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Anticipating further growth in capacity, Singapore Airlines just announced to place an US$ 7.5 billion order for more Airbus A380 and A350. However, the airline will cease its non-stop services to Newark and Los Angeles as it will retire its Airbus A340-500
SINGAPORE- Singapore Airlines (SIA) has agreed to order five more Airbus A380s and another 20 Airbus A350s for additional capacity growth and fleet renewal. The firm order commitments are valued at US$7.5 billion based on Airbus’ published list prices. Deliveries are due to begin in 2017.
SIA currently operates 19 A380-800 superjumbos and already had firm orders in place for 20 A350s, for delivery from 2015. “This major order will provide us with additional growth opportunities and is consistent with our longstanding policy of maintaining a young and modern fleet. It demonstrates our commitment to the Singapore hub, and our confidence in the strength of the market for premium full-service travel,” said SIA CEO Mr Goh Choon Phong.
“The aircraft will enable us to further enhance our network, providing more traveloptions to our customers. They will also feature the next generation of in-flight cabin products to keep us at the forefront of airline product innovation.”
SIA’s A380s now serve 10 destinations, namely Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo and Zurich, and they have carried more than 9 million passengers since entering service on 25 October 2007. The A350s are intended for use on medium and long-haul routes.
As part of the deal, Airbus has agreed to acquire SIA’s five A340-500s, which will be removed from service in the fourth quarter of the 2013 calendar year, in line with the airline’s policy to maintain a young fleet. This will result in the cessation of non-stop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles and between Singapore and Newark, in the absence of replacement aircraft in the SIA fleet with sufficient range and operating economics.
“Although disappointing that we will be halting these services, we remain very committed to the US market. Over the past two years we have increased capacity to both Los Angeles and New York by deploying A380 super jumbos on flights via Tokyo and Frankfurt. We will also continue to explore additional options to enhance our US services,” added Mr Goh.
With the new commitments announced today, SIA will have firm purchase or lease orders in place with Airbus and Boeing for 68 new wide-body aircraft, including 15 additional A330-300s and eight additional B777-300ERs ordered last year. This excludes 20 B787s on firm order that will be transferred to low-cost subsidiary Scoot to support its growth plans, as well as regional arm SilkAir’s recent order commitments for at least 54 B737 aircraft.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
