>> Singapore Airlines orders more Airbus A380s
by Singapore Airlines A380 Team - SINGAPORE - 25 July 2006

SINGAPORE Airlines is pleased to announce that it will be purchasing nine additional Airbus A380-800s as part of a deal worth US.5 billion at catalogue prices. As part of the purchase, the airline has options for another six A380-800s. These additional purchases of the superjumbo reflect the airline's confidence and clear commitment to the A380 programme.

"Airbus has demonstrated to Singapore Airlines' satisfaction that the engineering design of the A380 is sound. It has performed well in flight and certification tests, and the delays in its delivery have been caused more by production, rather than technical, issues.

"This latest order including 20 A350 XWB-900s and 20 Boeing 787-9s ordered in June, will position the Airline well for future growth and uphold our policy of continuous fleet renewal and modernisation," Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Chew Choon Seng said.

With this order, Singapore Airlines will have 19 firm orders and 6 options for the Airbus A380. Deliveries of all 19 A380s will commence in December 2006 and run until 2010.

Airbus' partnership with Singapore Airlines dates back to 1979, when the airline placed its first order for the A300-B4. In February 2004, the carrier launched non-stop operations with its ultra long-range A340-500s between Singapore and Los Angeles. With these flights, Singapore Airlines became the first airline to operate the world's longest commercial non-stop flight. The airline surpassed the record later that year with an even longer non-stop flight of 18 hours 18 minutes on the 9,000-nm/16,600-km route between Singapore and New York (Newark).

Stay tuned as the airline looks forward to continuing its tradition of historical firsts when it becomes the first airline to fly the world's largest passenger aircraft.

SOURCE: Singapore Airlines A380 News, issue 05/06; PHOTO: Airbus SAS