The Asian airline group, which includes the primary carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the low-cost airline Scoot, announced these fleet development plans in conjunction with its annual results. The group has reached an agreement with Boeing, the American aircraft manufacturer, to modify its order book.
The group didn't provide a specific reason for cancelling a portion of its 737 Max orders. However, it did note that these modifications, which also involve swapping three 787-9s for the larger -10 models, align with the group's long-term fleet renewal strategy.
The 737 Max orders were originally placed by the now-defunct regional subsidiary, SilkAir, which has since merged with the mainline operator. The 787-9s were part of Scoot's backlog of orders, while the -10s are operated by SIA.
After adjusting the orders, SIA now has 13 737 Max 8s and 15 787-10s on order. Scoot, on the other hand, has only one 787-9 left to order. Altogether, the group has 100 aircraft on order from Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer.
As of March 31, the group has a fleet of 195 aircraft, 188 of which are passenger planes. SIA operates a fleet of 133 passenger planes and seven cargo planes, while Scoot operates 55 aircraft.
These updates to the fleet come as the airline group reported a record operating profit of S$2.7 billion ($2 billion) for the year ending on March 31, marking its first profit since the pandemic began three years ago.
