Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) on Thursday said it would take delivery this month of its first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, which it would use on its flights to Osaka, Japan, and in two years it would begin flying the new aircraft model on its Taiwan route.
SIA said it has ordered 49 Boeing 787-10s and will become the first carrier in the world to fly the latest aircraft in the Dreamliner series when it puts the wide body twin-engine jetliner into operation later this month.
As it takes delivery of the rest of the fleet, SIA said it would use the new Dreamliners for its flights to Perth, Australia, among other destinations, and by 2020 would start operating the aircraft on its Taiwan route.
The airline’s Taiwan-Singapore route is currently served by the Airbus A330, which has 285 seats, compared with 335 on the Boeing 787-10.
Singapore Airlines general manager Melvin Ng (黃文杰) said the airline performed well in Taiwan last year, registering a 10 percent annual increase in passenger numbers and a load factor of about 80 percent.
In Taiwan’s business traveler segment, the airline saw a 30 percent annual increase in passenger numbers, with particularly strong growth in travel for meetings, conventions and other events, Ng said.
“Our headquarters is paying greater attention to the Taiwan market,” he said.
The synergy between Singapore Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary Scoot had helped expand their flight network and create a more flexible schedule, he said.
Scoot has been aggressively expanding in Asia and now provides long-haul flights from Singapore to Athens and Berlin, routes on which Singapore Airlines does not operate, he said.
Ng said he expects increased cross-selling between the two airlines, which will give Taiwanese passengers more flexible travel options.
Singapore Airlines was also the first carrier in the world to fly the Airbus A380 when it was released 10 years ago.
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