Which carriers does Singapore Airlines interline with?

Interlining can be all the difference between a smooth connection and a stressful rush. Here's which carriers Singapore Airlines has interline agreements with.

As anyone who’s ever travelled on separate tickets before will know, an interline agreement can make all the difference between a smooth connection, and a stressful rush.ย ย 

The convenience of getting all your boarding passes at one shot and checking your bag through to the final destination should not be understated, especially if your inbound flight arrives late or if a terminal change is required.

In this post, we’ll look at what interlining is, and the agreements that Singapore Airlines has in place.ย 

What is interlining?

Interlining allows for baggage to be checked across carriers, among other things

While there’s probably a more technically correct definition, I prefer to think of interlining simply as an agreement that allows Airline A to send passengers onto Airline B, without requiring them to reclaim their luggage or check-in again.

Interlining is important when dealing with flight disruptions (since an airline typically rebooks passengers onto another airline it interlines with), but is more commonly encountered when dealing with two separate tickets.

Depending on your situation, the presence of an interline agreement can either be a mild convenience, or absolute necessity.ย 

For example, I might redeem a Qatar Airways ticket from KUL-DOH-MXP, and then purchase a separate Singapore Airlines ticket from SIN-KUL. Since Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines interline, I could get my boarding passes in SIN and check my bag all the way through to MXP, saving me the time of clearing arrival immigration in KUL, claiming my bag, checking in and clearing departure immigration again.ย 

However, an interline agreement may very well determine the underlying viability of a journey in the first place. If I want to fly from A > B > C, but cannot enter Country B without a visa (and don’t intend to apply for one), then I’m counting on being able to check my bag all the way through from A to C.

I’ll talk about some caveats to interlining later in this article, but first, let’s look at the agreements that Singapore Airlines has.

Singapore Airlines’ interline agreements

SIA interlines with the Lufthansa Group, among other carriers

At the time of writing, Singapore Airlines has interline agreements with more than 100 carriers worldwide.

The information below is extracted from the KVS Tool (a paid subscription is required to use it).ย 

[KVS Tool 10.4.1 – Reference: Interline Agreements [IET]: SQ]

ELECTRONIC INTERLINE CARRIER AGREEMENTS-SQ

INTERLINE CARRIER CODES

AA – AC – AD – AE – AF – AH – AI – AM – AS – AT- AV – AY – AZ – A3 – BA – BG – BI – BP – BR – BT – B6 – B7 – CA – CI – CM – CX – CZ – DJ – DL – EI -EK – EN – ET – EW – EY – FI – FJ – FM – FZ – GA- GF – G3 – HA – HM – HO – HR – HU – HX – HY – IB- IC – IY – JJ – JL – JO – JU – KC – KE – KF – KL- KM – KQ – KU – LA – LG – LH – LM – LO – LP – LR- LX – LY – ME – MF – MH – MI – MK – MS – MU – NF- NH – NX – NZ – OA – OK – OM – OS – OU – OZ – O6- PD – PG – PK – PR – PS – PX – PZ – QF – QR – QV- RA – RJ – RO – SA – SB – SC – SK – SN – SQ – SU -SV – SW – S7 – TA – TG – TK – TP – TR – T0 – UA- UB – UK – UL – UX – VA – VN – VS – VY – WF – WY -W2 – XL – ZH – 4M – 4U – 4Z – 9B – 9W

For those of you who don’t speak airline code, here’s a summary of which code refers to what airline.ย 

Code Airline
4M Lan Argentina
4U Germanwings
4Z Airlink
9B AccesRail
9W Jet Airways
A3 Aegean Airlines
AA American Airlines
AC Air Canada
AD Azul Linhas
AE Mandarin Airlines
AF Air France
AH Air Algรฉrie
AI Air India
AM Aeromexico
AS Alaska Airlines
AT Royal Air Maroc
AV AVIANCA
AY Finnair
AZ Alitalia
B6 JetBlue
B7 Uni Air
BA British Airways
BG Biman
BI Royal Brunei
BP Air Botswana
BR EVA Air
BT Air Baltic
CA Air China Limited
CI China Airlines
CM COPA Airlines
CX Cathay Pacific
CZ China Southern Airlines
DJ Air Djibouti
DL Delta Air Lines
EI Aer Lingus
EK Emirates
EN Air Dolomiti
ET Ethiopian Airlines
EW Eurowings
EY Etihad Airways
FI Icelandair
FJ Fiji Airways
FM Shanghai Airlines
FZ Flydubai
G3 VRG Linhas Aรฉreas S.A. – Grupo GOL
GA Garuda
GF Gulf Air
HA Hawaiian Airlines
HM Air Seychelles
HO Juneyao Airlines
HR Hahn Air
HU Hainan Airlines
HX Hong Kong Airlines
HY Uzbekistan Airways
IB IBERIA
IC Indian Airlines
IY Yemenia
JJ TAM Linhas Aรฉreas
JL Japan Airlines
JO Aircompany JONIKA
JU Air SERBIA a.d. Beograd
KC Air Astana
KE Korean Air
KF Blue1
KL KLM
KM Air Malta
KQ Kenya Airways
KU Kuwait Airways
LA Lan Airlines
LG Luxair
LH Lufthansa
LM Loganair
LO LOT Polish Airlines
LP Lan Perรบ
LR LACSA
LX SWISS
LY EL AL
ME MEA
MF Xiamen Airlines
MH Malaysia Airlines
MI Silkair
MK Air Mauritius
MS Egyptair
MU China Eastern
NF Air Vanuatu
NH All Nippon Airways
NX Air Macau
NZ Air New Zealand
O6 Avianca Brasil
OA Olympic Air
OK Czech Airlines j.s.c
OM MIAT
OS Austrian
OU Croatia Airlines
OZ Asiana
PD Porter Airlines
PG Bangkok Air
PK PIA
PR PAL
PS Ukraine International Airlines
PX Air Niugini
PZ TAM – Transportes Aรฉreos del Mercosur Sociedad Anรณnima
QF Qantas
QR Qatar Airways
QV Lao Airlines
RA Nepal Airlines
RJ Royal Jordanian
RO TAROM
S7 Siberia Airlines
SA SAA
SB Aircalin
SC Shandong Airlines
SK SAS
SN Brussels Airlines
SQ SIA
SU Aeroflot
SV Saudi Arabian Airlines
SW Air Namibia
T0 TACA Peru
TA TACA
TG Thai Airways International
TK THY – Turkish Airlines
TP TAP Portugal
TR Scoot
UA United Airlines
UB Myanmar National Airlines
UK Vistara
UL SriLankan
UX Air Europa
VA Virgin Australia
VN Vietnam Airlines
VS Virgin Atlantic
VY vueling
W2 FlexFlight
WF Wideroe
WY Oman Air
XL LanEcuador
ZH Shenzhen Airlines

Note that the system has some “leftovers”, such as Germanwings (since rebranded to Eurowings with a different airline code) and Indian Airlines (folded into Air India in 2011).

Caveats about interlining

Interlining on separate tickets is not a given

Interlining agreements are primarily concerned with facilitating the travel of passengers across different airlines on the same ticket.ย Just because two airlines have an interline agreement does not mean they’re obligated to check you through when travelling on separate tickets.ย 

Most of the time they should, but keep in mind this is done as a courtesy, as Cathay Pacific puts it:ย 

As a courtesy, Cathay Pacific will through-check you and your bags to your final destination if you are travelling on separate tickets involving connections with our interline partners. However through-check may not be possible on their return journey if your travel begins with an airline that does not to provide separate ticket through-check service.

Still, you may encounter the odd agent who is unfamiliar with the rules or unwilling to assist. I’ve been in situations where agents refused to check my bag through on the grounds that the second airline was not part of the same alliance, notwithstanding the fact an interline agreement existed.

It pays to be patient, polite, and know your stuff. MileLion community member Ray suggests a trick that can work if both airlines are on the Amadeus system, namely asking the agent to enter TGAD-XX where XX is the airline’s code. This displays a full list of interline agreements.ย Alternatively, entering TGAD-XX/YY will display the interline agreement between the validating carrier XX and the second carrier YY.ย 

All the same, there’s alwaysย some degree of risk in booking separate tickets, especially if you have luggage.ย 

Interlining must respect MCT

If you’re booking two separate tickets, you should make sure the Minimum Connecting Time (MCT) is satisfied.

As the name suggests, MCT is the minimum time between the scheduled arrival of one flight and the scheduled departure of another. Bangkok, for example, has the following MCTs:

  • Domestic to Domestic: 1h 15 mins
  • Domestic to International: 1h 15 mins
  • International to Domestic: 1h 15 mins
  • International to International: 1h 15 mins

This means that if you book a separate SIN-BKK and BKK-KIX ticket and the arrival of the first flight is within 1h 15 mins from the departure time of the second flight, your request to interline will be denied.

Regular customs rules still apply

Interline agreements are still subject to the standard customs restrictions.

For example, Singapore Airlines and JetBlue have an interline agreement, but US laws require passengers to collect their bags and clear customs at their first port of entry. So if you had a Singapore Airlines SIN-SFO and a JetBlue SFO-BOS ticket, you would still need to collect your bag in SFO and clear customs before sending it off again on the SFO-BOS leg.ย 

Similar rules apply to Australia and New Zealand, where your connecting flight is a domestic one.ย 

Conclusion

Interlining agreements are very important to miles collectors who intend to book separate tickets across two different frequent flyer programmes. While interlining on separate tickets is never guaranteed, it can be done more often than not.

I would, however, ensure that I had a backup plan for a worst case scenario where the agent at the first airport is unwilling or unable to check the bag through.ย 

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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Bruno

Be also careful with immigration/visa requirements at the connecting point between separate tickets. E.g. Qatar Airways has this condition on every e-ticket, and theyโ€™re not the only airline that enforces this: โ€ข Remember to check your immigration and health requirements before you travel and ensure you carry the required travel documents. โ€ข If you are holding a non-Qatar Airways ticket for a connection afterwards, you will need to hold immigration approval to land at the final city in your itinerary that is ticketed by Qatar Airways SQ seems to be more relaxed on that. I connected recently in DEL between… Read more »

Abc

“Most of the time they should, but keep in mind this is done as a courtesy,” I find this statement not a very good one. You give the impression that all airlines should do it, it’s just a matter of competence of the check in staff whether it’s done or not. This is not true, many airlines have long standing policies of rejecting any through check-in in almost any circumstances unless the entire itinerary was on a single ticket (ie they will only check in for the end destination on the ticket they are responsible for, and not for any… Read more »

Mark

The simplest solution to all the complexity is to just fly without check-in luggage. So we have a SIN-IST award ticket (IST being the “sweet-spot”). It is business so we can carry on what we need. No check-in. Then, we have a ticket on TK leaving IST about 5 hours later to a European city. So this whole interline topic becomes irrelevant. We online check-in for the TK flight ex-IST and print our boarding passes. We check-in, in SIN and collect out boarding passes to IST. We don’t even need to tell SQ about the second flight! When arriving in… Read more »

Andrew

Pointless. As soon as your A-B leg gets delayed, causing you to miss the B-C leg, the second airline does not extend the “courtesy” to get you on the next available flight. As far as the second airline is concerned, you should’ve been located in the city.
So this hack is not useful at all, even if you take carry-on only. Better to book a single ticket.

Turningleft

Thanks for the info, just in time for my flight from EWR to SIN next month. Though it makes me nervous, because we have an incoming flight into EWR on UA on a separate ticket, and I’ve heard UA agents can be quite indifferent with interline agreements with separate tickets.

Fakhri

Most recently I had separate tickets on Avianca and Turkish from Bogota to Istanbul connecting in Madrid. Both AV and TK are both Star Alliance and I had 5 hours of connecting time. The AV flight even had a TK codeshare and they STILL insisted they couldnโ€™t interline because of separate tickets ๐Ÿ™„

Ortloc

I was flying in JL J class NRT-KUL using the now defunct Alaska Airlines redemption stopover trick and bought a separate onward Y class KUL-SIN on MH, hoping that as OneWorld partners, they would interline.

No such luck. The ticketing agent refused to check me and my baggage through. Fortunately I had factored a 4-hour connection but it’s still a pain having to retrieve the luggage and going through immigration and check-in again.

A small price to pay for an ultra-cheap business class return ticket though.

WanderLust

I had the exact same itinerary as you when travelled in 2019. The JAL agent able to check through my luggage to SIN when I told her I had a connecting MH flight at KUL.

Not for boarding pass. I need to go to the transit counter at KUL to have it print out. Maybe the JAL agent misunderstood you. You should ask for only luggage to check through and not your connecting boarding ticket too.

Last edited 2 years ago by WanderLust
asprino

so.. SQ has an interline agreement with… SQ???

Nop San

Singapore is my neighboring country. But I have never traveled. 
I plan after the covid 19 epidemic is better I will travel for a couple of days.

Claudine

My personal experience :

  1. Lufthansa – agent wonโ€™t even check the connecting SQ flight since tickets both separately. Travelling Edi-FRA-Sin
  2. SAS – I had earlier got SQ CSO to โ€œlinkโ€ my tickets together but the check in counter at OSL still canโ€™t find the SQ flight. Travelling OSL-CPH-SIN
  3. SQ – linked the SQ tiks and SAS tiks together and check in counter at Changi was able to check in all the way to STK. no issue at all

looks like our home airport does better at the interlining.

Zhen

SA – I had earlier got SQ CSO to link” my 2 separate reservations, do you think I will get the same experience with your SAS?

Maree

Where is this information from? I just called Singapore airlines to confirm and your information is incorrect. This could cause a lot of troubles for people and you should check it before publishing incorrect information!

Jul

Hello,
Has anyone successfully interline Thai Airways to Singapore Airlines ?
I suspect as they are both star alliance that it should be easier ?
However my journey will start in Sapporo so not sure how staff counter will react.

Round Trip : Sin-Bkk-Cts & Cts-Bkk-Sin

Thanks

Jamie

This had sort of put my mind at ease. As a solo traveler going to Australia and Bali at end of year I was very concerned about through check in. I booked my entire journey direct with Singapore Airlines. But I seem to have had different information from different people, some say I can through check in but same say I canโ€™t. I fly with KLM from Glasgow, Scotland to Amsterdam, change onto Singapore airlines then eventually Sydney. So i believe if I ask nicely I can get through check in. I was told because my layover is less than… Read more »