Singapore Airlines is ramping up London Gatwick services to double daily at peak this summer, in a continuation of the route’s remarkably rapid growth since it launched just two years ago.
The new service complements the airline’s existing four daily flights from London Heathrow and five-times weekly flights from Manchester. The airline will offer 43 direct flights a week from the UK to Singapore (47 flights in the summer), more than any other carrier departing from the region.
This new flight will operate on the Airbus A350-900 long-haul aircraft, which is configured with 253 seats (42 in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy Class, and 187 in Economy Class).
This will be a thrice-weekly service from Mar 31 to Jul 2, rising to daily from Jul 3 to Aug 29, before reverting to three times a week from Sep 1 to Oct 24.
Combined with its existing Heathrow operations, the carrier will fly to London up to six times a day.
Singapore-Hangzhou route now upped to twice daily
Travellers heading to Hangzhou can soon hop on a Singapore Airlines flight on June 1. Budget carrier Scoot already flies to the Chinese city, which is less than 200km from Shanghai.
The Hangzhou route will be one of nine cities that SIA flies to in China. Hangzhou, located in the Yangtze River delta, is the capital of Zhejiang province and home to the UNESCO-listed West Lake, Longjing tea plantations, historic temples and pagodas.
Red-eye flights to take advantage of new, 24-hour Western Sydney airport
Singapore Airlines is tapping Sydney’s new 24-hour airport to bypass legacy curfews, launching late-night routes to Changi from Nov 23.
The carrier’s daily flight linking Singapore with the Western Sydney International Airport, SQ201, will leave the city-state at 11.30 am and reach Sydney at 10.20 pm local time. The return flight, SQ202, will leave Sydney at 11.55 pm and reach Singapore at 5.05 am.
Corporate travel planners said the flight schedules will benefit business travellers.
The airline currently flies four times a day to Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport, which imposes a curfew from 11 pm to 6 am daily. During this period, most commercial aircraft – including those used by SIA – are not allowed to depart or arrive.
Singapore-Melbourne route to utilise the Airbus A80, replacing Boeing 777-300ER
Singapore Airlines has confirmed that its Airbus A380 will return to the Singapore – Melbourne route from 29th March to 24th October 2026, replacing the Boeing 777-300ER on flights SQ237 and SQ228 for the northern summer season.
With the Dubai-Singapore flights suspended for now, the A380 used for this route has found a new home for the aircraft on daily Melbourne services. The airline’s short-notice shuffle for the Airbus A380 to Melbourne is a sensible move, rather than leaving a superjumbo under-utilised while the Dubai route remains suspended.
The shift to the double-decker Airbus provides 471 seats per flight, including six first-class suites, to meet increased passenger volume. This is compared with 264 seats and four first-class seats on the single-deck Boeing.
This brings a significant 78% seat boost to Singapore-Melbourne route and, more importantly for premium travellers, restores Suites and the latest Business Class product to Melbourne for the first time since 2023.
Whether the type stays on Melbourne beyond October, or reverts to Dubai once the geopolitical situation allows, remains to be seen.
