SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines has ordered 20 new Boeing 787s, or
Dreamliners, for some S$7b (US$4.52b).
This comes hot on the heels of the Airbus announcement that it will
delay delivery of its A380 superjumbo jets.
The carrier is forced to relook its flight schedules after Airbus
revealed overnight that it was delaying the delivery of the A380
superjumbo by 6-7 months.
But what is clearly unchanged is SIA's resolve to keep its fleet
young.
The delay will not affect SIA's plans to be the first carrier to
fly the A380 - it will still take delivery of the aircraft by
year's end.
The Boeing 787-9, better known as the Dreamliner, will take to the
skies with the Singapore Airlines colours in 5 years, between early
2011 and the middle of 2013.
It can carry up to 290 passengers.
"Boeing has offered us several versions of the 787 and we're taken
the larger longer range version which we think is better for what
we want to do with it. We want to use the new aircraft to fly
routes into North Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East
and we think the aircraft is the right choice to be able to do
that," said Stephen Forshaw, Vice-President of Public Affairs at
Singapore Airlines.
SIA's order came after European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said
its production of the superjumbo A380 was just not taking off fast
enough.
Airbus said only 9 planes are expected to be delivered next year
(2007) due to a production bottle neck, with a shortfall of another
5 to 9 aircraft deliveries in 2008.
The manufacturer added that the delays are due to what it calls
"industrial issues" such as manufacturing and installation of
electrical systems.
Airbus said it will put in place a recovery plan to make up for the
delay in future.
But customers including Singapore Airlines have said they are still
disappointed.
Still, SIA maintains its decision to order the new Boeing jets had
nothing to do with the delay.
Industry watchers have said the timing of SIA' s announcement to
buy the new Boeing Dreamliners is interesting though its selection
came as no surprise, as the airline has been looking to buy new
places to replace its ageing fleet of 777s and A310s for a
while.
So both the A380s and the Boeing 787s will complement the renewal
of the airline's fleet over the next 5 to 6 years. - CNA /dt
