SilkAir of Singapore has narrowed its choice of new narrowbody passenger-aircraft to the Boeing 737 and Airbus Industrie A320 families. It is now expected to make a final selection early in April.
Following a board meeting by SilkAir's parent company, Singapore Airlines, it has been decided to drop the McDonnell Douglas MD-90 and smaller MD-95 twinjets from the competition. The regional carrier requires 12 aircraft, including options.
SilkAir had originally been looking for a family of 100- and 150-seat aircraft to replace its six 737-300s and two Fokker 70s, some of which are leased in (Flight International, 12-18 February, P20). It is understood that the airline's attention has since shifted and now includes a larger-capacity aircraft, seating up to 180 passengers.
Airbus has already proposed its A319 and A320, and since extended its offer to the larger A321. Boeing similarly has modified its 737-600/ 700 tender to encompass also the higher-capacity -800. Competing engines are the CFM International CFM56-7 and -5 for the 737 and A320 series, respectively, or the International Aero Engines V2500-A5 for the Airbus aircraft.
Among the crucial issues in SilkAir's continuing evaluation has been the ability of competing manufacturers to meet the carrier's 1998 in-service delivery date. Some re-adjustment has been required to meet this deadline, particularly on the part of Boeing.
With SilkAir wanting to replace its Fokker 70s with larger aircraft, another consideration has been field performance and pavement loadings. It now operates the Fokker 70 to restricted regional airports, such as Kuantan in Malaysia and Solo in Indonesia.
Source: Flight International
