Singapore Airlines order more Airbuses valuing 7.5 bln USD

Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced Wednesday that they have confirmed an order of five more Airbus A380s and another 20 units of A350 for additional capacity growth and fleet renewal, with the total value at 7.5 billion U.S. dollars based on the list prices. The deliveries are due to begin in 2017, the company said in a statement. The SIA currently operates 19 superjumbos of A380-800, mainly used in the flight routes to 10 destinations, namely Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo and Zurich. These A380s have carried more than 9 million passengers since entering service in October of 2007. The company also already had firm orders in place for 20 A350s, which are said for the use on medium and long-haul routes and are scheduled to be delivered from 2015. As part of the deal, Airbus has agreed to acquire SIA's five A340-500s, which will be removed from service in the fourth quarter of the 2013 calendar year. The company said the removal will result in the cessation of non-stop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles and between Singapore and Newark, in the absence of replacement aircraft in the SIA fleet with sufficient range and operating economics. The SIA ended 0.76 percent higher at 10.65 Singapore dollars (8. 68 U.S. dollars) on Wednesday.