Hot towels returning to Singapore Airlines flights from September 2023

Ah, the hot towel. So ignored pre-pandemic, so missed post-pandemic. 

This humble piece of cloth has unwittingly found itself turned into something of a symbol. Depending on who you ask, its continued absence on our national carrier is either evidence of continued supply chain woes, post-COVID hypochondria (you really want to wipe your face with that?), or corporate greed (record profits still don’t want give me hot towel, vote TKL haiz).

Well, we can finally turn the page on this strange chapter of history, because Singapore Airlines is restoring hot towel service across all cabins.

SIA restoring hot towel service across all cabins

Per a memo sent out to cabin crew today, Singapore Airlines will be restoring hot towel service across all cabins by the end of 2023.

• From 12 September 2023 (001 hrs SGT): Suites, First and Business Class
• From December 2023 (exact date TBD): Premium Economy and Economy Class

Hot towels will come with the airline’s signature Batik Flora scent, created for the airline by local artisanal perfume label Scent by SIX. The floral-driven fragrance includes notes from the Aquatic Ginger, Common Dianella, Seashore Purslane, Simpoh Lak, Utania Nervosa and White Kopsia.

For avoidance of doubt, hot towels will be available both on inbound and outbound flights, with no minimum duration. Whether you’re starting an odyssey to New York or a quick hop to Kuala Lumpur, a towel will greet you onboard. 

Truth be told, this has been a long time coming. Eagle-eyed readers may have spotted that Singapore Airlines put out tenders for hot towels earlier this year, and with all other pre-COVID service items like menus and pre-departure drinks already restored, it really was a “when not if” question.

It remains to be seen how, if at all, service routines will change post-COVID. I wonder whether things will be run a little differently compared to before, in the interest of crew safety (you don’t want to know what some people do with those things). We’ll find out in due course, I suppose. 

I reached out to Singapore Airlines for a comment on the hot towel return, and received the following reply:

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines will be restoring hot towel service across all cabins by the end of 2023, first for Suites, First and Business Class passengers, and later with Premium Economy and Economy Class passengers.

It’s been more than three years since this signature aspect of the SIA experience was last spotted, and even if you never understood the whole fuss, at least you now have one more thing to wipe down your area with.

And now, finally, life is back to normal.