350s are flying around the world, with Singapore Airlines remaining the largest operator of the type globally, an accolade it has held since 2021, boasting 65 of the aircraft in its fleet.

That 65th and final passenger A350 to join the carrier, 9V-SJI, is now winging its way from the Airbus delivery centre in France, across to its new home in Asia.

It is the 697th Airbus A350 to be built and will touch down at Changi later today – marking a significant milestone for the carrier, as the last new long-haul aircraft it will receive for a number of years, until Boeing 777-9s finally begin to arrive.

The airline now has three variants of the A350 in service, each tailored to perform specific roles in terms of capacity and range, plus there are ‘hidden’ sub-variants, some with quite unique capabilities.

These include the latest A350 Long Haul ‘plus’ jets, like 9V-SJI, that can stretch their legs to the US West Coast without difficulty.

Why is 9V-SJI’s delivery so interesting?

You might wonder: what’s so special about SIA’s final passenger Airbus A350 delivery?

Well, 9V-SJI represents the last new aircraft in the Singapore Airlines fleet to be delivered with the 2013 long-haul Business Class seats, marking the end of an era for SIA’s Business Class offering, as the carrier transitions into a new phase of product evolution from early 2026.

The seat entered service over 11 years ago, in September 2013, on a Boeing 777-300ER between Singapore and London.

It’s now the airlines most prevalent long-haul Business Class product, installed on 70 aircraft:

• 41 Airbus A350 Long Haul
• 7 Airbus A350 ULR
• 22 Boeing 777-300ER

In total, following the delivery of 9V-SJI, there are 3,247 of these seats installed fleet-wide.

SIA’s new long-haul Business Class was set to make its debut on the Boeing 777-9, originally due to enter service with the carrier in 2021. Sadly that aircraft, which will replace Boeing 777-300ERs and eventually Airbus A380s in the fleet, now has a delivery date in 2026 at the earliest, but arguably for SIA – more likely in 2027.

Thankfully earlier this week Singapore Airlines confirmed that it would no longer wait for the troubled type to arrive before making a long-awaited shift change in its Business Class cabin offering, with Airbus A350 Long Haul and ULR jets picking up the new product via a retrofit programme from early 2026.

That’s critical because the 2013 Business Class is the stalwart of the long-haul fleet, and most agree it’s fallen well past its prime against many competitors’ offerings.

Farewell (eventually) 2013 J

It’s a bit early to say farewell to SIA’s 2013 long-haul Business Class seat, but with the the delivery of 9V-SJI today the product has reached its official ‘peak’, and will now be in decline over the coming years – as a new closed-door suite-style seat starts to take its place from early 2026.

In many ways – this can’t come soon enough.

Singapore Airlines last updated its long-haul Business Class product in 2017 on five brand new Airbus A380s that started to be delivered that year, a product that’s since been retrofitted to all 12 of the carrier’s post-pandemic superjumbo fleet.

While that’s only seven years ago, there are a few reasons why this shouldn’t really be regarded as the most recent step-change this cabin has received:

• The 2017 J seat is only marginally different to the 2013 J seat. Primarily, it does not need to be flipped over to be converted into a bed and has better storage, but passengers still need to sleep at an angle with their feet in a small cubby hole towards the side at most seats.
• The 2017 J seat is only fitted on the carrier’s 12 A380s. It never made it on to other long-haul aircraft, even the A350 ULR that first entered service a year later, and it doesn’t have a First Class (non-Suites) counterpart for aircraft like the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350.
• The 2017 J seat has limited coverage on the network. For example, on 7th November 2024, 2,126 of the 2013 J seats departed from Singapore on 47 flights, but only 546 of the 2017 J seats departed on just 7 flights. 2013 J is still the mainstay on SIA’s long-haul aircraft.

Now when you consider that the 2013 J seat is over 11 years old, that’s the longest the airline has gone without a major product refresh in this cabin in recent memory.

When you further consider that it will be 2026 before the new product enters service, we’re looking at over 12 years without a major step-change in Business Class cabin design – and that’s not like SIA at all.

Singapore Airlines
Long-haul Business Class Product Evolution

Product	Launch
SpaceBed	May 2002
4 years
2006 J	October 2006
7 years
2013 J	July 2013
4 years
2017 J	November 2017
8 years
2026 J	Q1 2026

While there’s still nothing fundamentally wrong with the 2013 J seat, which boasts direct aisle access and converts into a flat bed, there are many industry developments in this cabin that now make it look and feel rather dated.

We’ve flown on this seat many times and it’s still broadly a comfortable experience with lots of space on offer and nice finishes.

However, the main bugbears are the necessity to flip the seat over to convert it into bed mode, and the requirement in most seats to sleep an an angle with your feet in a small cubby hole below the side console of the passenger in front.

There’s also the increasingly notable lack of the latest ‘bells and whistles’ in the current product, like USB-C ports, wireless charging, bluetooth headphone pairing and larger 4K in-flight entertainment screens – not to mention the latest trend in Business Class, closing privacy doors.

These are all more or less ‘de rigueur’ in the latest Business Class cabin products being rolled out by competitors.

With the delivery of its final passenger Airbus A350, Singapore Airlines is closing a chapter in its Business Class product evolution, while almost simultaneously announcing that it’s already preparing for the next one.

SIA’s new long-haul Business Class with doors

Many Singapore Airlines Business Class regulars have been becoming increasingly frustrated with the delayed introduction of the airline’s new product, brought about by continual extended delivery delays for the Boeing 777-9s.

This frustration has been further compounded by the fact that many of Singapore Airlines’ competitors, including Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines, are imminently introducing – or have already introduced – what seem like superior products.

That’s led to many frequent flyers who are more accustomed to SIA’s leading position in the premium market growing restless, and feeling left behind by the competition’s innovation.

Thankfully, earlier this week Singapore Airlines finally announced that will bite the bullet and introduce its new closed-door Business Class cabin product on Airbus A350 Long Haul and Airbus A350 ULR aircraft, from early 2026.

All 41 of these aircraft will be retrofitted by the end of 2030, though its important to remember that at the time of its eventual introduction, the seat was supposed to have been in service (on the 777-9) for at least four years already.

There aren’t many details of the new product yet, but renderings provided by SIA suggest alternating window-aligned and aisle-aligned seats at each row.

We predicted this may be part of the airline’s plans for its future long-haul Business Class cabins in our preview of SIA’s Boeing 777-9, back in 2023.

The arrangement also allows for couple / ‘honeymoon’ options at alternate rows in the middle section, and of course we’re hoping that double beds could potentially come into play here for couples.

While there are no further details about the new Business Class cabin at this stage, we can safely expect modern touches like USB-C charging ports, wireless charging pads and bluetooth headphone connectivity to feature. IFE screens should also inch bigger, along with the general industry trend.

Singapore Airlines says the new cabins “will incorporate thoughtful elements that push the boundaries of comfort, luxury, and modernity, allowing our customers to relax or work effortlessly on board”. We look forward to taking a closer look.

The news means that 9V-SJI, which will presumably be among the last (or perhaps the last) aircraft to be refitted with new cabin products, will only traverse the SIA network with 2013 Business Class seats for around six years.

The A350: SIA’s most versatile plane

Singapore Airlines’ latest (and last) passenger Airbus A350, 9V-SJI, is one of the carrier’s “LH+” models, which has the longest range (aside from the ULR), the latest fuel-efficient wing and engine design, plus the carrier’s most recent 2017 seat product in the Economy Class cabin.

That’s because the A350 has evolved over the years since SIA’s first aircraft was delivered – meaning there are now three hidden sub-variants of the A350 LH family, as outlined below.

Airbus A350 Long Haul
sub-variant differences

	A350-900 Long Haul ‘lite’	A350-900 Long Haul	A350-900 Long Haul ‘plus’
Registrations	9V-SMA 9V-SMB 9V-SMC 9V-SMD 9V-SME 9V-SMF 9V-SMG 9V-SMH 9V-SMI 9V-SMJ 9V-SML 9V-SMM 9V-SMN 9V-SMO 9V-SMP 9V-SMR	9V-SMK 9V-SMQ 9V-SMS 9V-SMT 9V-SMU	9V-SMV 9V-SMW 9V-SMY 9V-SMZ 9V-SJA 9V-SJB 9V-SJC 9V-SJD 9V-SJE 9V-SJF 9V-SJG 9V-SJH 9V-SJI
Seats
Economy	2013 Y	2013 Y	2017 Y
Technical Spec.
Max. Weight	268 t	275 t	280 t
Engines	RR Trent XWB-84	RR Trent XWB-84	RR Trent XWB-84
Winglets	Original	Original	Extended
Approx. Range	7,270 nm	7,750 nm	8,100 nm

From the passenger experience perspective, its the LH ‘plus’ variant, like 9V-SJI, that provides the most differentiation, fitted with the latest 2017 Economy Class seats rather than the older 2013 version seen on the carrier’s other A350 aircraft.

Otherwise for SIA it’s the increased takeoff weight of the newer versions, and the added range that comes with that, which is the major benefit, allowing non-stop services to and from the US West Coast with few (if any) payload restrictions that would impact the earlier models.

Before these enhancements, such routes were the preserve of the A350 ULR.

As you might imagine, having increased capabilities for several of the newer A350 LH family doesn’t escape SIA’s attention, and these aircraft are actually deployed differently on the network to maximise their potential range and fuel saving.

You can effectively guarantee that you’ll be on an A350 LH+ when travelling non-stop to or from the US West Coast (unless you’re on a ULR), but elsewhere on the network – it’s pot luck.

Here’s a snapshot of the 65-strong Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 fleet, following the delivery of 9V-SJI.

	A350-900 Medium Haul	A350-900 Long Haul	A350-900 ULR
Service Entry	17 Dec ’18	9 Mar ’16	11 Oct ’18
First Route	Adelaide	Amsterdam	Newark
Registration Series	9V-SH_	9V-SM_ 9V-SJ_	9V-SG_
Current Fleet	24	34	7

For full details of the Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 fleet, which is arguably the carrier’s most versatile aircraft ever, plying routes as short as Kuala Lumpur and as long as New York – check out our complete guide to the fleet.

SIA’s Airbus A350 story isn’t over yet

While 9V-SJI’s delivery does indeed mark the end of the road for Singapore Airlines’ passenger Airbus A350 fleet, it won’t be the last of the type to wing its way across to Changi in the coming years.

Singapore Airlines will be the launch customer for the Airbus A350 Freighter, with seven aircraft to be delivered from early 2026 (originally planned for late 2025).

These will replace the airline’s seven ageing Boeing 747-400 Freighters.

The agreement includes purchase options on a further five A350Fs, which SIA says will provide “the ability to adapt our requirements to future demand in the cargo market”.

The aircraft will be 70.61m long, 3.8m longer than the A350-900 but 3.2m shorter than the A350-1000, and will be able to fly 4,700nm (around 10 hours) with a full payload.

The A350Fs will have more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, currently only fitted to the larger A350-1000, with 97,000 lb of thrust each.

The A350F offers 40% better fuel efficiency than the Boeing 747-400F, but can carry an almost identical cargo payload over a slightly longer range, according to the following data released by Singapore Airlines.

Airbus A350 Freighter
vs. 747-400F

	Airbus A350F	Boeing 747-400F
Length	70.61m	70.66m
Max. Takeoff Weight	319 t	395 t
Max. Payload	111 t*	116 t
Max. Volume	728 cu m	738 cu m
Range	4,700nm	4,500nm
Engines	RR Trent XWB-97	Pratt & Whitney PW4056

* Recently increased from 109 t

You can learn more about the A350F here.

The delivery of the 65th Airbus A350 for Singapore Airlines, 9V-SJI, marks a transition point for the carrier.

It is both a farewell – of sorts – to the 2013 Business Class seats, and a nod to the future, with the promise of a new era in Business Class cabin innovation on the A350 fleet.

Nonetheless, we’ll still have to wait until early 2026 to see new SIA long-haul cabin products enter service, something the airline probably considered unthinkable just a few years ago.

After all, these seats were originally set to debut at least four years earlier than they now will.

As 9V-SJI wings its way towards Changi, this moment serves as a reminder that even in the rapidly evolving world of aviation – sometimes the future is just a little further down the runway than expected.

(Cover Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)