For a small country, Singapore has quite a large and expansive national carrier. Not only is Singapore Airlines’ fleet large in terms of the number of aircraft, but its aircraft are large, modern, and fitted with some of the nicest cabins in the industry. The carrier, however, doesn’t have the same fleet now compared to when it started 2020. Let’s look at Singapore Airlines and its current fleet.
Without a doubt, the events of 2020 have drastically changed Singapore Airlines’ fleet. Compared to physically large countries with domestic operations, Singapore as a city-state has no such industry. Thus, with the country’s total travel ban in the Spring, its national carrier ceased to exist in a functional sense – at least for a little while. Some aircraft were retired early, while others were sent into long-term storage. Even now, while limited operations have resumed, more than half of its 130+ aircraft are listed as parked.
The Airbus A380
With the events of 2020, some airlines have moved to retire their large Airbus A380s. Singapore Airlines has parked all 19 of these superjumbos – some of them remaining at home at Singapore Changi Airport, others in the dry climate of Alice Springs in the middle of the Australian Outback.
For now, the aircraft officially remain part of the Singapore Airlines fleet with no confirmed news of retirement. The average age for the A380s is 8.6 years old.
The most recent and innovative use for the large aircraft was as an on-the-ground restaurant. The idea was met with huge success, with the first experience selling out in half an hour. Six more seatings spread across two days were subsequently added.
The Boeing 787
Singapore Airlines took delivery of the world’s first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner back in March of 2018. In total, Planespotters.net data shows that the airline has 15 of the aircraft type, with 12 in service and three listed as parked.
The average age of these aircraft is 2.1 years old, with the newest accepted in November 2019. All 787s are configured to have 36 seats in business class and 301 in economy class.
The Airbus A350
Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A350 fleet is the largest portion of the airline’s total fleet. Of the 52 aircraft listed with the airline, 38 A350s are listed as active, while 14 are listed as parked.
While all the A350s in the SQ fleet are -900s, not all of these are configured the same. In fact, the carrier has three configurations for its A350s- medium-haul, long-haul, and ultra-long-haul.
Of these, one offers a three-class layout with business, premium economy, and economy. Another is a more typical two-class setup featuring business and economy, while the ultra-long-haul variant is fitted with just business and premium economy seating. The A350-900ULR flies from Singapore to New York (most recently changing to JFK airport instead of Newark Liberty).
The average age of the A350 fleet is just 2.3 years old.
The Airbus A330 and Boeing 777
Finally, the A330 and 777 are part of the Singapore Airlines fleet. Planespotters.net notes that all six A330-300s are parked – their average age is 5.6 years old.
Of the Boeing 777 fleet, just six -300s are listed as in service with the airline. There are another 25 777-300s listed as parked. Earlier this year, the carrier retired its 777-200ER fleet, although three are listed as being parked in Alice Springs, Australia.
Which Singapore Airlines aircraft have you flown on? Share your experiences with us in the comments!
