Singapore Airlines was everything but a typical Douglas costumer, but as every larger Asian airline except Cathay Pacific and All Nippon did - Singapore chose the DC-10 for the routes where the 747 was far too large. The original order for four DC-10-30 and four options was placed on July 6th of 1977 and the first aircraft, 9V-SDA, was planned to be delivered on October 23rd of 1978, but it finally arrived on November 15th. On April 4th 1979, SIA inaugurated its first service to the United States with a DC-10-30, 9V-SDB, 
with special "California here we come" - markings to San Francisco. Three of the options were later taken up, bringing the DC-10-fleet to seven, but a lease before the first delivery brought the all-time-fleet to eight aircraft. At the middle of the 1980s, Singapore Airlines, planned to standardize the fleet and replace the DC-10-30 by the 747-200 as the 747-300 replaced them on the "prestige - routes". The aircraft were sold to CP Air, VARIG and to Bangladesh Biman. Mc Donnell - Douglas tried to sell the MD-11 to SIA as the airline was looking again for a 260-seat aircraft, but although they were close to an agreement, SIA decided to buy the A340. Short time ago, SIA decided to sell the A340 in favor of the 777 to modernize the fleet. That's SIA: They have the youngest fleet of all large carriers and like the DC-10, all the aircraft leave the fleet after less than ten years - to keep the standard as the world's most respected airline.
Photos:
Right: Singapore Airlines DC-10-30 with additional "California here we come" - sticker, taken out of the window of a Cathay Pacific L-1011 TriStar at Kai Tak in February 1982 - BY LUC MEINERT
