Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) regional wing, SilkAir, will introduce new lie-flat beds as part of upgrades to its Business Class seats as the carrier prepares to be merged into SIA.
The upgrades will be made to SilkAir’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet starting May 2020, and will be carried out by Thompson Aero Seating, the company said in a media release.
The seats will be featured in a forward-facing staggered layout - in line with SIA’s regional Business Class offering on its Airbus A350-900 medium haul and Boeing 787-10 fleets.
SilkAir currently has five 737 MAX 8s in its fleet, with another 32 on order. The new seats will be retrofitted onto the aircraft already in its fleet and installed on the new incoming planes.
Plans to upgrade SilkAir’s Business Class offerings were first announced in May last year, as part of a move to align SilkAir’s products and services with SIA.
The merger will eventually encompass a full re-branding of SilkAir as SIA, with repainting of aircraft and adoption of SIA’s service delivery.
The upgrades will also include the installation of new in-flight entertainment systems for both Business and Economy Class seats.