AAWA would like to thank Perth Airport for kindly approving airside access for the photos below.

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7 May 2018 © David Eyre

For the second time in less than a week, Perth Airport celebrated another first, the first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner to visit Australia, 9V-SCA, operated by Singapore Airlines.

Six days earlier on 1 May 2018, the first Qatar Airways Airbus A380 service visited Perth.

For the Singapore Airlines 787-10, Aviation Association of Western Australia (AAWA) members were granted special permission by Perth Airport to go airside and see the new Boeing arrive.

Luckily, Perth Airport was installing bird nets over draining ditches alongside taxiway C, so after landing, the 787-10 had to taxy up taxiway A and pass directly in front of the assembled photographers.

Perth is the second destination for SIA’s Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner (Kansai, Japan was first), but it is the first 787-10 destination in Australia.

SIA’s 787-10 is configured with 36 Business Class seats (1-2-1 layout) and 301 Economy Class seats (3-3-3 layout). The Business Class seats are a new customised design, which convert to a 76-inch lie-flat bed. The Economy seats are also a new design. The 787-10 also has inflight internet wi-fi.

The airline has ordered 49 787-10s and will have eight in service by March 2019, for use on medium-haul routes of up to eight hours. The 787-10 is replacing Airbus A330-300s and Boeing 777-200s, providing an extra 38,000 seats on the route.

Perth Airport CEO Kevin Brown said that Singapore is Western Australia’s third largest international visitor market.

At 68.2 metres long, the Boeing 787-10 is the largest version of the 787, being 5.5 metres longer than the 787-9 and 11.5 metres longer than the 787-8. Perth is now served by all three versions – Boeing 787-8 of Thai and Scoot; Boeing 787-9 of Air New Zealand, Scoot and Qantas; and the Boeing 787-10 of Singapore Airlines. Past 787 operators to Perth included China Southern and Etihad.

The first Boeing 787-10 made its maiden flight on 31 March 2017 and it was certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in late January 2018.

9V-SCA was built at the Charleston, South Carolina and first flown on 9 February 2018, before being fitted out and delivered to Singapore Airlines on 28 March 2018.

History of Singapore Airlines services to Perth

Perth was Singapore Airlines first destination in Australia over 50 years ago when in April 1967, airline’s predecessor, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) in April 1967, MSA commenced services to Perth using the De Havilland DH-106 Comet 4, following an initial route-proving flight on 7 March 1967.

Services switched to the Boeing 707-320C was used and in later years, a variety of types have been used on the Singapore – Perth route, including Airbus A310-300, A330-300, A340-300, Boeing 747-200s, -300s and -400s, Boeing 777-200ER and -300 and McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30s.

The airline now operates four services each day between Singapore and Perth, using Boeing 777-200ER, Airbus A330-300, and now the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner.

SQ223 Singapore to Perth

Above: Video of the first Boeing 787-10 visit to Perth. Credit: SiVideo Aviation

9V-SCA was operating flight SQ223 and SQ214 today as a one-off promotional daytime visit, instead of the Boeing 777-200ER normally used on this service. Following today’s daytime visit, the 787-10 will be used on the late night SQ215/SQ216 service

Flight SQ223 pushed back from Gate A2 at Terminal 3 at Singapore-Changi Airport at 9:28am and took off from runway 20C at 9:46am.

9V-SCA reached its initial cruise altitude of 37,000 feet at 10:14am, 28 minutes after take-off and at 10.25am, completed its climb to 39,000 feet.

At 1.30pm, 9V-SCA commenced its descent, approximately 250 kilometres north of Geraldton, Western Australia, descending initially to 35,000 feet, before commencing final descent at 1:58pm, approximately 230 kilometres NNE of Perth Airport.

The aircraft landed on Perth Airport’s runway 21 at 2:21pm. Taxiway C was having some bird nets installed, so instead of the usual left turn onto taxiway C, the aircraft had to turn right and taxied all the way back up taxiway A to taxiway D and back across the two runways to Terminal 1.

It parked at Bay 151 at 2:36pm. Total flight duration (gate to gate) was 5 hours 8 minutes.

SQ214 Perth to Singapore

The return flight SQ214 pushed back from Perth’s bay 151 at 5:03pm and took off from runway 21 at 5:19pm.

The aircraft initially climbed to 36,000 feet, reaching that altitude at 5:42pm, 56 kilometres northwest of Jurien Bay, Western Australia. Later, it climbed to 38,000 feet.

It commenced descent at 9:29pm, when it was around 250 kilometres south of Singapore-Changi Airport.

9V-SCA landed on runway 20R at Singapore-Changi Airport at 10:16pm, and parked at the gate 4 minutes later, for a total flight duration of 5 hours 17 minutes.