Singapore Airlines scales up flights for August; keeps same destinations

Singapore Airlines will add more flights to its network for August 2020, keeping the same 27 destinations as July with more than 600 flights planned. Daily flights to Kuala Lumpur and London return, which means greater connectivity for transit passengers through Changi. 

There may be a de facto travel ban on all Singapore residents, but the increase in flights is still good news. It allows more of SIA’s pilots, cabin crew, and ground staff to return to their jobs, and gives some much-needed economic activity to Changi Airport. 

That said, Singapore Airlines notes that the current schedule still represents a 93% cut of scheduled passenger capacity, so we’re far from out of the woods. 

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and SilkAir have increased the frequency of selected services in their passenger network in July and August 2020. With this, the SIA Group airlines (SIA, SilkAir and Scoot) will operate approximately 6% and 7% of the original scheduled capacity in July and August 2020 respectively.

Where will Singapore Airlines fly in August 2020?

April and May 2020 represented absolute rock bottom for Singapore Airlines, with the carrier serving just 15 cities through 300-325 scheduled flights. That thankfully changed in June and July, with the addition of 12 new destinations (11 at first, then Paris coming a bit later) and 500+ flights scheduled. 

For August 2020, Singapore Airlines will maintain the same route network, but will operate just over 600 flights, meaning we’ll have an average of 10 flights per day departing from Changi (a welcome relief from the 4-5 in April/May!). 

Additional flights mean more frequent service, and Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris are some of the beneficiaries. London shifts to a daily schedule, while Frankfurt and Amsterdam go from 3 and 2 flights per week to 5 and 3 flights respectively. This further increases the connection options for transit passengers through Changi. 

Singapore Airlines will carry transit passengers through Changi again. Here’s what to expect

As far as I can tell, Singapore Airlines is not offering any First Class inventory in August- that’s probably because the A380-800s are in storage, and the fuel-efficient Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 787-10s are favored over the Boeing 777-300ERs and 777-300s (which have First Class seats). 

This means the highest class of service you can book for August will be Business Class- which is more than OK, assuming you’re not crazy about champagne…

What flights are operating in August 2020?

Here’s the summary of Singapore Airlines and SilkAir flights that will operate in August 2020. Any flight not listed in the PDF schedules is cancelled. 

South East Asia

Singapore Airlines August 2020 South East Asia Schedule

North Asia

Singapore Airlines August 2020 North Asia Schedule

South West Pacific

Singapore Airlines August 2020 South West Pacific Schedule

Europe

Singapore Airlines August 2020 Europe Schedule

USA

Singapore Airlines August 2020 USA Schedule

What if my Singapore AIrlines/SilkAir flight has been cancelled?

If your flight has been cancelled, you’re entitled to a 100% refund in cash, or a 100% refund in flight credits with a S$75-500 bonus.

To make the point clear: flight cancellations initiated by Singapore Airlines/ SilkAir entitle you to a refund regardless of when your ticket was issued. This is stated in black and white in the FAQs on Singapore Airline’s website.

However, even if your flight has not been cancelled, you may still be entitled to a refund, as per the flowchart below. 

If your travel date is up to 31 August 2020, and your ticket was issued before 15 March 2020, you can request a refund and receive a 100% refund in cash, or in flight credits with a S$75-500 bonus. Tickets purchased from 16 March 2020 onwards are only entitled to free date changes.

For those of you with travel from 1 September 2020, sit tight. Singapore Airlines should be extending its travel waiver policy if the situation remains unresolved by then. 

Covid-19: Singapore Airlines and Scoot extend travel waiver and refund policy to 31 August

Other important Covid-19 travel information for Singapore Airlines can be found here.

Conclusion

Even though the route network has remained unchanged for August 2020, more flights are never a bad thing for an airline. There’s still a marked preference for Singapore Airlines among passengers in the region, so the increased schedule should present more one-stop options for them.

We’ve seen some airlines like Qantas take the drastic step of cancelling all international flights till early 2021. That’s not really an option for Singapore Airlines (no domestic market), but thankfully not necessary given Singapore’s natural positioning as a transit hub. Nonetheless, it’s a clear warning about how far we may be from daylight.