The airline ordered five McDonnell Douglas MD-11s on 16 January 1990, to operate long-haul routes with demand deemed too thin for the Boeing 747. When it was revealed that the MD-11's performance was below expectations in terms of range and fuel burn, the order was cancelled in favour of the Airbus A340-300. The cancellation was seen as particularly damaging to McDonnell Douglas due to the company's reputation. Several years later Airbus, in turn, suffered a setback, however, when rival Boeing successfully negotiated to take SIA's existing A340-300 fleet as well as any still on order in exchange for ten orders for the Boeing 777 in 1999, with Airbus calling the move an "act of desperation" on Boeing's part.