Singapore Airlines to debut 737 MAX 8 ops in 4Q21
Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) plans to begin revenue operations of its six B737-8s, taken over from merged subsidiary SilkAir, “in the coming weeks”, the carrier announced on November 16, 2021.
The aircraft had been operated by SilkAir before the type’s global grounding in March 2019. In 2020, all six were ferried for storage in Alice Springs in Australia. Starting on December 30, 2020, they were repositioned back to Singapore Changi for cabin refurbishment and repainting and are currently parked at Singapore Changi, awaiting induction into service.
Singapore Airlines said the jets, now equipped with 154 passenger seats including ten lie-flat seats in business class, will operate regional flights to Bandar Seri Begawan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Nepal, and Thailand, subject to regulatory approvals. SIA will release details concerning the schedule shortly.
Singapore Airlines spent SGD230 million Singaporean dollars (USD170 million) on the development, design, and refurbishment of the B737 MAX 8 cabins. In its half-yearly financial presentation, Singapore Airlines Group said it would take another eight MAX by the end of March 2022, although it would also deploy only one of them into service in that timeframe.
Separately, the holding has confirmed in its quarterly financial report that Singapore Airlines retired its last A330-300 during the quarter that ended on September 30, 2021.
The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that the airline’s two last A330s to leave Singapore Changi on return to their lessor were 9V-SSH (msn 1648) and 9V-SSI (msn 1666). Although the aircraft had been parked at Singapore Changi airport since March 28, 2020, and December 14, 2019, SIA only ferried them to Teruel in September/October, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. The aircraft are just over six years of age and were operated by Singapore Airlines for less than five years. Both are owned Crianza Aviation, managed by EastMerchant Capital, and remain parked at the Spanish airport.
Singapore Airlines operated thirty-four A330-300s over the course of its history, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows. It never operated any A330-200s. The -300s were predominantly used on regional routes.
Singapore Airlines also plans to take five more B787-10s until March 2022 (in addition to 15 already in its fleet) and two more A350-900s (on top of 49 already operated).
Despite 73% year-on-year growth in revenue during the April-September 2021 period, Singapore Airlines remained in the red, posting a SGD837 million (USD617 million) net loss.