Singapore Airlines adding more cities, but has no plans to return to India yet

Singapore Airlines is adding a number of cities to its flying programme for June and July, though Indian destinations remain off the list for now.

SQ is reinstating service to 12 cities

In June and July, the Star Alliance carrier will resume flights to the following cities in Asia, Australasia and Europe:

• Adelaide, Australia
• Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• Auckland, New Zealand
• Barcelona, Spain
• Brisbane, Australia
• Cebu, Philippines
• Christchurch, New Zealand
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Hong Kong
• Medan, Indonesia
• Melbourne, Australia
• Osaka, Japan

The airline cautions that all services are subject to regulatory approval, and says that all flights to cities other than those appearing in SQ’s online updated online fight schedules will be cancelled (you should check the status of your booking online, if you have forthcoming travel plans with the airline).

The new additions are a drop in the ocean when you consider Singapore Airlines’ normal flying programme – SQ says it has cut approximately 94 per cent of passenger capacity originally scheduled for June and July 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Customers whose flights were cancelled by Singapore Airlines or SilkAir will see the value of the unused portion(s) of their tickets retained as flight credits. Passengers will also be awarded bonus flight credits when rebooking their travel.

Australasians (only) can now transit Singapore

Today’s update from Singapore Airlines includes the news that customers will also be able to transit through Singapore Changi Airport, if they are flying from selected cities in Australia and New Zealand to any destination in the SIA Group network (flights operated by SQ, SilkAir or Scoot), as of June 11, 2020.

You can transit Singapore if you are coming from:

• Adelaide
• Brisbane
• Melbourne
• Perth (Scoot flights)
• Sydney
• Auckland
• Christchurch

Note that transit flights are only allowed for outbound journeys from these cities in Australia and New Zealand. Passengers will not be able to transit from other points in the SIA Group network through Singapore into these cities.

Great deals from India with Singapore Airlines

It’s also worth a reminder that Singapore Airlines has been offering some very attractive business class flights from India, especially from Kolkata.

We’ve recently covered some great deals to destinations in North Asia, and to the United States.

Summing up

Singapore Airlines is taking baby steps to reintroduce long-haul flying in the next couple of months, though it will only be offering a fraction of its normal services.

Transiting Changi airport remains off limits, unless you happen to be flying from certain cities in Australia and New Zealand.

For more information, see this page of the Singapore Airlines website.