Earlier today I wrote about how it seemed all but certain that Singapore Airlines would be adding Vancouver back to its route network, after a 12-year absence from Canada.
SIA has now confirmed the news, with the launch of a 4x weekly seasonal service to Vancouver and onwards to Seattle starting 2 December 2021. Two of the weekly Seattle-Vancouver-Singapore flights will operate as VTL services, allowing eligible customers to fly to Singapore with no SHN on arrival.
In addition to this, SIA will convert its daily non-stop services from San Francisco to Singapore into a VTL flight from 20 October 2021.
Singapore Airlinesโ new Vancouver-Seattle route
From 2 December 2021 to 15 February 2022, SIA will launch a 4x weekly service to Vancouver and Seattle. Tickets will be made available for sale (and presumably redemption) from 12 October 2021, 1200 hours (SGT).
On the outbound leg, SQ28 flies to Vancouver and then onwards to Seattle on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturdayโฆ
| To Vancouver/Seattle | |||||||||
| Flights | Days | ||||||||
| SQ28 |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| SIN 0915 |
โ | YVR 0730 |
โ | โ | โ | โ | |||
| SQ28 |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| YVR 0840 |
โ | SEA 0930 |
โ | โ | โ | โ | |||
โฆand on the inbound leg, SQ27 returns to Singapore on Tuesdays and Fridays. SQ29 is the designated VTL flight, and operates on Thursdays and Saturdays.
| To Singapore | |||||||||
| Flights | Days | ||||||||
| SQ27 |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| SEA 1100 |
โ | YVR 1145 |
โ | โ | |||||
| SQ27 |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| YVR 1315 |
โ | SIN 2205 (+1) |
โ | โ | |||||
| SQ29 VTL |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| SEA 1100 |
โ | YVR 1145 |
โ | โ | |||||
| SQ29 VTL |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| YVR 1315 |
โ | SIN 2205 (+1) |
โ | โ | |||||
To be clear: passengers flying on SQ27 will enter Singapore under Category II rules (7-day SHN at home), while passengers flying on SQ29 will enter Singapore under VTL rules (swab on arrival, no SHN).
Flights will be operated by a long-haul configured A350-900, with 253 seats split into:
- 42 Business Class
- 24 Premium Economy Class
- 187 Economy Class
For a review of the A350-900 Business Class experience, you can check out my recent reviews below:
- Review: Singapore Airlines A350-900 Singapore to Munich
- Review: Singapore Airlines A350-900 Munich to Singapore
In terms of redemptions, hereโs how much it costs to fly to Seattle or Vancouver. SIA hasnโt updated its award chart yet, but Iโm assuming theyโll charge the same for Vancouver as they do the West Coast of the USA.
 Redemption Cost from Singapore to Vancouver/Seattle(Flight on Singapore Air) |
||
| Saver (One-Way) |
Advantage (One-Way) |
|
| Economy | 38,000 | 70,000 |
| Premium Economy | 68,000 | N/A |
| Business | 95,000 | 125,000 |
There will be some differences in taxes if your journey ends in Vancouver, versus heading onwards to Seattle.
San Francisco now a VTL route
SIA will be converting SQ33, its daily non-stop service from San Francisco to Singapore, into a VTL flight from Wednesday, 20 October 2021. This joins the existing VTL services operating out of Los Angeles and New York.
All other flights between San Francisco and Singapore, including the San Francisco-Hong Kong-Singapore service on SQ7, will be a non-VTL flight.
Hereโs the full list of VTL flights from the USA to Singapore (excluding Seattle, which Iโve already covered above):
| From San Francisco to Singapore | |||||||||
| Flights | Days | ||||||||
| SQ33 VTL (20-30 Oct 21) |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| SFO 2205 |
โ | SIN 0545 (+2) |
โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ |
| SQ33 VTL (31 Oct 21 to 26 Mar 22) |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| SFO 2050 |
โ | SIN 0625 (+2) |
โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ |
| From Los Angeles to Singapore | |||||||||
| Flights | Days | ||||||||
| SQ37 VTL (20-30 Oct 21) |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| LAX 2320 |
โ | SIN 0730 (+2) |
โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ |
| SQ37 VTL (31 Oct 21 to 26 Mar 22) |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| LAX 2225 |
โ | SIN 0815 (+2) |
โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ |
| From New York (JFK) to Singapore | |||||||||
| Flights | Days | ||||||||
| SQ23 VTL (19-30 Oct 21) |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| JFK 2230 |
โ | SIN 0520 (+2) |
โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ |
| SQ23 VTL (31 Oct 21 to 26 Mar 22) |
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | ||
| JFK 2140 |
โ | SIN 0520 (+2) |
โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ |
Conclusion
The addition of San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver expands the SIA Groupโs VTL network to 17 cities (donโt forget, Scoot is also adding flights from Berlin from 20 October 2021). Coupled with the latest development that unvaccinated children 12 and below will be able to travel on the VTL after all, and year-end travel for 2021 just got a whole lot brighter.
Iโm going to try to get a seat on the inaugural flight to Vancouver- my first time on an inaugural since the relaunch of SQ22 in 2018! Maybe Iโll see some of you onboardโฆ
How do you feel about Singapore Airlines returning to Canada?
Is there a mistake for SQ28 VYR > SEA arrival timing?
yes, refresh and it should be corrected
Oh wait. So there is no more direct SIN to SEA anymore ? I took it just before the Covid happen
no, the non-stop flight was suspended.
SEA usually served by Silkair or other budget low cost carrier
I think Patrick meant Seattle instead of South East Asia.
SEA is Seattle, not South East Asia
And the best part about all of these travel news: No more Nasi Lemak pictures in the telegram group.
when you say nasi lemak and telegram, i get ideas.
Swell! This worked out nicely. I owe you one for the assist, Aaron.
I moved from SQ23 to SQ33, saved points, lot of heartburn, a needless red-eye flight and avoided JFK (typical east coast rudeness). Snagging 11K was just icing on the cake.
Since Singapore will deny entry for unvaccinated travellers soon, I donโt see why not all flights are made VTL yet.
Singapore will never close its doors to unvaccinated citizens.
there are transit demand cater for unvaccinated travellers for non-VTL flights.
Vancouver in Dec is cold and damp โ low season, so hotel prices will be at their cheapest. If you like skiing, Whistler is popular and very expensive but apparently worth it, according to my friends. Another alternative is to catch the Northern Lights at either Whitehorse or Yellowknife. Loved my Air North flight to Whitehorse โ itโs a great retro experience โ old but well-maintained plane with great seats and even better service.
IIRC thereโs also an annual winter season Fairmont tie-up with the local tourism authority that I think comes with up to C$200 spending credit on a pre-paid Visa debit card โ proportionate to the hotel category, of course.
Vancouver is terrible in winter. Itโs not cold enough for snow so youโll have very very cold rain all day. Take a domestic to Banff imo.
It can snow some years though. Vancouver is terrible dealing with snow since it doesnโt happen frequently โ I remember that they stopped bus services when I was at University of British Columbia because the buses couldnโt handle going up the slopes., even with fairly light snow. Knew people who walked 90 mins to reach the uni.
thanks for the tips! has been more than two decades since I was in Canada, time to rediscover some things
The Rockies is amazing in winterโฆthough be prepared for -20 deg temperatures in Banff and Lake Louise. But if early Dec travel, shouldnโt be that bad. Would probably be safe to join a land tour than drive in those conditions though.
Waiting for direct Toronto flight โ๏ธ
How long is the flight to Vancouver from Singapore?
If Iโm in Vancouver and wish to use VTL in end Oct, is it possible for me to take a non VTL flight to SFO and then take that VTL flight to Singapore and still qualify for VTL?
so long as your 14 day travel history only includes VTL countries AND you fly to SG on a vtl flight, you are fine.
how expensive are those VTL flights โ more expensive than normal?
Are the flights bookable yet? I am looking right now and not seeing them.
Nevermind โ re-read the post โ noon Oct 12
No redemption seats( Business). Bummer
I personally think the summer time in Vancouver is far much better than the winter time, hope it is not just a seasonal flightโฆ
Winter travellers are there for Whistler and snow fun in the Rockies. Itโs not for the โmass marketโ leisure travellers.
Yes, summer is peak tourist season because of the many Alaskan cruises. In fact, the city doesnโt even promote summer tourism since theyโve got more tourists than they need. However, recently, global warming has affected Vancouver โ wildfires can produce the familiar hazy skies (can be as bad as ours). This summer had the infamous heat wave of >40C temperature. May to mid-June is still fine.
There arenโt any redeemable flights on the Vancouver flight though โฆ I donโt understand why.
i could not find any award space on the outbound leg for december (so no inaugural flight for me), but I did manage to redeem in the opposite direction
Thinking to travel to Vancouver this Dec for leisure, but it seem like from the official CA website to check eligibility to enter, it is not 100% you can enter Canada.
So confusing. So can we travel to Canada??
yes, if youโre vaccinated.
Based on your answers, you will likely be allowed to enter Canada; however, the final determination will be made by a government official at the port of entry.
I got this from https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/answers/foreign-vaccinated
Iโm vaccinated but reading that above, Iโm concerned ๐
thatโs just standard verbiage. USA will tell you the same when youโre approved for ESTA. immigration officials still reserve the right to reject you at the border if they deem fit.
Good to know! I feel more assured then. Thanks.
Anyone still going to Vancouver/ whistler/ banff in December, with the recent floods and closed highways going on? The situation doesnโt look good.