No more recliners: Singapore Airlines phasing out remaining Boeing 737-800s

It’s no big secret that the Boeing 737-800 is probably the least-loved aircraft in the Singapore Airlines fleet, with the former SilkAir jets offering what might be charitably described as a “retro” cabin experience.

The nine aircraft underwent the most cursory of cabin refreshes when they joined the Singapore Airlines fleet in March 2021 (marking SIA’s first operation of a narrow-body aircraft in more than 30 years), receiving new seat upholstery and little else. Forget seatback entertainment screens, Wi-Fi, or lie-flat beds in Business Class. This is a largely analogue experience, a throwback to the days before 4K displays and USB-C ports became commonplace.

While the routes that these aircraft operate have been whittled down to just a handful, their continued existence has denied SIA the ability to claim “every Business Class seat a flat bed” and “100% Wi-Fi coverage”.

But not for long. SIA has now unveiled plans for all the remaining B737-800s to leave its fleet in the near future, consigning these unloved aircraft to the scrapheap of history. 

Singapore Airlines to retire all remaining B737-800s 

During its latest financial update, Singapore Airlines confirmed that it will retire its four remaining B737-800s by 31 March 2026, the end of its current financial year.

In fact, the B737-800 will disappear from the fleet well ahead of that date, as the final lease terminates in January 2026. The airline will need to remove aircraft from service and prepare them for return at least 1-2 months in advance, and based on current schedules, the final B737-800 flights will take place on 25 October 2025.

These aircraft will be replaced by new arrivals of the B737-8 MAX. The airline expects to take delivery of five such planes by the end of the financial year— its first deliveries since November 2022. A total of 16 B737-MAX aircraft are currently in service, with a further 13 on order.

Singapore Airlines has already retired five B737-800s over the past three years as their leases expired, which are now operated by REX Airlines and Virgin Australia. The four remaining aircraft — 9V-MGK/L/M/N — were first delivered to SilkAir in 2015 and are almost a decade old. 

Given the condition of the cabins, you might think that these are the oldest aircraft in the Singapore Airlines fleet, but no! In fact, the Boeing 777-300ERs have an average age of 12.2 years (oldest: 18.5 years), and the Airbus A380s 10.9 years (oldest: 14.6 years).

Where do the B737-800s currently fly?

If you’re hoping to avoid this antiquated aircraft, the good news is that it only officially appears on two routes:

• Kathmandu (SQ442/441)
• Penang (SQ132/131, SQ136/135)

I say “officially”, because it’s been popping up on the Kuala Lumpur route with some regularity in May 2025, despite supposedly being de-rostered after 30 April 2025. It also makes very occasional appearances on the Phuket and Hanoi routes, probably as an operational swap for a B737 Max 8 experiencing technical issues on the day. 

Among these routes, Kathmandu is a relative outlier with a flight time of just over five hours. That’s a long time to be without seatback entertainment or Wi-Fi, though SIA’s rationale is probably that they can get away with it on a less-premium route.

To check whether your flight will be operated by a B737-800, click on the “More details” button on the booking screen. This will show you the scheduled aircraft type, though keep in mind last-minute operational swaps may happen.

The B737-800 is referred to as the Boeing 737-800NG in the system (NG= Next Generation; yes, I get the irony).

The unwanted airplanes

When Singapore Airlines first announced its intention to integrate SilkAir, the original plan was to transfer the carrier’s B737-800 aircraft to Scoot. SIA would take over the newer B737-8 MAX aircraft and fit them with new Business Class seats, with the goal of “every Business Class seat a flat bed” by 2020.

But following the fatal crashes of two B737-8 MAX aircraft, transfer plans were halted and SIA ended up inheriting nine B737-800s when SilkAir was merged into its parent company in 2021. Two were quickly withdrawn from service, but the remaining seven had operating leases expiring between September 2024 and January 2026. 

This put SIA in an awkward position. The timeline was too short for a refit, but too long to keep the status quo. From a customer experience perspective, there’d be few things more jarring than stepping off one of SIA’s long-haul flights with a full-flat bed, seatback IFE and Wi-Fi, and onto a connecting flight with SIA livery but none of those modern conveniences. 

In the end, the airline bit the bullet and kept the recliner seats, but gave them some new upholstery. It also deployed the B737-800 on its shortest routes (or routes with lower yields like Kathmandu), in an attempt to minimise customer dissatisfaction.

Despite their similar-sounding names, the B737-8 MAX and B737-800 offer very different passenger experiences.

❓ Business Class on Boeing 737-800 vs 737-8 MAX
	B737-800	B737-8 MAX
Seats	12	10
Layout	2-2 2-2 2-2	2-2 1-1 2-2
Seat Width	21″	19-22″
Seat Pitch	39″	44″
Bed Length	N/A	76″
Recline	8″	Full flat
IFE Screen	N/A	16″
Power Outlets	1x power outlet 1x USB port	1x power outlet 2x USB ports
Wi-Fi	N/A	Free
Nostalgia Factor	Off the charts	N/A

Back in the SilkAir days, the B737-800 Business Class seats had dark leather upholstery with contrasting white headrest covers. This has now been replaced with grey leather and a matching headrest cover. The orange chequered pillows add a splash of colour, and on the whole it looks like a wider version of SIA’s existing Premium Economy seat. Perhaps that’s intentional to avoid sullying the image of SIA’s Business Class, a subtle reminder that this should be seen as Economy+ rather than Business-.

It may surprise you to know that this seat actually has a proper name: the B/E Aerospace Millennium, hinting at the era in which it was conceptualised (and if you like it so much, you can buy some surplus seats to decorate your home; do allow 14 days for shipping).

This product was originally designed for the US domestic First Class market, entering service in 1998 with the now-defunct US Airways. The main selling point was its all-mechanical functionality, a lightweight alternative to electric-motor Business Class seats.

I reviewed this seat back in October 2023, and let’s just say it’s not what you’d call an “aspirational redemption”. The seat had poor lumbar support and creaky manual controls, there was close to zero privacy, and it felt like stepping into a time capsule. 

Singapore Airlines B737-800 Business Class Review: The worst seats in the fleet

On the other hand, passengers flying the B737-8 MAX can expect a more modern experience with seatback entertainment screens, Wi-Fi, live TV service, and flat beds in Business Class. 

For a full overview of the Business and Economy Class experience on the B737-8 MAX, refer to the posts below.

Hands on: Singapore Airlines’ new B737-8 Business Class seat

Hands on: Singapore Airlines’ new B737-8 Economy Class seat

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines will finally be bidding farewell to its four remaining Boeing 737-800s, which have become something of an albatross for the national carrier. With outdated cabin products dating back to the SilkAir days, they stood in stark contrast to the modern interiors that passengers have come to expect.

Following their departure, Singapore Airlines will finally be able to lay claim to full flat beds across its Business Class cabins, as well as fleet-wide Wi-Fi and seatback entertainment screens for all passengers— something it was hoping to do half a decade earlier. 

Better late than never!