In a significant move underscoring the post-pandemic recovery and strategic partnerships in the aviation sector, Boeing has announced its largest-ever landing gear exchange agreement. Signed at the Singapore Airshow, the landmark deal is with the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group and covers more than 75 aircraft from the carrier’s extensive modern fleet, including both the 737 MAX and the 787 Dreamliner.
The agreement marks a substantial deepening of the aftermarket relationship between the two industry giants. Under the terms of the contract, Boeing will leverage its global supply chain and inventory management expertise to provide exchange landing gear assemblies to SIA, its regional arm SilkAir, and low-cost subsidiary Scoot. This program is designed to circumvent the lengthy and complex process of landing gear overhaul, which can traditionally ground aircraft for extended periods.
“This agreement is about more than just exchanging parts; it’s about synchronizing our operational capabilities with the SIA Group’s exacting schedule demands,” said William Ampofo, senior vice president of Parts & Distribution and Supply Chain for Boeing Global Services. “By integrating our rapid distribution network with the carrier’s maintenance planning, we are effectively bringing the supply chain closer to the point of need. This minimizes aircraft downtime and ensures that SIA’s fleet can maintain its renowned dispatch reliability across a globally connected network.”
For airlines, landing gear maintenance presents a unique logistical challenge. As a critical, high-lifetime component, its overhaul is not only costly but requires significant planning and often leads to valuable aircraft being out of service for weeks. Boeing’s exchange program directly addresses this by acting as a strategic inventory buffer. Instead of holding expensive spare gear sets in their own warehouses—tying up capital that could be used elsewhere—airlines can draw from Boeing’s pool of serviceable units. This allows them to schedule overhauls at optimal times, essentially swapping out the worn gear for a pre-certified unit and returning the aircraft to revenue-generating service far more quickly.
The program provides tailored scheduling flexibility, allowing the SIA Group to optimize the useful life of its landing gears without the pressure of impending operational gaps. This approach is particularly critical for carriers like SIA, which operate some of the world’s busiest long-haul routes and cannot afford unexpected maintenance disruptions.
Beyond the immediate operational benefits, this agreement solidifies Boeing Global Services’ position as a leading provider of integrated aftermarket solutions. It serves as a key component of Boeing’s broader strategy to build a recurring, high-value revenue stream through parts distribution, repair management, and digital logistics solutions. By taking on the risk and complexity of managing high-value component inventories, Boeing helps its airline customers enhance fleet readiness and focus on their core business: flying passengers and cargo. The deal signals a growing industry trend toward outsourcing complex component management to OEMs, who can leverage economies of scale and deeper supply chain insight to drive efficiency for the entire aviation ecosystem.
