Singapore Airlines big move in response to travel demand

A major airline is making a big move that will see an extra 7000 seats a week between Australia and Singapore alone.

Singapore Airlines is making a big move that will see an extra 7000 seats a week between Australia and Singapore.

As of November, the airline will add a bunch of additional daily flights across all five of Australia’s main airports.

If approved, the airline will mount a fifth daily flight to Sydney and will extend its A380 operations to Melbourne for an additional month before redeploying the superjumbo to Auckland and adding a fifth daily flight to the Victorian capital.

Singapore Airbus will increase to its operations across all five of Australia’s main airports from late-November. Picture: Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth will each have additional four-times weekly services added to their schedule, enhancing connectivity to key destinations in Europe and North Asia.

Singapore Airlines regional vice president Louis Arul said the decision to significantly ramp up the airline’s operations is to help support the expected high-levels of demand.

“The appetite for travel has been robust over the current mid-year holiday period and signs are that demand will remain elevated as we head into the traditionally strong year-end peak,” Mr Arul said.

The additional services will add almost 7,000 more seats a week between Australia and Singapore.

Sydney

Subject to regulatory approval, the airline will mount a new daily service between Singapore and Sydney using an A350-900 aircraft from December 2 through to January 14, 2024.

“Adding a fifth daily service to Sydney will take our operations past pre-Covid capacity levels and provide more options for customers to connect onto our global network of more than 110 destinations across the globe,” Mr Arul said.

He said the addition of the fifth service will ensure customers have a selection of departure and arrival times.

Melbourne

SIA’s Airbus A380 to Melbourne on flights SQ237/SQ228 will be extended until November 21, having previously been scheduled to operate to the Victorian capital until the end of October.

From November 22, the A380 will be replaced with an Airbus A350-900 and Singapore Airlines will mount an additional fifth daily service between Singapore and Melbourne using the same aircraft type, with 42 business class, 24 premium economy and 187 economy class seats on-board.

The airline said the change will provide customers with the choice of premium economy across all five daily flights from Melbourne, increase the number of premium seats available from the Victorian capital.

Adelaide

The South Australian capital will receive an additional four flights a week from December 2, with the airline planning to mount SQ276 and SQ277 on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday — pending regulatory approval.

Operated by an A350-900 medium-haul aircraft, customers will be able to choose from 40 lie-flat business class seats, all with direct aisle access, or 263 ergonomically designed economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout.

Brisbane

From December 1 through to January 13, 2024 Brisbane will see an additional service operating on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday with the deployment of an A350-900 medium-haul aircraft.

“The additional four-times weekly services will provide more than 1,200 additional seats a week to the Queensland capital,” Mr Arul said.

Perth

From November 24, Perth will welcome an additional four flights a week with the introduction of SQ213 and SQ226. Running until January 14, 2024, SQ213 will depart Changi Airport on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sundays.