Singapore Airlines’ new planes and seats delayed again due to certification issues

[SINGAPORE] In yet another delay, Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) more than S$2 billion new long-haul cabin seats on its retrofitted A350-900 aircraft and brand-new Boeing 777-9 planes are now expected to enter service only in the second half of 2027.

The national carrier announced the postponement as it unveiled the highly anticipated seat designs on Friday (Nov 6).

In May, it was reported that the full-service carrier would introduce its next-generation first- and business-class seats on its retrofitted Airbus A350-900 fleet in the first quarter of 2027, instead of the second quarter of 2026.

The delay was caused by industry-wide supply chain constraints and the certification of one of the new seats.

The new cabin designs have been in development since 2018 and were to have debuted on the brand-new 777-9s as early as 2021, but were held back by delays to the new Boeing wide-body aircraft.

SIA opted instead to retrofit its A350-900 long haul and A350-900 ultra-long-range fleets with new first-class and business-class seats while waiting for the 777-9 delivery.

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Some of its competitors made the move earlier, and have already installed new cabins in their older aircraft first, instead of waiting for their 777-9s to be delivered.

SIA’s chief commercial officer Lee Lik Hsin told the media at a briefing that the seats on the 777-9 have received certification but not the aircraft itself. Those on the A350-900 have not yet been cleared by the authorities.

The 777-9 and A350-900 aircraft have different certification requirements which are independent between each aircraft type.

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The time taken for the retrofit programme to complete should not be affected by the postponement of the entry into service because the problem is with certification, not operational capability, he said.

SIA had said in the November 2024 announcement of the A350-900 upgrades that the work on the fleet of 41 aircraft was expected to take six years, and would be completed by the end of 2030.

The next-generation long-haul seats including those on the to-be-delivered 777-9s cost SIA more than S$2 billion in total – investments that Lee said SIA continuously makes “to make sure that we keep up” in the “very competitive” market.

Despite the cost, he said, fares will not rise for planes with the new seats simply because of the investment as ticket pricing is determined by demand and supply. Airfares are not set according to whether an aircraft has been refurbished, he added.

SIA also did not set any targets for returns on the internally funded billion-dollar investment. Rather, the airline believes an upgraded experience will improve the overall operating performance of the company.

The 31 777-9s will feature new seats for all four cabin classes. The 41 retrofitted A350-900 long haul and A350-900 ultra-long-range aircraft will be installed with the new business-class seats, with first class introduced on the ultra-long-range as well.

On not increasing premium economy seats in the retrofitted planes to capitalise on the rising popularity of the cabin class, Lee said the current configuration allows SIA to optimise revenue.

“If you decide to increase the size of the premium economy, it would have to be at the expense of some other cabins, and we believe our current mix is already at its optimum,” he said.

“Realistically, we are able to fill all of our different cabins to a very high load factor. So in that respect, we are achieving the outcome that we wanted.”

The new first-class cabin will feature curved sliding doors, companion dining, smart personalised controls and centre seats that convert into the world’s largest double bed in the sky.

The business-class cabin offers sliding-door privacy, full-flat beds, companion-bed options, more footwell space and smart seat controls.

The new cabin products were co-designed by SIA with PriestmanGoode for first class, Designworks for business class, and Factorydesign for premium economy and economy classes.

PriestmanGoode and Factorydesign are British firms, while Designworks is a company in the German automotive BMW Group.

Collins Aerospace is the manufacturer of the seats for first class, premium-economy class and economy class. Recaro Aircraft Seating makes the business-class seats.

The new cabin designs complete the suite of recently unveiled improved offerings that included in-flight food and beverages, entertainment system and amenity kits for what SIA billed as the next chapter in its travel experience.

On the ground, it has invested more than S$130 million to renovate, refresh and expand its SilverKris lounges around the world.

Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow was the guest of honour for the launch of the airline’s new travel experience at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Friday.