Paused: No KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes for June

Singapore Airlines made KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes a permanent feature of the programme in February 2019, and we’ve seen a monthly promotion ever since- with the obvious exception of the COVID-enforced hiatus. 

Given the popularity of this promotion, you can bet that whenever release day rolls around, there’s a whole load of people camping out the website hoping to get first dibs on the limited discounted awards. 

However, this month may be different. 

No Spontaneous Escapes this month

As you probably know by now, Spontaneous Escapes are usually released on the 15th of each month. If that date happens to be a weekend or public holiday, the release will take place on the next working day.

15th June 2024 fell on a Saturday, and the 17th was a public holiday, so it stands to reason we should have seen the release on the 18th. But the day passed uneventfully, and a MileChat member spotted this response to a question on the KrisFlyer Facebook page.

That seemed pretty unequivocal, but on the off chance this information was inaccurate, I reached out to Singapore Airlines and a spokesperson confirmed that Spontaneous Escapes had been postponed to the following month. 

Why was Spontaneous Escapes skipped?

In a word: SQ321

Ever since the severe turbulence incident on 20 May, Singapore Airlines has gone into a sort of self-imposed mourning, suspending its advertising and limiting its marketing communications (in case you’re wondering why your inbox has been quiet since late May, that’s why).

With the announcement of compensation offers for affected passengers last week, my understanding was that the moratorium would begin to be lifted as the airline began to turn the page on this event. Obviously the investigation and inevitable litigation are far from over, but at some point life needs to go on.

We saw a hint of that last night when I received two eDMs in quick succession: one advertising Singapore Airlines fare deals, the other an announcement of some upcoming KrisFlyer Experiences. I was hoping that this meant Spontaneous Escapes would be happening too, albeit delayed, but it seems like no dice.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, everyone can agree that SQ321 was a tragedy, and it’s not the best look if the airline continues with its regular marketing activities like nothing happened at all. On the other, it’s not like Spontaneous Escapes is a new thing. I can understand maybe postponing the launch of a brand new initiative or promotion, but I don’t think it’s too objectionable to maintain continuity here. And before anyone brings up some silly straw man argument like “so you’re saying it’s more important to get discounted awards than mourn the lives impacted by SQ321?”, I should point out that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. 

For what it’s worth, July has historically been slim pickings for Spontaneous Escapes, what with the peak summer travel season and all. July 2023 offered up just 60 flights for discounted redemptions, the 4th lowest for the year and below the average of 70. 

If you’d like to daydream nonetheless, do refer to the article below for a guide on how to analyse past Spontaneous Escapes with KrisFlyer SEAT. 

Now live: KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes Analysis Tool (SEAT)

Conclusion

It appears that Singapore Airlines will be skipping Spontaneous Escapes for this month, with July’s edition (for travel in August) the next scheduled event.

This is almost certainly due to the airline-wide moratorium on promotions due to the SQ321 incident. We’re seeing signs that it’s begun to be lifted, but perhaps not in time for this month.