A350 Deliveries and Routes

[FN-GM]

It strikes me as strange to compare such different types. The 773ER is substantially larger. I assumed a more relevant comparison would have been to the older 772s that the A359 is replacing.

But given SIA's love affair with Airbus at the moment, I assume they are seeing everything through French-coloured glasses.

doesn't the 772 & 77W have similar operating costs any despite the size difference?

Are you seriously arguing that Boeing does not provide airlines a safe, reliable, and economical product?

I don't think he means that. I think he simply means Airbus are giving Boeing some serious competition.

[jaywell]

Are you seriously arguing that Boeing does not provide airlines a safe, reliable, and economical product?

Absolutely not. Why would the world's leading airlines trust Boeing for years and keep buying their products if they provided a unsafe aircraft?

All I'm saying is that Airbus has been giving Boeing some serious competition. If you look at the order books for the past 10 years, you'll see that Airbus has been consistently beating Boeing nearly every year. For example, the A320neo vs the 737 MAX. Plus Boeing has been bogged down by various issues, namely the 787. From the delays to a multitude of problems once the plane entered service. You don't see the A350 suffering from so many delays and issues do you?

[crazycrab955]

Plus Boeing has been bogged down by various issues, namely the 787. From the delays to a multitude of problems once the plane entered service. You don't see the A350 suffering from so many delays and issues do you?

Ahem. How quickly we forget the multi-year mess that was the A380 EIS!

Anyway. I think both manufacturers build great airplanes, albeit with different philosophies and certainly different metrics of success. Again, my original post was really just questioning why SQ would compare such different types (A359 vs 77W). Given that those are not really directly competitive types, would not a better comparison for SQ be the A359 vs Scoot's 789s?

[leops1984]

Ahem. How quickly we forget the multi-year mess that was the A380 EIS!

Anyway. I think both manufacturers build great airplanes, albeit with different philosophies and certainly different metrics of success. Again, my original post was really just questioning why SQ would compare such different types (A359 vs 77W). Given that those are not really directly competitive types, would not a better comparison for SQ be the A359 vs Scoot's 789s?

The 789 is a fair bit smaller than the A359. For the 787 family the competitor (as far as size is concerned) would be the 787-10, which hasn't entered service yet. Conventional wisdom has been that the A359 is more economical for longer routes, but the 787-10 is superior for shorter ones.

As configured by SQ, the 77W and the A350 aren't that far off. The 77WR has more seats, but not THAT much:

- 4 F seats (A350 has none)
- 6 J seats (A350 has 12.5% fewer)
- 4 PE seats (A350 has 16.67% fewer)

The A350 has 3 more Y seats than the 77W, too. So the 77W isn't a totally bad comparison. An A350 is something like 80-90% of the plane that the 77W is, at least looking at passenger loads.

[MRW]

It strikes me as strange to compare such different types. The 773ER is substantially larger. I assumed a more relevant comparison would have been to the older 772s that the A359 is replacing.

Given that SIA's first permanent deployment of the A359 is to replace a 773ER (on the SIN-AMS route), it suggests that SIA is making exactly this comparison.

[SQ228]

Given that SIA's first permanent deployment of the A359 is to replace a 773ER (on the SIN-AMS route), it suggests that SIA is making exactly this comparison.

Yes I was thinking the same. Leaving aside the planes in their 'pure' state where it is true that the comparison is not an even one, let's look at the 'applied' comparison where SQ wants to fly a plane from SIN to CPH, AMS, BCN or DUS. Until now they have only had two options on those routes- 77W or 772ER. As much as I'm a great fan of the 777 and always try to get myself on 77W flights where I can, it's pretty clear that the A359 will open a whole new set of options for direct flights to Euro cities without the traffic to support a larger plane and that's definitely something I'm happy about, especially DUS being the first of these new flights.

[crazycrab955]

it's pretty clear that the A359 will open a whole new set of options for direct flights to Euro cities without the traffic to support a larger plane and that's definitely something I'm happy about, especially DUS being the first of these new flights.

This. Exactly.

On a per-flight basis, it is likely the A359 (a smaller, narrower plane with less capacity) will be more efficient than the 77W.

However, on a per-seat basis, the story may be quite different.

All that aside; on the long/thin routes that the A359 is being placed on, it obviously makes sense to downgauge capacity from the 77W where possible. And that seems to be what SIA is doing.

[726]

Sq has just released a new pdf timetable which reflects 359 deployment.
Weird considering the last timetable was released less than 2 weeks ago.

[SQ228]

Sq has just released a new pdf timetable which reflects 359 deployment.
Weird considering the last timetable was released less than 2 weeks ago.

There used to be a time when I would download the new PDF timetable on the first day of every month and get the next update without fail. Now it sometimes lapses into invalidity before the random day arrives when they decide to upload a newer one.

[FSJZ]

Looks like the first flight for 9V-SMB will be happening today, 1 April.

[SQKevin]

Looks like the first flight for 9V-SMB will be happening today, 1 April.

Yes, it's likely to happen today or tomorrow. RTO was completed on 30 March.

[leops1984]

Looks like the first flight for 9V-SMB will be happening today, 1 April.

First flight appears to have taken place today, and is currently in progress.

[SQKevin]

First Flight for 9V-SMB.

[SQKevin]

9V-SMB back from its First Flight.

[alian]

May be a bit off topic. But recently I was on SIA A350 to KUL in J.

Here is my few points to note.

Yes the width is smaller than the 77W thus the space is smaller. The seat feels the same but what is noticeable it the storage compartments (by not much and still good by any other standards) IFE is awesome in terms of clarity but then usability is s bit tricky if you are not a techie, blog from Patrica Chan notes on this too. But then again all this is subjective. On a personal note I don't like voyager 3D but it's cool I'm more old school. I do still wish SIA could add a tail cam though.

What I did notice is the J lavatory at the front of the plane is much smaller. Smaller to the point that there is no space for amenities drawer. The back is same or similar but with newer finishing but the front toilets not having space to provision amenities could make this an issue with some passengers ( I know it's first world problems but just noting).

Did I miss out the amenity drawers? Do share your experience for those who have flown the A350 care to share.

Thanks