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Perth to be Australia's first Boeing 787-10 destination

written by Gerard Frawley | February 22, 2018

Singapore Airlines' first Boeing 787-10 during flight testing. (Singapore Airlines)
Singapore Airlines’ first Boeing 787-10 during flight testing. (Singapore Airlines)

Australia will welcome the Boeing 787-10 to these shores for the first time in May 2018 when Singapore Airlines (SIA) commences flights to Perth with the next generation widebody.
SIA said one of its four daily flights to between Perth and its Singapore hub would switch to the 787-10, replacing either the Boeing 777-200 or Airbus A330-300 which currently operate on the route.
As the aircraft will primarily be deployed within Asia Pacific, SIA has chosen a two-class layout for the 787-10, comprising 36 new, yet-to-be-revealed, regional business class seats offering direct aisle access for every passenger and 301 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout for a total of 337.
In addition to the improvement in cabin amenities, the switch to the 787-10 also represented a capacity increase of about five per cent on the Perth-Singapore route, given the 777-200s and A330-300s have 266 and 285 seats, respectively.
“Deploying our brand new 787-10 product to Perth reinforces the importance the city plays in our global network and will help to cater for the growing demand we have seen from the West Australian market,” SIA regional vice president Phillip Goh said in a statement on Thursday.
“I am looking forward to welcoming the new aircraft to Perth and showcasing our new regional cabin products to our customers.”
SIA has firm orders for 30 787-10s, as a well as a letter of intent for a further 19 of the type. It is the 787-10’s launch customer.
The airline’s first 787-10, 9V-SCA, commenced flight testing on February 2 2018. The official delivery ceremony was scheduled for late March.
Singapore Airlines' first Boeing 787-10 at Boeing's North Charleston facility. (Singapore Airlines)
Singapore Airlines’ first Boeing 787-10 at Boeing’s North Charleston facility. (Singapore Airlines)

Perth is the second announced scheduled destination for SIA’s incoming batch of 787-10s. After some short-haul flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur for crew familiarisation purposes following first delivery, SIA will deploy the aircraft on the Singapore-Osaka route from May.
Aviation thinktank CAPA – Centre for Aviation said the 787-10 was a key component of SIA’s fleet strategy as it would help lower costs and usher in a new phase of growth as older A330-300s and 777-200/200ERs are withdrawn.
“The lower unit costs generated by 787-10s enable SIA to compete better in an intensely competitive regional market – against LCCs, as well as aggressive full service airlines,” CAPA said in a research note dated February 21.
“SIA the parent airline has not grown over the past decade and is betting that the 787-10 is the right platform to support a resumption of growth.”
“The 787-10, which will account for more than a third of SIA’s eet in 2023, could be a game changer for SIA.”
The 787-10 is the largest variant of Boeing’s 787 program and is capable of flying 6,430nm when configured with 330 passengers in a two-class layout, according to Boeing figures.
At 68.2m, the 787-10 is a 5.5m stretch on the 787-9 that began flying in August 2014. The first 787 variant, the -8, made its commercial debut in October 2011 with launch customer All Nippon Airways.
The 787-10 received its amended type certificate from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in late January, following a flight test program that kicked off in March 2017 and accumulated 900 test hours.
Apart from SIA, airlines that fly to Australia and have ordered the 787-10 included ANA, British Airways, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, EVA Air and United.
The Boeing website lists 171 orders for the 787-10 as of January 2018.
Boeing published a video of the 787-10’s first flight in March 2017 on YouTube

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Comments (14)

  • Rod Pickin

    says:

    Marvelous, what does QF operate on that route?

  • Darren

    says:

    Possible replacement for old Qantas A330?

    It’s a beautiful replacement and aircraft!

  • Ian Morris

    says:

    @Rod Pickin…- Singapore Airlines (and Scoot) will be shaking in their boots since Qantas operate the vastly superior Boeing 737 on their two daily Perth – Singapore services… kind of pissed we will not get the A350 into Perth with Singapore Airlines since this seemingly indicates that the 787-10 will eventually take over all SQ Perth services as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 are replaced. Also kind of pissed at the 3+3+3 seating in economy…

  • franz chong

    says:

    have yet to fly one of these but wow.I hope in due course they upgrade Adelaide to these.Nothing against the A330’s personally but to be on an equal level as the other smaller cities would be great Brisbane has one A350 AND Perth gets this which is a good thing.

  • James

    says:

    @ Rod Pickin
    Would the 737 economy cabin be any less comfortable than this aircraft you reckon?

  • David

    says:

    Agree Darre. With record profits, Qantas need to be buying more aircraft. Some new, some replacements.

  • John Browne

    says:

    I’m surprised that SIA would choose a plane offering such a marginal experience for economy passengers

  • Jared

    says:

    Qantas uses 737-800 Aircraft

  • Craigy

    says:

    Qantas used the B737 on The Perth – Singapore route predominantly because that’s what the demand calls for. When demand is high they use A330s. This may change of course when Qantas change to a Singapore stopover for the QF 1/2 to London route.

  • Oskar Clare

    says:

    @Franz Chong
    Brisbane gets the A350 on SQ235/56, 255/236 and 245/246. This is 3 flights not 1. SQ265/266 remains 772 but it will likely become A350 or 787-10.

  • J

    says:

    Great news for Perth. The 787 is a nice plane to travel on,

  • Did some dummy booking and it looks to be beginning services on the 9th May. The service it will be repalcign is SQ215/216 which is the A333 night flight.

    • australianaviation.com.au

      says:

      Hi Cassidy. Thank you for your comment. The photo we published with this story was sourced directly from Singapore Airlines and appears different to the photos you linked to.
      Kind regards.

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