Singapore Airlines adding flights to Brussels in October 2020

Singapore Airlines is adding Brussels as its latest European destination from 25 October 2020, returning to the city after cancelling the route in 2003 due to the SARS crisis.

SQ304/303 will operate four times a week with the following departure and arrival timings:

Tickets are expected to go on sale from 17 December 2019.

What kind of seats can we expect?

An A350-900 aircraft will be used on this route, featuring a three-cabin configuration with 187 Economy Class, 24 Premium Economy, and 42 Business Class seats.

The Business Class seats will be the 2013 vintage– not a favourite of those who dislike sleeping slanted, but I personally don’t have an issue. These are in a 1-2-1 configuration with all aisle access.

The Premium Economy seats are the same as what you’ll find throughout the rest of the SQ fleet, in a 2-4-2 configuration.

Economy Class is, well, Economy Class. Expect a 3-3-3 configuration.

What’s the lounge situation in Brussels?

Star Alliance customers will have Gold Track privileges in Brussels airport- this provides special security lines for Business and First Class passengers, as well as Star Gold passengers in Economy Class.

Beyond security are a total of three lounge options: the Sunrise Lounge, The Loft and The Suite. Passengers on Singapore Airlines flights are unlikely to use the Sunrise Lounge, which is near the T gates for flights to Africa. Likewise, they won’t get to use The Loft, as it’s in Terminal A which is reserved for Schengen flights.

That’s a shame, because this lounge was recently renovated in partnership with Lexus, and the photos look pretty impressive. There’s a special area for HON Circle members with a spa, private nap rooms and a live kitchen as well.

You can read a review of The Loft here.

Flights to Singapore will likely depart from Terminal B, which means passengers will use The Suite. This is a smaller space that seats 260 guests, and by all accounts is not life-changing. There aren’t even any showers, which is kind of shocking for an international Business Class lounge (per The Points Guy, the lounge attendants can arrange a shower in the nearby Priority Pass lounge).

You can read a review of The Suite here.

What about connections?

SQ 304 from Singapore arrives at 0650, which is nicely timed for Star Alliance connections. This has the potential to open up new award possibilities, although many of the destinations could be equally served through Lufthansa’s hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. More options is never a bad thing though. 

How much will awards cost?

Awards from Singapore to Brussels will cost the same as those to the rest of Europe, and fortunately, taxes out of Brussels are very cheap. The only fee you’ll pay is a Passenger Service and Security Charge of €30.40, which means we can expect total taxes on a round-trip award redemption from Singapore to cost ~S$96.

An alternative to London?

Those who have redeemed First or Business Class awards out of London (or anywhere in the UK) will know that will know that taxes are expensive. That’s thanks to Air Passenger Duty (APD), which costs 172 GBP (~S$310) for long haul premium cabins, and will increase to 176 GBP (~S$318) in April 2020.

Since Brussels airport taxes are fairly cheap, and it’s only a one hour flight (or ride on the Eurostar) away from London, some may consider positioning themselves there to redeem flights home instead of flying out of the UK.

Conclusion

It’s good to see Singapore Airlines adding new long haul destinations outside of the USA, and even if you don’t intend to go to Belgium, this will at least present more connection options for travel elsewhere in Europe.

I expect we’ll have a better sense of how many seats are released for awards when tickets go live tomorrow.