Singapore Airlines faces delay for new first class, business class

Singapore Airlines could be forced to once again push back the launch of its next-generation first class and business class suites, following Boeing’s confirmation over the weekend that the long-delayed 777X jetliner won’t be ready until 2026.

Singapore Airlines has signed up for 31 of Boeing’s 777-9 model, which the Star Alliance member intended to be the launchpad for what CEO Goh Choon Phong previously described to Executive Traveller as a “quantum leap” from today's Boeing 777 premium cabins launched.

This included “first class that we believe when we launch it will again set industry standards.”

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong is bullish on the Boeing 777-9.

The Boeing 777X family was originally slated to make its debut in 2019, but a raft of challenges – ranging from technical and engine issues to the pandemic’s supply chain disruption – has seen that timeline face one reset after another.

In May 2024, Singapore Airlines boss Goh said he expected to pick up the keys to the first SQ 777-9 in late 2025 – already a significant delay to the original ETA of FY21/22.

But Boeing now says the first delivery of the 777X won’t take place before 2026.

And with a trio of launch airlines believed to be Emirates, Lufthansa and Qatar Airways at the front of the queue, this could now mean Singapore Airlines won’t see its first 777-9 unit 2027.

Approached for comment by Executive Traveller, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson said the airline was “working closely with Boeing to finalise the delivery timeline for its 777-9 aircraft.”

Singapore Airlines now faces an even longer wait for The Boeing 777-9.

Singapore Airlines’ 777X first class, business class

Both the airline and its high-flying premium passenger are eagerly awaiting the 777-9’s suites and seats, especially as the current 777-300ER equivalents revealed in 2013 are now more than a decade old.

And ten years is a long time in this hyper-competitive industry, especially as the ‘new norm’ for business class now includes the likes of sliding privacy doors, large 4K video screens with Bluetooth audio streaming, USB-C and wireless charging.

Speaking with Executive Traveller in November 2021, Singapore Airlines executive Betty Wong, who heads Inflight Services and Design, confirmed the carrier had “signed off on the basic design” of the product.

Just a few months prior, Wong flew to Seattle to meet with Boeing “and see some real products that we’ve designed (so it’s) finally coming together.”

Even then, Wong said delays to Singapore Airlines’ own 777-9 delivery timeline meant “we bought some time to review some designs, re-look at and double-check some things like technologies (and) to look at different materials before the final selection.”

"But basically, we’re on track,” says Wong, who was excited about how the jet “gives us the possibility of lifting the next travel experience.”

Singapore Airlines' Boeing 777-300ER first (left) and business (right) are now more than a decade old.

Wong said “the next step (is) to manufacture them”, barring any finesses from a final round of revisions.

“There is always that little bit of a change when you come up to a critical design phase and you look at something and it's not fitting or not right, so there’s always opportunity to make that little tweak.”

Some of Singapore Airlines’ most frequent flyers already know what to expect, having been privy to – and signed non-disclosure agreements on – a series of invitation-only focus groups to trial and give their feedback on different evolutions of the seats.

Those gave Wong the confidence to predict “we are developing a product that will meet the expectation of our clients, of our customers.”

Wong also told Executive Traveller the 777-9 will boast new premium economy and economy class seats. “Everything is new,” she confirmed.

In fact, from tip to tail, Singapore Airlines has decided upon “the number of seats, the configuration of the seats, and how they look like in terms of footprint,” Wong said of the 777.

Other airlines hit by 777-9 delays

Boeing holds a total of 448 orders for the 777-9 and the smaller but longer-range 777-8. However, each airline faces a different degree of impact as the delivery schedule for its own jets moves further out.

Emirates, with a staggering 205 orders for the 777X, has already begin upgrading its aging 777-300ER jets with a new business class to extend their useful life, while its flagship A380 superjumbos will now remain flying into the 2040s.

Meanwhile, the long-running 777X delays forced Emirates to scrap its original 777-9 cabin interiors and start over again, according to frustrated airline president Sir Tim Clark.

“We’ve completely rejigged our interior in the 777-9,” Clark told UAE newspaper The National in May 2024, adding that the cabin’s technology and look were becoming outdated.

“We’ve had to junk it all: the IFE, the economy seats, the premium economy seats have all been trashed and we start again.”

Qatar Airways has already revealed its Qsuite Next Gen bound for the 777-9, while a new first class is also underway.

Lufthansa – which was the first airline to commit to the 777X, back in 2013 – decided it could no longer wait for Boeing, and has now started rolling out its Allegris family on the Airbus A350, with business class and premium economy already flying and first class due before the year is out.

Cathay Pacific’s latest Aria Suites business class is about to launch of the first of 30 refitted Boeing 777-300ER jets, although an all-new ‘Halo’ first class was destined for the 777-9s while the current 777s would lose their 'open suite’ first class cabin to top out at business class.