By Gaurav Raghuvanshi SINGAPORE--Singapore Airlines Ltd. (C6L.SG) said Friday its unit SilkAir plans to buy 54 aircraft from Boeing Co. (BA) valued at US$4.9 billion on list prices and has an option to increase the order by 14 jets. The order comprises 23 737-800 planes and 31 737 MAX-8 jets. SilkAir will have the flexibility to switch to other variants of the aircraft, Singapore Airlines said in a statement to Singapore Exchange. Deliveries to the full-service regional wing of Singapore's flag carrier will start in 2014 and continue into 2021, the statement said. SilkAir currently operates 21 A320 aircraft manufactured by Boeing's main rival Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EAD.FR). The new jets will cater to both growth and fleet renewal, the statement said. "We continue to see very strong growth within the region and these new aircraft will position SilkAir well. They will enable us to spread our wings to even more destinations and increase capacity on existing routes," said Mervin Tan, the chief executive of SilkAir. Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at gaurav.raghuvanshi@dowjones.com Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
