A350 Deliveries and Routes

[SQKevin]

9V-SJA will be doing her CAF possibly today. She could be delivered late this week or early next week.

[sbs2716g]

From 29/3. , SQ890/891 will be using the A350 long haul version. And Seattle also will be adding one more flight. Thus that might explain SQ207/208 will be swapped out of the A350?

I think we might see SJB/SJC/SJD.

[SQ228]

The A350 is being taken off SIN-MEL (SQ207/208) and will be replaced by the 77W. Effective 29 March 2020.

They may be redirecting it to a different day flight or combining it with another A350 change to create further capacity. Removing a day flight by itself only creates capacity for another day flight. They already have plenty of spare capacity within the SMx fleet during SQ207/8 with some of them sitting at SIN on any given day so this change may have more to do with increasing capacity to MEL.

[SQ957]

The absolute necessity in finding A350 long haul capacity is securing an aircraft between 0100 and 0500 as this is when the fleet is at its peak usage. To illustrate, all flight pairs to AMS, CPH, MXP, BCN, DUS, MUC, JNB & IST require the plane twice between 0100 & 0500, but only once between 0800 & 2100. That’s a major constraint to work around when scheduling the SMx fleet.

The A350 is being taken off SIN-MEL (SQ207/208) and will be replaced by the 77W. Effective 29 March 2020.

[SQ228]

The only capacity within the current A350 long haul fleet to free up extra craft for additional long hauls is one daily BNE flight pair (SQ246/5). The reason this flight pair could do so is because it flies overnight on one of its legs.

All other shorter regional and medium haul flights exist to utilise the fleet between long haul requirements. Removing any of these flights would not create further long haul capacity as they are day flights.

The absolute necessity in finding A350 long haul capacity is securing an aircraft between 0100 and 0500 as this is when the fleet is at its peak usage. To illustrate, all flight pairs to AMS, CPH, MXP, BCN, DUS, MUC, JNB & IST require the plane twice between 0100 & 0500, but only once between 0800 & 2100. That’s a major constraint to work around when scheduling the SMx fleet.

[yuuka_miya]

I don't see why they would do that though, since the refits would have cost extra money.

Presumably the extra 3 weekly SFO and LAX frequencies were a stop gap until they could decide on what new route they wanted. (as for why not double-daily SFO, I'd guess the extra LAX flights were a response to UA, and they didn't expect UA to pull out so quickly)

[oliverdave]

SQ may then reconfigure back one or two of these ULRs to the standard 3 class configuration.

That’s spicy, didn’t cross my mind. Probably a new route though.

[flyguy]

A change in ULR flights coming: https://mainlymiles.com/2019/11/17/s...hicago-coming/

LAX will reduce to just one daily ULR leaving only SQ38/37
SFO’s SQ34/33 to go 3-class Longhaul A350

What might happen next?

Essentially there will be 2 extra A350s that is not required and unless SQ announces a new longhaul destination to the US, these 2 A350s will be not effectively used but up till now there is no announcement of any new US destination. SQ may then reconfigure back one or two of these ULRs to the standard 3 class configuration.

[MainlyMiles]

So where's the plane for SQ33/34 coming from? Are we to expect more long haul A350s?

They might be able to free up some 3-class A350s from other shorter flights as new regional aircraft come in. So far only one of the LH aircraft loses some flying in W20 as far as I can see - SQ962/963 CGK changes from 359 to 77W.

That said there are around 11 new A350s coming in 2020, with no variant confirmed yet. Some could easily be 3-class long haul versions.

[yuuka_miya]

No need to speculate so much. the schedule have been loaded for SIN-MEL-WLG for winter 2020

Still A350 long haul version with PE.

I take this back:

Presumably the cancelation of SIN-MEL-WLG is where they're getting the additional 3 class plane for SQ33/34.

So where's the plane for SQ33/34 coming from? Are we to expect more long haul A350s?

[sbs2716g]

Presumably the cancelation of SIN-MEL-WLG is where they're getting the additional 3 class plane for SQ33/34.

Guess they have not decide on the plane type for WLG? So they just never put in the schedule yet? Might be the regional A350?

[yuuka_miya]

Presumably the cancelation of SIN-MEL-WLG is where they're getting the additional 3 class plane for SQ33/34.

[MainlyMiles]

Aside from the ULR cuts, some other interesting changes spotted for NW20/21 season from approximately 25OCT20:

• SIN-MEL-WLG (A359) ends
• MEL route drops to 28 x weekly (4 x daily) all-B77W operation
• DPS goes 3 x daily B787, 1 x daily A333 (currently 2 of each type)
• MLE changes back to A333 from B787

I'm sure there's more but that's what I spotted for now.

[a340-313x]

Pure speculation: EWR goes 10x nonstop weekly, JFK downgauge to 77W.

Possibly to allow multiple A380s to go in for their refit?

My wild guess...

[9V-JKL]

Pure speculation: EWR goes 10x nonstop weekly, JFK downgauge to 77W.