Singapore Airlines (SIA) is set to deploy its first medium-haul Airbus A350-900 aircraft on its Adelaide route from 17 December.

The Star Alliance carrier currently deploys A330-300s on its daily Singapore-Adelaide route, but has now detailed that it will debut its new medium-haul configuration for the type on the Australian route.

SIA A350 landing

Airbus

SIA also plans to deploy the medium-haul-configured aircraft on another Australian destination, Brisbane, in 2019 subject to regulatory approvals.

The aircraft will be configured with 303 seats across two classes: 40 in business and 263 in economy. Seats used on the A350s will be similar to those on its Boeing 787-10s.

The business class seats have been developed by Stelia Aerospace, and configured in a staggered 1-2-1 front-facing layout, with each seat having aisle access. The seats can be expanded to 26in by retracting the armrest, and can fully recline into a 76in full-flat bed.

SIA business class seats on Boeing 787-10s

SIA 787 business class - PIC by Firdaus

Firdaus Hashim/FlightGlobal

For economy class, the Star Alliance carrier is using seats produced by Recaro, and are configured in a nine-abreast layout.

SIA economy class seats on Boeing 787-10s

SIA new Y

Edward Russell/FlightGlobal

SIA's medium-haul A350s will be equipped with Thales' Avant inflight entertainment system. Business class seats will have a 17in touchscreen monitors, while economy class seats will have an 11.6in monitors. In-flight wifi connectivity is be provided over Inmarsat's GX Aviation service through SITA OnAir.

Flight Fleets Analyzer indicates that the airline has 67 A350s on order, 21 of which are now in service. Its A350 orders also include seven of the ultra-long-range variant that it is scheduled to receive from October onwards, which will launch on Newark flights.

Source: Cirium Dashboard