Singapore Airlines began integrating nine Boeing 737-800s into its fleet back in March 2021, following the merger of full-service regional subsidiary SilkAir with the mainline carrier, a process completed by May of that year.

Four years later, only four of these jets remain – gradually replaced by brand-new Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft. That transition will be completed in less than eight months from now, with the final 737-800 flight scheduled for 25th October 2025 – marking the end of the road for its unpopular recliner Business Class and lack of seat-back IFE and Wi-Fi connectivity across both cabins.

It will also mark an important transition for the airline – to full flat-bed Business Class fleet-wide, a plan originally promised by early 2020 but derailed by the Boeing 737-8 MAX groundings that lasted nearly two years.

For now, five routes remain on the 737-800’s roster, dropping to just two routes from late March until its eventual retirement seven months later. With schedules now confirmed, here’s our latest (and likely final) update on where these jets will be flying, before we finally bid them farewell.

Where is the SIA 737-800 flying?

For the rest of the current IATA northern winter 2024/25 schedule, which runs until 29th March 2025, Singapore Airlines is deploying its Boeing 737-800s on five routes:

• Kathmandu
• Kuala Lumpur
• Penang
• Phuket
• Siem Reap

Kathmandu is obviously the standout here – and not in a good way.

Clocking in at up to 5 hours 10 minutes of flight time, it is by far the longest stretch for this aircraft type.

The good news is there’s sometimes a non-737-800 alternative on these routes, which is another reason we’re writing this article – choose wisely and you can potentially avoid the type altogether.

That will become even easier from 30th March 2025, with the route list dropping to three, then just two a month later, right through to the type’s retirement from SIA.

Schedules

Overall, SIA’s Boeing 737-800 flights will drop from their current level of 56 weekly departures from Changi to just 18 weekly departures by October 2025, as the fleet is finally wound down to its planned exit from service.

Boeing 737-800 Routes (2025) (weekly departures, one-way)
Route	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
Kathmandu	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	4
Kuala Lumpur	14	7	—	—	—	—	—	—
Penang	14	28	14	14	14	14	14	14
Phuket	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Siem Reap	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total	56	42	21	21	21	21	21	18

As you can see, from April 2025 the 737-800 will no longer operate to Phuket and Siem Reap, with Kuala Lumpur following in May. This leaves just Kathmandu and Penang as the final routes for the type, until its retirement from SIA.

Here’s how the schedules on these routes look for the remainder of the current winter season, and where applicable for the upcoming summer season, with the Boeing 737-800 services highlighted.

Now – 29th March 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ442 737-800
SIN 17:15		KTM 20:10
	SQ441 737-800
KTM 21:10		SIN 04:25*

* Next day

30th March 2025 – 18th September 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ442 737-800
SIN 18:55		KTM 21:45
	SQ441 737-800
KTM 23:00		SIN 06:20*

* Next day

19th September 2025 – 25th October 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ442 737-800
SIN 18:55		KTM 21:45
	SQ441 737-800
KTM 23:00		SIN 06:20*

* Next day

Kathmandu
737-800 alternatives

There is currently no alternative to the Boeing 737-800 on SIA’s Kathmandu flights, however from 19th September to 24th October the Boeing 787-10 will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Kathmandu
Post-737-800 aircraft plans

From 26th October 2025, Singapore Airlines plans to operate its Kathmandu flights using Boeing 787-10s on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while services on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays will be flown using Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft.

Singapore Airlines is currently operating 54 flights each week on the short hop to and from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, with 14 of those (26%) operated by the Boeing 737-800, as shown below.

Now – 29th March 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ108 737-800
SIN 09:15		KUL 10:20
	SQ114 737-800
SIN 12:45		KUL 13:45
	SQ107 737-800
KUL 11:05		SIN 12:15
	SQ113 737-800
KUL 14:30		SIN 15:55

For the month of April 2025, Boeing 737-800 service on KL flights reduces to a single daily flight.

30th March 2025 – 30th April 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ116 737-800
SIN 14:50		KUL 16:00
	SQ115 737-800
KUL 16:45		SIN 18:00

From 1st May 2024, SIA will no longer operate the Boeing 737-800 on its Kuala Lumpur route.

Kuala Lumpur
737-800 alternatives

Singapore Airlines operates a variety of aircraft types on its Kuala Lumpur services, including a mixture of wide-body, narrow-body, long-haul and regional types.

That makes the Boeing 737-800 relatively easy to avoid between now and the end of April 2025 on this route. You can expand the list below to see a full breakdown of the planned aircraft types and Business Class seat products for the carrier’s KL flights between now and the end of October.

SIA’s Penang route currently sees two out of five daily flights operated by the Boeing 737-800, as shown below.

Now – 29th March 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ132 737-800
SIN 07:50		PEN 09:20
	SQ136 737-800
SIN 13:15		PEN 14:40
	SQ131 737-800
PEN 10:10		SIN 11:35
	SQ135 737-800
PEN 15:30		SIN 17:15

Boeing 737-800 service then increases to four daily flights in each direction during April 2025.

30th March 2025 – 30th April 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ132 737-800
SIN 07:50		PEN 09:20
	SQ134 737-800
SIN 07:50		PEN 09:20
	SQ136 737-800
SIN 07:50		PEN 09:20
	SQ142 737-800
SIN 13:15		PEN 14:40
	SQ131 737-800
PEN 10:10		SIN 11:35
	SQ133 737-800
PEN 15:30		SIN 17:15
	SQ135 737-800
PEN 15:30		SIN 17:15
	SQ141 737-800
PEN 15:30		SIN 17:15

Two daily Penang flights are then operated by the Boeing 737-800 through to the end of the northern summer schedule on 25th October 2025.

1st May 2025 – 25th October 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ132 737-800
SIN 08:00		PEN 09:25
	SQ136 737-800
SIN 13:00		PEN 14:25
	SQ131 737-800
PEN 10:15		SIN 11:40
	SQ135 737-800
PEN 15:15		SIN 16:55

Penang
737-800 alternatives

Singapore Airlines is operating between 21 and 28 weekly flights on its Penang route this summer, and on services where the Boeing 737-800 is not used the Boeing 737-8 MAX takes its place instead. This includes all SQ138/137 flights.

Singapore Airlines currently operates six daily flights in each direction between Changi and Phuket, two of which (33%) are operated by the Boeing 737-800, as shown below.

Now – 29th March 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ736 737-800
SIN 16:15		HKT 17:10
	SQ740 737-800
SIN 18:30		HKT 19:20
	SQ735 737-800
HKT 18:00		SIN 21:00
	SQ739 737-800
HKT 20:10		SIN 23:10

Phuket
737-800 alternatives

Between now and 29th March 2025, all SIA Phuket flights not listed in the table above are operated by the Boeing 737-8 MAX, which comprises:

• All SQ724/723 flights
• All SQ726/725 flights
• All SQ728/727 flights
• All SQ732/731 flights

From 30th March 2025, all of SIA’s Phuket flights are operated by the Boeing 737-8 MAX, with up to 34 flights per week in each direction.

Singapore Airlines is currently operating twice-daily flights to and from Siem Reap, with one of those using the Boeing 737-800.

28th January 2025 – 29th March 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ164 737-800
SIN 08:40		SAI 09:45
	SQ163 737-800
SAI 10:40		SIN 14:15

Siem Reap
737-800 alternatives

Daily SQ166/165 flights on the Siem Reap route use the Boeing 737-8 MAX between now and 29th March 2025.

From 30th March 2025, all of the carrier’s Siem Reap flights use the Boeing 737-8 MAX, though frequencies gradually reduce from 13 per week to nine per week on this route.

Don’t forget we have a continually updated guide to Singapore Airlines Business Class seats by route and individual flight number for the entire passenger network, so do bookmark that one for future reference.

SIA’s Boeing 737-800 fleet

The current Singapore Airlines fleet of active Boeing 737-800s has now reduced to just four aircraft, as shown in the table below.

Singapore Airlines Active Boeing 737-800 Fleet
Reg.	Age (Mar 2025)	Owner*	Lease Expiry*
9V-MGK	9.8 yrs	Merced Capital	2025
9V-MGL	9.6 yrs	Merced Capital	2025
9V-MGM	9.5 yrs	Merced Capital	2025
9V-MGN	9.5 yrs	Merced Capital	2026

* Source: Cirium

We expect 9V-MGM and 9V-MGN will be the final aircraft to leave the fleet.

That follows SIA’s retirement of five Boeing 737-800s already – two in 2022, two in 2024, and one in 2025 – as outlined below.

Singapore Airlines Retired Boeing 737-800 Fleet
Reg.	Age (Feb 2025)	Final SIA pax flight	Fate
9V-MGA	11.1 yrs	5 May 2022	To REX Airlines as VH-8KH
	De-registered 27 Jul 2023
9V-MGB	11.0 yrs	21 May 2022	To REX Airlines as VH-8JS
	De-registered 22 Sep 2023
9V-MGC	10.8 yrs	22 Sep 2024	To Virgin Australia as VH-IJR
	De-registered 20 Jan 2025
9V-MGD	10.8 yrs	18 Nov 2024	To Virgin Australia as VH-IXK
	De-lease in progress
9V-MGE	10.6 yrs	21 Jan 2025	Unknown
	De-lease in progress

All flat-bed Business Class and fleet-wide Wi-Fi is in sight

The withdrawal of Boeing 737-800 aircraft from the Singapore Airlines fleet from late October 2025 will bring four main improvements for the passenger experience:

• Flat-bed Business Class seats fleet-wide on all Singapore Airlines flights
  This was originally promised by early 2020, but the global Boeing 737 MAX grounding required the airline to reshuffle its narrow-body fleet plans, hence the five-year delay. Once the 737-800s have bowed out though, you can guarantee flat-bed comfort in Business Class on all SIA flights, even on the Boeing 737-8 MAXs.

• Free Wi-Fi fleet-wide on all Singapore Airlines flights
  Boeing 737-800s are the only aircraft in the SIA fleet that are not Wi-Fi equipped, so their retirement will mean all aircraft have in-flight connectivity – now free for all Suites, First Class, and Business Class passengers, plus KrisFlyer members flying in Premium Economy and Economy.

• Seat-back KrisWorld entertainment screens on all Singapore Airlines flights
  Boeing 737-800s are the only aircraft in the SIA fleet that do not have seat-back in-flight entertainment screens, either in Business Class or Economy Class. Their removal will therefore mean all passengers have the latest seat-back KrisWorld entertainment system to look forward to.

• Live TV on all Singapore Airlines narrow-body aircraft
  SIA aircraft fitted with the Panasonic connectivity system also boast the airline’s Live TV Service. This includes the Boeing 737-8 MAX, which means you’ll be guaranteed this feature on board all narrow-body Boeing 737 flights with the carrier in future, once the Boeing 737-800s have departed for pastures new. Live TV is also available on SIA’s Airbus A350 Long Haul / ULR, Boeing 787-10 and selected Boeing 777-300ERs.

The biggest of the improvements is surely the adoption of flat-bed Business Class seats fleet-wide, with the ex-SilkAir recliner seats soon to be a thing of the past.

We travelled to and from Phuket on a Boeing 737-800 in Business Class in late 2022, and our detailed review will help you know what to expect from that cabin, if you’re unlucky enough to have one of these in your calendar over the coming months.

Although service was good and we were well fed and watered, it’s safe to say this is a waste of miles with clunky manual seat controls, no privacy, no Wi-Fi connectivity and in-flight entertainment via an iPad that didn’t work on either sector of our journey!

The very minor refresh Singapore Airlines made to this cabin on the 737-800s is apparent in the ‘before and after’ shot below – we actually prefer the warmer tones used in the SilkAir fit, compared to the ‘Premium Economy grey’ SIA opted for.

As you can see, apart from new upholstery and cushions there’s no major change to the hard product, with little privacy and no flat-bed function, both features of the airline’s other Business Class products including those fitted to the newer Boeing 737-8 MAX.

Speaking of the MAX, since this is replacing the Boeing 737-800 in an almost one-for-one swap on the network, here are the details of the much-improved passenger experience on those jets, in both Business Class and Economy Class.

All of the MAXs have flat-bed seats in Business Class and seat-back in-flight entertainment screens plus device charging in Economy Class, so it’s a much closer experience to the wide-body fleet on these aircraft.

How to tell if your flight is on the 737-800

Aside from the schedule tables above, Singapore Airlines identifies the Boeing 737-800 in its booking engine when you search for a flight or award redemption, either through the website or mobile app, labelling them the “Boeing 737-800 NG”.

Simply click ‘More details’ for the flight(s) displayed in the search results to reveal the aircraft type.

Note that a different identification is given for the newer Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft, which are labelled “Boeing 737-8 MAX” by SIA.

If you’re using a search tool like ExpertFlyer, you can identify the Boeing 737-800 in the search results by its IATA aircraft type designator “738”. Note how the Boeing 737-8 MAX uses “7M8”.

If you’re checking for the Boeing 737-800 on a flight tracking site like FlightRadar24, you may see it referred to by its ICAO aircraft type designator “B738”.

Most third-party booking sites like Kayak will also clearly show if your flight is operated by the 737-800.

Targeting or avoiding the 737 MAX instead?

Don’t forget we have a separate guide to SIA’s Boeing 737-8 MAX routes between now and late October 2025, which you can access here.

That’s particularly useful if you’re still trying to experience the MAX’s new cabin products, or if you’re avoiding that type altogether!

With just four Boeing 737-800s remaining in its fleet, Singapore Airlines is in the final stretch of phasing out these aircraft, with the exit of the aircraft type from the fleet planned for 25th October 2025.

Their departure will mark the end of a relatively short-lived period for the airline’s most outdated cabin products – inherited from SilkAir – and bring a long-awaited transition to a fully flat-bed Business Class fleet, alongside fleet-wide Wi-Fi and seat-back entertainment.

As these jets wind down their final months of operation, passengers travelling on routes like Kathmandu, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur still have the chance to experience them – though many may prefer to avoid them.

The good news is that on some of these routes, SIA already offers alternative non-737-800 flights for you to choose from.

Looking ahead, the airline’s Boeing 737-8 MAX will be the only narrow-body jet in the fleet from 26th October 2025, offering a more consistent and premium onboard experience on shorter flights.

(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)