Singapore Airlines has ordered five more Airbus A380-800s and 20 additional Airbus A350-900s, the carrier announced this week.
Deliveries of the planes — worth $7.5 billion based on current list prices — will begin in 2017.
Singapore currently operates 19 A380s and already had 20 A350s on order.
“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, in a statement. “The aircraft will enable us to further enhance our network, providing more travel options 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.”
Like its existing A380 fleet, the new planes will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, while the A350s will have Rolls-Royce Trent XWB’s under the wings.
Part of the deal involves Airbus buying back Singapore’s five Airbus A340-500 jets by late 2013. As a result, Singapore will discontinue its nonstop flights to Newark and Los Angeles, currently the world’s two longest scheduled commercial flights.
The announcement came almost five years to the day that Singapore became the first airline to operate the A380 in revenue service.
