On Thursday, Singapore Airlines announced new flight schedules for services operated by SIA, SilkAir, and Scoot. The tweaks to the schedules cover the period from November 2020 to January 2021 and include the reinstatement of direct flights between Singapore and San Francisco.
Singapore Airlines restores flights to San Francisco
On November 19, Singapore Airlines (SIA) released details of the new flight schedules for SIA, SilkAir, and low-cost subsidiary Scoot. The announcement comes as the airlines continue to restore services and rebuild their networks in the wake of the global pandemic. SIA says that services to San Francisco and Nagoya, Japan, will be reinstated from December.
The direct service to San Francisco will resume on Tuesday, December 15. Flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, departing Singapore Changi Airport at 18:40 and arriving at San Francisco International Airport at 17:20. The estimated flight duration is 14 hours, 40 minutes.
Return flights will take 17 hours 35 minutes and operate on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Mondays, departing SFO at 20:50 and arriving into SIN at 06:25 plus two days. An Airbus A350-900 will operate the flights. Times are local. Earlier this month, Singapore Airlines resumed the world’s longest passenger service with flights to New York JFK.
SIA Group adjusts its airlines’ services
In Thursday’s announcement, SIA revealed changes to the services provided by the group’s three airlines. It said that flights to Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Perth operated by Scoot would be suspended temporarily while SIA and SilkAir would increase their flight frequencies on these routes.
At the same time, services operated by SIA and SilkAir to Penang, Surabaya, and Taipei will be suspended, and Scoot will operate higher flight frequencies to these destinations. Passengers who have bookings with SIA or SilkAir on the affected flights will be moved to Scoot flights. Subject to regulatory approvals, the changes will take place in November and December 2020. SIA says,
“The adjustment of services between SIA, SilkAir, and Scoot is the result of a detailed review to determine which airlines in the SIA Group portfolio are best suited to meet evolving customer and cargo demand.”
SIA estimates that, as a result of the changes, the group’s passenger capacity will reach around 19% of its pre-coronavirus levels by the end of January 2021.
SIA’s continued growth in passenger capacity
The SIA Group is continuing to increase its passenger capacity and reinstate services amid the recent moves to ease restrictions on inbound and transit passengers in Singapore. The group is also responding to early optimism about a recovery in air travel, along with positive developments in COVID testing and vaccines. Additionally, the airline is experiencing an ongoing strong demand for air cargo around the world.
Singapore Airlines refuted speculation that it would be retiring its Airbus A380s as it was revealed last week that it would be retrofitting all of its 12 remaining superjumbos by the end of 2021.
Next year should also see the completion of the phasing out of the SilkAir brand as SIA merges with its regional wing. The merger will give SIA more flexibility in a reduced market with the acquisition of SilkAir’s Boeing 737 fleet.
What do you think of SIA’s plans for growth? Let us know in the comments.
