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Category: Fly

  • Singapore-Hong Kong ATB launch deferred by two weeks

    Singapore-Hong Kong ATB launch deferred by two weeks

    The travel bubble bursts for now, bubble slated for re-start on 6 Dec 2020

    Travellers hoping to catch the Singapore-Hong Kong air travel bubble (ATB) will now have to wait another two weeks for it to begin, as Hong Kong is facing a possible ‘fourth wave’ in Covid-19 cases.

    The ATB was originally slated to commence today (22 Nov), but a decision was made on Saturday afternoon to postpone it by two weeks given the unstable situation in Hong Kong.

    ­Hong Kong

    On Saturday (21 Nov 2020), Hong Kong saw a total of 13 unlinked cases, bringing the seven day average of unlinked cases to 3.86. While this did not reach the mutually agreed threshold of 5, both countries agreed that it would be unwise to commence the ATB at this point.

    Given the evolving situation in Hong Kong, Secretary Edward Yau and I discussed further this afternoon, and decided that it would be better to defer the launch of the ATB, by two weeks. We will review within two weeks on the new launch date and update again.

    Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung

    While the initial deferment is for two weeks, both governments are said to announce details of the new launch dates in ‘early December’.

    Hours earlier: new on-arrival test requirement in Singapore

    Just a day before the postponement was announced, Singapore has installed a new testing requirement for travellers from Hong Kong as the latest measure. Passengers travelling on ATB flights from Hong Kong to Singapore previously only needed to take a test before departing Hong Kong.

    This brings the total number of tests for a round-trip journey to four: one before departure from each point, and one upon arrival at each airport.

    Under the original arrangements of the ATB, there were only three tests required:

    1. Pre-departure test from Singapore to Hong Kong (between S$160 to S$200)
    2. On-arrival test taken upon arrival in Hong Kong (HKD499, or S$83)
    3. Pre-departure test from Hong Kong to Singapore (between HKD750 to HKD2000, or S$120 to S$325)

    There was previously no requirement to take a test upon arrival in Singapore. With the new requirement, the new requirement adds another S$196 to the costs of tests, bringing the total for a round-trip journey to at least S$600.

    The exception will be for those who have spent less than 72 hours in either city, given the pre-departure test is no longer required if the arrival test was taken less than 72 hours before the return flight.

    Children under the age of 12 are not required to take the pre-departure Covid-19 PCR test when travelling from Hong Kong to Singapore (both pre-departure and upon arrival), but is required to do so when travelling from Singapore to Hong Kong.

    It’s unclear at this moment if this fourth test will continue to be required when the ATB launches on 6 Dec 2020.

    Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific offer refunds

    Given such late notice of the postponement of the flights, both airlines have offered free refunds or rebooking of the flights for those hoping to travel between 22 Nov and 5 Dec.

    Singapore Airlines customers who no longer wish to travel on the ATB flights can request for a refund, or rebook their flights through SIA’s Assistance Request form. Any refunds will be accorded to the passengers’ original mode of payment.

    For Cathay Pacific customers, they may request for full refund, exchange the value of the ticket towards Cathay Credits, or rebook the flights free of charge. Affected customers will be preliminarily rebooked on non-ATB flights, so be sure to check your email or contact your travel agent for next steps.

    Seats availability very low from 6 Dec

    With the bubble deferred for two weeks, passengers who were originally planning to travel between 22 Nov and 5 Dec will be scrambling to rebook flights.

    Unfortunately, seats are scarce. On Singapore Airlines, there are no longer any seats available for booking on the ATB-designated daily flights SQ890 and SQ891 from the entire month of December. This is more likely to be a pre-emptive measure on SIA’s part, to accommodate affected customers who wish to rebook their flights.

    For Cathay Pacific, there are barely a few seats available on select days in December, but these are expected to be fully taken up with the rebookings for the coming days. However, economy class fares have breached the S$1,000 mark, with round-trip tickets for the week of 7 Dec going at about S$1,200.

    Final thoughts

    Many people have probably joked about how the bubble will burst even before it begins at one point or another, no thanks to the term ‘bubble’.

    The unfortunate thing has indeed happen, tragically hours before the first flight was slated to take off.

    With the whole world keeping an eye on how the ATB will work out, it is indeed unfortunate that the arrangement has to be postponed as a result of a potential fresh outbreak. As Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung puts it: “it is a sobering reminder that the virus is still with us”.

    Even as details of the new launch dates come up in the weeks ahead, how Hong Kong manages its cases will also be very critical. If the situation doesn’t come under control, it’s likely that the ATB will be further delayed, perhaps till 2021.

    For now, we can only wait.

  • Singapore-Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble to start 22 Nov

    Singapore-Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble to start 22 Nov

    Details of the Singapore-Hong Kong ‘Air Travel Bubble’ has been announced. Here’s what you need to know from testing to flights, landing arrangements and more.

    As promised, the Singapore authorities today shed more light on the details of the first Air Travel Bubble (ATB) arrangements between Singapore and Hong Kong.

    From 22 Nov, there will be one flight a day with an initial quota of 200 passengers. This increases to 2 flights a day from 7 December, with a total of 400 visitors to be carried each day.

    The story so far…

    When the bilateral ATB was first announced back in October 2020 by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung, it was met with much excitement by residents on both ends. The excitement arose from the fact that this is the first true leisure travel arrangement, with no restrictions on the type of travel and, more importantly, no quarantine required at either end of the journey.

    These are some of the facts that were put out for those who wanted to travel via the ATB:

    • Travellers must have stayed in Singapore or Hong Kong wholly for the preceding 14 days before travel. This excludes select groups of foreign workers (Holders of Work Permits or S Passes working in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors), as requested by the Hong Kong government.
    • Travellers must take mutually recognised COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and will need to have negative test results.
    • Travellers will not be subject to any quarantine or Stay-Home Notice requirements, or a controlled itinerary.
    • Travellers must travel on dedicated flights for this ATB, i.e. these flights will only fly point-to-point between Singapore and Hong Kong and carry only ATB travellers. No transit passengers nor non-ATB travellers (e.g. travellers on business green lane arrangements) will be allowed on board.

    New details

    With the announcement today, the ATB will set to begin from 22 November 2020, starting with one daily flight dedicated to the ATB. A maximum of 200 passengers will be allowed on the flight.

    If this goes well, the number of flights will go up to two a day, with no change to the maximum number of passengers on the flight. This effectively doubles the number of passengers to be carried.

    Cathay Pacific business class

    The air travel bubble will be suspended for two weeks if the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked COVID-19 cases is more than five in either Singapore or Hong Kong.

    Both governments have been very careful since the first announcement of the ATB to point out that the initial numbers will be deliberately kept very small, with the ability to scale up or down, depending on the Covid-19 situation in both countries.

    Testing requirements

    There will be a total of three tests required: two when you are departing Singapore to Hong Kong, but only one when you are departing Hong Kong travelling to Singapore.

    From Singapore

    Travellers will need to take a PCR test within 72 hours before the departure time. Those departing from Singapore must apply for approval to take their PCR test at least seven days before departure, and will need a confirmed flight ticket to Hong Kong to do so.

    The PCR test will be from a sample obtained through a nasal swab, and currently priced at about S$200 per test.

    Upon arrival in Hong Kong, you will need to take another test at the airport, and wait at the airport for test results before you can leave. The test will cost HK$499 (S$90).

    From Hong Kong

    Travellers will be required to take a PCR nucleic acid test in the city at most 72 hours before departure with test results available before flight. This can be done at any of the government-approved clinics and laboratories, or at the community testing facilities. Depending on where you go, the test can be a nasal swab or a deep throat saliva sample.

    At the time of writing, the cost of taking a test at a private facility is between HK$700 to HK$2000 (S$122 to S$350), while the community testing facility is estimated to be HK$240 (S$42). At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether visitors to Hong Kong can use the community testing facility.

    Note: Regardless of which city you are departing from, if your return flight is less than 72 hours from the time you last took a Covid-19 test, you will not be required to take the second pre-departure test.

    E.g. If you arrive in Hong Kong from Singapore on 10 Dec at 1900H and took the arrival Covid-19 test at 2000H. If you are scheduled to return to Singapore on 13 Dec at 0910H, you will not be required to take the pre-departure test out of Hong Kong.

    Flights for ATB

    Both Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific have announced flights under the ATB, as follow:

    Singapore Airlines (using an Airbus A350-900 Regional)

    SectorFlight No.DepartureArrivalDays Operating
    (22 Nov – 6 Dec)    		Days Operating
    (From 7 Dec)
    SIN-HKGSQ8901000140022 Nov (Sun)
    SQ8900800114523 Nov (Mon)
    SQ8900735112025, 27, 29, 30 Nov
    2, 4 Dec    		Daily
    HKG-SINSQ8911255165523 Nov (Mon)
    SQ8911230163025, 27, 29, 30 Nov
    2, 4 Dec    		Daily

    Cathay Pacific (using an Airbus A350-900)

    SectorFlight No.DepartureArrivalDays Operating
    (22 Nov – 6 Dec)    		Days Operating
    (From 7 Dec)
    SIN-HKGCX7341500190024, 26, 28 Nov
    1, 3, 5, 6 Dec     		Daily
    HKG-SINCX7590910130022, 24, 26, 28 Nov
    1, 3, 5, 6 Dec    		Daily

    For the first two weeks from 22 Nov, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific will both operate the first outbound ATB service from their respective countries, and then proceed to alternate days in a week to operate the once-daily ATB flight, with Singapore Airlines taking Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and Cathay Pacific taking Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

    For the first two Sundays, SIA will operate ATB service on 29 Nov, Sunday, while Cathay will operate the ATB service on 6 December, Sunday.

    Both airlines will increase to a daily service from 7 December, when the quota increases to two flights a day.

    With those services serving the ATB facility, the following flights will continue to serve non-ATB passengers, including transit passengers and RGL visitors. Passengers previously booked on Singapore Airlines for non ATB purposes will be transferred to Scoot.

    AirlineSectorFlight No.DepartureArrivalDays of OpsAircraft
    Singapore AirlinesSIN-HKGSQ87214501850Wed, Thu, SatB787-10
    HKG-SINSQ87119552355Wed, Thu, SatB787-10
    ScootSIN-HKGTR98014151815Tue, Fri, SunB787-9
    HKG-SINTR98119152320Tue, Fri, SunB787-9

    Award tickets and fares

    When in-principle agreement for the ATB was first announced last month, flight searches jumped 400% and fares rose 40% in response to the news, despite specific ATB flights not yet being confirmed.

    There have been previous news reports on how airfares to and from Hong Kong have jumped, despite details of the ATB not being released yet.

    For those who are looking to use miles to redeem for tickets on this route, our only advice is to keep your miles back in your wallet.

    At the time of writing, there are no longer any award seats available on Singapore Airlines’ services between Singapore and Hong Kong all through end January 2021.

    Cathay Pacific have also greyed out all its award availability across all cabins, even right up to the most expensive ‘Choice’ and ‘Tailored’ awards through end of January 2021. You may however place yourself on the waitlist and hope it comes through.

    As such, your best bet will be a cash ticket instead.

    Cathay Pacific has done up a dedicated page for the ATB, with flights now going on sale. Flights for the ATB are marked with a Travel Bubble label, so you know which ones you can book.

    The cheapest fares available for Cathay Pacific seems to be the following:

    Cabin ClassFare ClassAll-in fare (S$)
    EconomyV$557
    L$682
    M$787
    Premium EconomyE$1157
    R$1262
    BusinessI$1789
    P$2149
    D$2619
    C$3224
    Cathay Pacific indicative fares

    Singapore Airlines has not released any information on the ATB flights, but based on a quick search on its website, fares begin from $557 round-trip out of Singapore:

    Cabin ClassFare ClassAll-in fare (S$)
    EconomyW$558
    H$697
    M$802
    E$872
    BusinessU$1961
    J$2729
    C$3334
    Singapore Airlines indicative fares

    Of course, the lower fare classes have all been snapped up or closed off by now, so be prepared to shell out a premium.

    For those who are more price-sensitive, you might want to go with Cathay Pacific. While the return flight is a tad early, the difference in price between both airlines may not be worth the additional time in Hong Kong.

    More information

    Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoint Authority has set up a dedicated page with more information on the ATB.

    There is a dedicated website set up by Hong Kong Tourism Board on the Air Travel Bubble, which you can refer to for more information.

  • Singapore Airlines and Silkair further expands network in December, January

    Singapore Airlines and Silkair further expands network in December, January

    New destinations include Dhaka, New York JFK and Penang

    Singapore Airlines and Silkair has published their schedules up to January 2021, with a published schedule to a total of 43 cities across 28 countries/territories.

    There are a handful of new destinations, including Bandar Seri Begawan, Dhaka and Johannesburg, on top of the previously announced non-stop service to New York JFK. All new services will begin in November.

    Silkair has some notably decreases in frequencies, such as to Cebu & Medan.

    Between Singapore Airlines and Silkair, the two carriers will operate about 1,500 flights in December & January each. Overall, the two airlines are flying at about 16% of its pre-Covid-19 capacity.

    Key changes

    Some of the key changes include:

    South Asia

    • SIA has commenced two weekly to Dhaka in November, which will increase to four times weekly from November.
    • Johannesburg services has commenced since November for three times a week.

    Southeast Asia

    • SIA will commence a weekly service to Bandar Seri Begawan. While the flight has an SQ flight number, it will be operated by Silkair.
    • SIA will commence daily services from Singapore to Bangkok. The return service will also be daily.
    • Services to and from Manila services will increase from two to five times weekly from December.
    • Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi remains one way services to Singapore in December & January, but with increased frequencies.

    North Asia

    • SIA will commence a weekly service to and from Shenzhen
    • Services to Hong Kong will increase from seven to 10 times weekly.
    • Services to Osaka will increase from two to five times weekly.
    • Services to Tokyo-Narita will increase to six times a week in December, and to daily in January 2021.
    • Seoul will be served six times weekly, up from five.

    Southwest Pacific

    • Brisbane gets two additional services a week as SQ245/SQ256, making it a total of four weekly non-stop service.
    • Services between Singapore and Melbourne increases from daily to 13 times a week.
    • Sydney services will increase from seven to 12 times a week, including the SQ288 Singapore-Sydney-Brisbane-Singapore triangular service.
    • Auckland services begins a sixth weekly service in December, up from five.

    Europe

    • Copenhagen gets an additional service for a total of two flights a week.
    • Services to and from Amsterdam increases to a daily service from December, up from three times weekly.

    Singapore Airlines schedule

    The full schedules for Singapore Airlines for December 2020 and January 2021 are as follow:

    Southeast Asia

    SectorFlight No.Days OperatingDepArrDurationAircraft
    Singapore – Bandar Seri BegawanSQ148Sun084010502h 10mB737-800
    Bandar Seri Begawan – SingaporeSQ147Sun115514052h 10mB737-800
    Singapore – Kuala LumpurSQ104Mon, Tue, Fri083009301hA350-900
    Kuala Lumpur – SingaporeSQ105Mon, Tue, Fri102511351h 10mA350-900
    Singapore – BangkokSQ976Daily152517002h 35mB787-10
    Bangkok – SingaporeSQ979Daily180521352h 30mB787-10
    Singapore – JakartaSQ964Daily172018051h 45mA350-900
    SQ956Mon, Wed, Fri093010151h 45mA350-900
    Jakarta – SingaporeSQ965Daily190021551h 50mA350-900
    SQ957Mon, Wed, Fri111514001h 45mA350-900
    Singapore – SurabayaSQ930Wed, Sat075009202h 30mA350-900
    Surabaya – SingaporeSQ931Wed, Sat101513352h 20mA350-900
    Singapore – ManilaSQ910Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun091512503h 35mA350-900
    Manila – SingaporeSQ917Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun140517503h 45mA350-900
    Hanoi – SingaporeSQ175Wed, Fri, Sun123517153h 40mA350-900
    Ho Chi Minh City – SingaporeSQ177Thu, Sat, Sun121515202h 5mB787-10

    North Asia

    SectorFlight No.Days OperatingDepArrDurationAircraft
    Singapore – ShanghaiSQ830Mon095015055h 15mB787-10
    Shanghai – SingaporeSQ833Mon165022405h 50mB787-10
    Singapore – Shenzhen (New!)SQ846Sun072511203h 55m
    Shenzhen – Singapore (New!)SQ847Sun142018053h 45m
    Singapore – Hong KongSQ890Daily
    (Until 31 Dec)    		073511203h 35mB787-10
    SQ860(From 1 Jan)
    Daily    		082512254hB787-10
    SQ782Wed, Thu, Sat145018504h
    Hong Kong – SingaporeSQ891Daily
    (Until 31 Dec)    		123016304hB787-10
    SQ863(From 1 Jan)
    Daily    		141018104h B787-10
    SQ871Wed, Thu, Sat195523554h
    Singapore – SeoulSQ600Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun080515306h 25mA350-900
    Seoul – SingaporeSQ609Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun163522206h 45mA350-900
    Singapore – Tokyo NaritaSQ638Dec: Daily except Tue
    Jan: Daily    		005508307h 35mB787-10
    Tokyo Narita – SingaporeSQ637Dec: Daily except Tue
    Jan: Daily    		101017007h 50mB787-10
    Singapore – Osaka KansaiSQ622Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat144521506h 40mA350-900
    Osaka Kansai – SingaporeSQ623Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat23200510(+1)6h 50mA350-900
    Singapore – TaipeiSQ876Sat081012554h 45mB787-10
    SQ878Wed, Fri112516204h 55mB787-10
    Taipei – SingaporeSQ879Wed, Fri173522204h 45mB787-10
    SQ877Sat141018554h 45mB787-10

    Southwest Pacific

    SectorFlight No.Days operatingDepArrDurationAircraft
    Singapore – AdelaideSQ279Mon, Thu23400905(+1)6h 55mA350-900
    Adelaide – SingaporeSQ278Tue, Fri103515107h 15mA350-900
    Singapore – Brisbane (via Sydney)SQ288Fri, Sun
    (Until 23 Oct)    		0935215510h 20m
    (incl. 1 stop)    		A350-900
    SQ288(From 25 Oct)
    Fri, Sun    		0935220510h 30m
    (incl. 1 stop)    		A350-900
    Singapore – BrisbaneSQ255Mon, Fri005510457h 55mA350-900
    SQ245Tue, Wed092519157h 50mA350-900
    Brisbane – SingaporeSQ288Fri, Sun23000505+(1)8h 5mA350-900
    SQ236Tue, Sat144520357h 50mA350-900
    SQ256Wed, Thu091015108hA350-900
    Singapore – MelbourneSQ217Daily111021257h 15mA350-900
    SQ237Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun002510507h 25mA350-900
    Melbourne – SingaporeSQ218(From 2 Dec) Daily003505157h 40mA350-900
    SQ228Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun164021207h 40mA350-900
    Singapore – PerthSQ223Tue, Sat, Sun100515205h 15mB787-10
    Perth – SingaporeSQ214Tue, Sat, Sun163521455h 10mB787-10
    Singapore – SydneySQ231Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat011512208h 5mA350-900
    SQ241Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun070517557h 50mA350-900
    SQ288Fri, Sun093520257h 50mA350-900
    Sydney -SingaporeSQ222Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat161021208h 10mA350-900
    SQ242Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun19100020(+1)8h 10mA350-900
    Sydney – Singapore (via Brisbane)SQ288Fri, Sun21350500(+1)10h 35m (incl. 1 stop)A350- 900
    Singapore – AucklandSQ283Sat235514509h 55mA350-900
    SQ281Wed, Thu, Fri084523359h 50mA350-900
    SQ285Mon, Sun18400935(+1)9h 55hA350-900
    Auckland – SingaporeSQ282Tue0120064510h 25mA350-900
    SQ286Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat1515205510h 40mA350-900
    Singapore – ChristchurchSQ297Tue, Thu, Sun23001350(+1)9h 50mA350-900
    Christchurch – SingaporeSQ298Tue, Thu, Sat1200174010h 40mA350-900

    West Asia & Africa

    SectorFlight No.Days operatingDepArrDurationAircraft
    Singapore – DhakaSQ446Mon, Tue, Thu, Sun (until 26 Jan)194021504h 10mA350-900
    SQ44628, 31 Jan20352240(+1)4h 5mA350-900
    Dhaka – SingaporeSQ447Mon, Tue, Thu, Sun (until 26 Jan)234506004h 15mA350-900
    SQ44728, 31 Jan23550600(+1)4h 5mA350-900
    Singapore – JohannesburgSQ478Mon, Wed, Sat0130061010h 40mA350-900
    Johannesburg – SingaporeSQ479Tue, Thu, Sun13450610(+1)10h 25mA350-900

    Europe

    SectorFlight No.Days OperatingDepArrDurationAircraft
    Singapore – CopenhagenSQ352Tue, Fri00300635(+1)12h 5mA350-900
    Copenhagen – SingaporeSQ351Wed, Sat12300730(+1)12hA350-900
    Singapore – ParisSQ336Wed, Fri, Sun00150715(+1)14hA350-900
    Paris – SingaporeSQ335Mon, Thu, Sat11000635(+1)12h 35mA350-900
    Singapore – FrankfurtSQ26Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun23550620(+1)13h 25mA350-900
    Frankfurt- SingaporeSQ25Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun11400650(+1)12h 10mA350-900
    Singapore – Milan – BarcelonaSQ378Thu2300MXP: 0510(+1)
    BCN: 0745(+1)    		SIN-MXP: 13h 10m
    SIN-BCN: 14h 45m    		A350-900
    Barcelona – Milan – SingaporeSQ377SatBCN: 1040
    MXP: 1330    		0825(+1)BCN-SIN: 14h 45m
    MXP-SIN: 11h 55m    		A350-900
    Singapore – ZurichSQ346Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun0130075013h 20mA350-900
    Zurich – SingaporeSQ345Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat10350600(+1)12h 25mA350-900
    Singapore – AmsterdamSQ324Daily23550645(+1)13h 50mA350-900
    Amsterdam – SingaporeSQ323Daily10250555(+1)12h 30mA350-900
    Singapore – LondonSQ322Daily23450555(+1)13h 10mA350-900
    SQ308Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat0900152013h 20m A350-900
    London – SingaporeSQ317Daily10550750(+1)12h 55mA350-900
    SQ319Mon, Tue, Wed, Sat, Sun20351730(+1)12h 55mA350-900
    Singapore – IstanbulSQ392Wed0150082511h 35mA350-900
    Istanbul – SingaporeSQ391Fri14250545(+1)11h 20mA350-900

    USA

    SectorFlight No.Days OperatingDepArrDurationAircraft
    Singapore – Los AngelesSQ38Wed, Fri, Sun1750170015h 10mA350-900
    Los Angeles – SingaporeSQ37Tue, Fri, Sun22250815(+1)17h 50mA350-900
    Singapore – New York JFK (New!)SQ24Mon, Wed, Sat0225073018h 5mA350-900
    New York JFK – Singapore (New!)SQ23Mon, Wed, Fri22300610(+1)18h 40mA350-900

    Silkair schedule

    Silkair will be adding new destinations from November: Penang, Danang, Male and Kathmandu.

    The other key changes from December are:

    • Phnom Penh: increase from two to three services a week
    • Medan: decrease from three to two services a week
    • Cebu: decrease from two to one service a week
    SectorFlight No.Days OperatingDepArrDurationAircraft
    Singapore – ChongqingMI972Mon0700
    0700    		1135
    1140    		4h 35m
    4h 40m    		B737-800
    Chongqing – SingaporeMI971Mon1235
    1240    		1730
    1725    		4h 55m
    4h 45m    		B737-800
    Singapore – Kuala LumpurMI324Sat, Sun083009301hB737-800
    MI324Wed, Thu092010201hB737-800
    Kuala Lumpur – SingaporeMI323Sat, Sun102511251hB737-800
    MI324Wed, Thu111012101hB737-800
    Singapore – Penang (New!)MI348Tue, Sun100011251h 25mB737-800
    Penang – Singapore (New!)MI347Tue, Sun121513401h 25mB737-800
    Singapore – MedanMI234Tue 074008001h 20mB737-800
    MI238Fri190019201h 20mB737-800
    Medan – SingaporeMI233Tue084011201h 40mB737-800
    MI237Fri200522351h 30mB737-800
    Singapore – CebuMI560Sun092513203h 55mB737-800
    Cebu – SingaporeMI559Sun142518304h 5mB737-800
    Singapore – Phnom PenhMI608Tue, Sat, Sun163017352h 5mB737-800
    Phnom Penh – SingaporeMI607Tue, Sat, Sun183521352hB737-800
    Danang – Singapore (New!)MI631Sun115015503hB737-800
    Singapore – Male (New!)MI482Tue100511504h 45mB737-800
    MI486Sat203522104h 35mB737-800
    Male – Singapore (New!)MI481Tue125520454h 50mB737-800
    MI485Sat23200655(+1)4h 35mB737-800
    Singapore – Kathmandu (New!)MI412Sun091512104h 55mB737-800
    Kathmandu – Singapore (New!)MI411Sun131020205h 10mB737-800

    Final thoughts

    The schedules that SIA has put out continue to climb upwards, although this continues to be a slow and steady hike. There are certainly some very interesting developments, including the recommencement of services to Male & Kathmandu, which almost certainly point towards SIA posturing themselves towards capturing as much transit/transfer traffic as they can from across the greater Asia region.

    All eyes are on Hong Kong right now, with details of the Air Travel Bubble to be announced soon. It’s likely that SIA made further calibrate its service to Hong Kong, depending on regulatory requirements, as well as demand for Hong Kong services that doesn’t fall within the ATB arrangements.

    With no signs of any leisure travel market happening among Asia Pacific countries as of now, a faster pick-up of flight frequencies is unlikely in the coming months. We can only hope that green-lane arrangements are announced soon for leisure travel.

  • Scoot reduces network in December, flying to only 12 cities

    Scoot reduces network in December, flying to only 12 cities

    Singapore’s low cost carrier Scoot has announced its December 2020 flying schedule, with some bad news.

    While the airline have been making slight increase in its network in the past months, December marked the first month that Scoot has regressed on that path, cutting seven cities from its network and walked back on a few planned starts.

    The airline will operate some 130+ passenger flights for the final month in December, 20% less than in November 2020.

    Ever since international travel slowed to a screeching halt when Covid-19 hit, airlines have been slowly regaining ground on their network so this step back is kind of a surprise as Asia Pacific is seeing slow signs of recovery.

    Which destinations will Scoot stop flying to?

    According to Scoot’s latest schedule published early November, Scoot will be ending services to the following destinations:

    DestinationLast service to destination
    Kaohsiung, Taiwan7 Nov (ended)
    Osaka, Japan (to/from Kaohsiung)7 Nov (ended)
    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia16 Nov
    Clark, Philippines9 Nov (ended)
    Manila, Philippines3 Dec
    Perth, Australia4 Dec

    Scoot has also previously planned for a weekly service to Sydney that was supposed to commence 2 Nov, but this service never took off.

    The airline has also previously operated a handful of services to various cities in Indonesia such as Palembang and Yogyakarta, but these are nowhere to be found in its December schedule.

    While this seems like a reduction in network, customers can still choose to fly with Singapore Airlines, which continue to operate services to all the destinations above except Kaohsiung and Clark.

    Scoot’s December schedule

    With the termination of the services above, Scoot will end up operating to only 12 cities in seven countries/territories:

    Country/TerritoryDestination
    AustraliaMelbourne*
    ChinaGuangzhou
    Nanjing
    Tianjin
    Hong Kong SAR
    IndonesiaSurabaya
    JapanTokyo- Narita (via Taipei)
    MalaysiaIpoh
    Kuching
    Penang
    South KoreaSeoul-Incheon (via Taipei)
    TaiwanTaipei

    For the latest and full flight schedule, please refer to Scoot’s website.

  • Singapore Airlines to operate non-stop services to New York JFK from November

    Singapore Airlines to operate non-stop services to New York JFK from November

    The three-times a week service will bypass Frankfurt for the first time since the 1990s.

    Singapore Airlines has announced the resumption of its Singapore-New York service, this time round with a non-stop service to New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) international airport.

    Singapore Airlines operates out of JFK Terminal 4

    The non-stop flights to New York will restart from 9 Nov 2020 operating three times a week, using the 3-class variant of its Airbus A350 aircraft. This will be the airline’s second US destination after Los Angeles since the network reduction due to Covid-19.

    For the record, SIA used to serve two airports in the Greater New York area just before Covid-19 struck: a daily service to JFK via Frankfurt, and a second non-stop service to Newark Liberty Airport (EWR).

    The schedule

    Singapore Airlines has picked new flight numbers – SQ24 and SQ23 – for this service.

    Fun Fact:
    SQ23/24 was the same flight numbers SIA used to operate Singapore-Amsterdam-Newark back in the 1990s up to early 2000s. The flights were operated using the Boeing 747s.

    The outbound flight from Singapore, SQ24, will operate three times weekly, departing Singapore early morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, arriving into JFK at 7.30am the same morning.

    Return flight SQ23 will depart from JFK at night on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, arriving into Singapore at about 6am, albeit two days later.

    Full schedule below:

    SectorFlight No.Days of opsDepArrFlight timeAircraft
    Singapore –
    New York JFK    		SQ24Mon, Wed, Sat0225073018h 5mA350-900
    New York JFK –
    Singapore    		SQ23Mon, Wed, Fri22300610(+2)18h 40mA350-900

    In its media statement, SIA said that choosing JFK over Newark for the service will allow it to “allow Singapore Airlines to better accommodate a mix of passenger and cargo traffic on its services to New York in the current operating climate“, while also tapping on transfer traffic through Changi.

    “Operating these flights between Singapore and New York’s JFK International Airport represent an important step in the rebuilding of our global network. Non-stop ultra-long services are the bedrock of our services to the key U.S. market. We will continue to ramp up existing services and reinstate other points as the demand for both passenger and cargo services return.”

    Mr. Lee Lik Hsin, Executive Vice President Commercial for Singapore Airlines

    Final thoughts

    With the recommencement of the Singapore-New York service, Singapore Airlines will take the honour of operating the world’s longest service again, at over 18 hours.

    Unsurprisingly, SIA is using its regular 253-seat 3-class long-haul Airbus A350 aircraft to operate this route. For the time being, this would suffice, given the incredibly low passenger load and with the focus on cargo shipment.

    This new service, however, will help offer Singaporeans or Americans wishing to go home a direct service from the East Coast, without having to navigate through the complexities of transit arrangements at a third airport amidst Covid-19 restrictions.