While the difference between 59 and 60 A350s isn’t earth-shattering, getting to a nice round figure can be reason to celebrate.
Back at the start of April we reported that Singapore Airlines had taken delivery of its 59th Airbus A350-900. Now, some three months later, the Southeast Asian carrier has added another aircraft to its fleet for a total of 60. While the addition of 'just' one more A350 to an already large fleet may not be the biggest news, it's a special number and achievement for the airline. Let's look at how Singapore Airlines got to 60 of the widebody twinjets and what it can look forward to in the future.
On June 28th, the brand new Airbus A350-900 registered 9V-SJC, flew from Toulouse to Singapore Changi. The aircraft took off from Airbus' facilities at 21:24 local time and flew overnight to land at its new home in Singapore at 16:18 local time on June 29th. The flight as tracked by RadarBox.com saw it overfly Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and India. However, it appears as though the jet strategically skirted around Afghan airspace.
Prior to its delivery to Singapore Airlines, AIB Family Flights notes that 9V-SJC had completed a total of four test flights, accumulating a total of nearly seven and a half hours of test flight time. The aircraft was first spotted on June 2nd and was documented as having conducted a taxi-check and rejected take-off test on June 6th.
Singapore Airlines' newly-delivered A350 has yet to fly passengers on a regularly-scheduled commercial service. This is in stark contrast to Air France's new Airbus A350. Accounting for the time needed to deliver the A350 to Singapore, as well as the time difference, Air France's received its own brand new A350 on the same day, within a few hours of one another. While the European carrier's shiny new jet has already completed two commercial services (from Paris to Mumbai and Montreal), Singapore Airline's 60th A350 has yet to conduct a regular flight, even several days after arriving at its new home.
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With a fleet of nearly 150 aircraft, the Airbus A350-900 is the most popular type in the airline's collection of jets. Indeed, the A350s account for roughly 40% of Singapore Airlines' fleet. The next most-common type is the Boeing 777-300ER, of which the airline has 26.
With so many A350 aircraft, Singapore Airlines is the world's largest operator of the type, surpassing Qatar Airways and its current fleet of 53 active A350s. As we mentioned in our April report, Qatar Airways would have probably held its top spot if it had continued taking deliveries of the type from Airbus. However, in the ongoing dispute over surface degradation, the airline has refused to take any more of the A350s it had ordered years ago, with these jets being in a state of limbo.
The airline is expecting to take delivery of five more A350 passenger aircraft- two more this year and its final three next year, in 2023.
Are you happy about Singapore Airlines now having 60 A350-900s in its fleet? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment!
Sources: RadarBox.com, AIB Family Flights, Planespotters.net
Deputy Editor – An experienced photographer and video producer, Chris is a journalistic natural. Degree educated with a wealth of traveling history, Chris’ insight into routes, networks, and alliances brings a depth of quality to his work that is hard to beat. His strong relationships with Middle Eastern and Canadian airlines make him an asset to the team. Currently based in Vilnius, Lithuania.