14 Singapore Airlines Aircraft Reconfigured to Carry Cargo in the Cabin

《14 Singapore Airlines Aircraft Reconfigured to Carry Cargo in the Cabin》

Singapore Airlines have been keeping fairly quiet on its fleet plans this year due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Recently, it have announced that it will speed up the retirement of the Boeing 777-200 and leased Airbus A330-300.

Singapore Airlines have been operating only the aircraft types with the highest cargo capacity in recent weeks, like the Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A350-900, with the remaining aircraft models being parked at Changi Airport and Alice Springs.

In April 2020, Singapore Airlines carried only 9200 passengers , 30 per flight. As such, maximising cargo revenues is the main revenue stream for the group.

Singapore Airlines confirmed that it had secured approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to carry cargo on passenger aircraft. 30% more cargo could be carried by utilising overhead lockers and space around the seats.

A longer term repurposing of passenger aircraft for cargo would be to remove the passenger seats. This move has been done by Air Canada. Usually, Business Class and First class seats are not removed due to tbe added complexities to seat motors and Inflight entertainment systems.

Now, with covid-19, cargo demand has been on the rise to deliver essential items (test kits/masks etc.) and medical products. As such, airlines shoild seize the opportunity to start carring cargo as a main source of revenue during the pandemic. After the pandemic, airlines can continue to carry cargo as an additional source of income to supplement revenues earned by the passenger business.