Singapore Airlines eyes delivery of its first B777-9 in late 2025

Dhaka: Singapore Airlines still expects to take delivery of its first Boeing 777-9, the larger variant of the 777X, in late 2025, said Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer of the airline during the group’s latest financial results presentation to analysts.

However, reports also further cited some executives saying that the type's deliveries could slip further. The carrier initially ordered 20 aircraft of the type on top of another 19 Boeing 787-10 aircraft in February 2017.

In February 2021, Singapore Airlines announced that it was swapping 14 Boeing 787-10 orders for 11 additional Boeing 777-9 aircraft to cover its widebody aircraft needs beyond FY2025/26.

Meanwhile, the airline’s latest annual financial report indicated that in FY2023/24, it took delivery of 16 aircraft, which included eight aircraft each that were added to Singapore Airlines and Scoot fleets, respectively.

The former took delivery of two Airbus A350-900, four Boeing 787-10, and two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft while retiring three Boeing 737-800 Next Generation (NG) jets.

In February 2021, the group estimated that its CapEx in FY2024/2025 would be USD 4.3 billion, which has now been reduced to USD 3 billion. However, in the following financial year, Singapore Airlines plans to spend as much as USD 4.5 billion on aircraft and other assets.

While Boeing was initially scheduled to deliver the 777X in 2020, the Boeing 737 MAX crisis, changes to aircraft certification in the United States and a closer eye from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have resulted in multiple delays in the programme.

The issues were only compounded by problems with the General Electric GE9X engine that temporarily paused Boeing's certification effort.