What’s Singapore Airlines’ birthday cake policy?

Ah, cake. Bakery staple, scourge of Marie Antoinette, left out in the rain, and now, inflight flashpoint.

After a passenger’s complaint about being denied a birthday cake onboard Singapore Airlines went viral, it’s become very apparent that (1) people like cake an awful lot, and (2) the only thing better than cake is free cake.

Singapore Airlines used to offer birthday cakes to anyone who requested one, based on the honour system. But because people loved cake more than honour, there are now some rules in place.

Who is eligible for a birthday cake?

If you’re flying on a Singapore Airlines operated flight on or around your birthday, you can request for a birthday cake subject to the following conditions.

If you’re flying in Suites, First or Business Class, you must be travelling within three days of your actual birthday, on a flight lasting at least 90 minutes. 

This would exclude the following destinations (all of which are too short for an actual meal service anyway).

If you’re flying in Premium Economy or Economy Class, you must be travelling within one day of your actual birthday, on a flight lasting at least 3.5 hours.

This would exclude the following destinations.

Do note that if you’re on a two-legged flight like SQ26 (SIN-FRA-JFK) or SQ12 (SIN-NRT-LAX), you can only request a cake on one of the legs. Believe me, people have tried.

Now, I cannot emphasise enough that the abovementioned criteria are firm, and there is no bending of the rules for elite members, Jedi Knights and/or ACS boys.

That said, the +/-1 day rule for Premium Economy and Economy Class can create an odd situation on long-haul flights into Singapore, where you won’t get a cake despite spending part of your birthday onboard. For example, suppose your birthday is 15 March, and you depart for Singapore on SQ37 from Los Angeles on 13 March. You will arrive in Singapore at 7.55 a.m on your birthday, but you won’t be eligible for a cake.

If the absence of a cake would ruin your special day, I would strongly suggest perusing the inflight menu ahead of time, spotting cake or cake-adjacent options, and bringing your own LED candle for decoration.

How to request a cake

The easiest way of requesting a cake is to contact Singapore Airlines via the chatbot feature; just type “human” and click on Live Chat to be transferred to an agent. Provide them with your booking reference number, mention you’d like a birthday cake, and if you meet the eligibility criteria, it will be tagged to your reservation. 

On boarding, it’s best practice to double-check with the crew that the cake has been uplifted. Mistakes occasionally happen, but can still be fixed if they’re discovered early enough.

As far as possible, try to submit your requests at least one week ahead of departure, as late requests may not be guaranteed.

What kind of cake can you expect?

The type of cake you get depends on where you’re flying from, and designs may rotate throughout the year. 

I’ve collated this series of contributions from the MileChat— most of these are from First and Business Class (I wonder why) — but I think the general rule is that First Class gets the largest, and Economy Class gets the smallest. That said, it’s not a hard and fast rule, as I have seen Economy Class cakes which look more or less the same as their Business Class counterparts.

If you have a preferred time for the cake to be served, you can mention it to the crew and they’ll do their best to accommodate your request. It’s usually served after mealtimes, as the crew will be very busy prior to that.

Presentation is obvious the nicest in First and Business, where the typical setup is to include a couple of bears and glasses of champagne, perhaps even lights and dry ice. In Economy, you might get some Business Class champagne in a plastic cup if you’re lucky. 

It is not mandatory for neighbouring passengers to join in the birthday song. It is customary, however, for them to give you bemused looks.

First Class

Business Class

Premium Economy Class

Economy Class

You’ll note that not all of these are birthday cakes. Cakes can also be requested for other special occasions like honeymoons and anniversaries, for which I’m not aware of any published eligibility criteria.

Other birthday-related perks

Even if you’re not eligible for a cake, cheer up! Singapore Airlines offers a few more promotions for those celebrating their special day.

KrisFlyer & PPS Club members: Birthday bonus

PPS Club and KrisFlyer members can earn a birthday bonus of 1,000 to 2,000 bonus miles when they travel on a commercial Singapore Airlines or Scoot flight during their birthday month, or the subsequent two calendar months.

Membership Tier	🎂 Birthday Bonus
KrisFlyer Member	1,000 bonus miles
KrisFlyer Elite Silver	1,500 bonus miles
KrisFlyer Elite Gold	1,500 bonus miles
Solitaire PPS & PPS Club	2,000 bonus miles

No registration is required. The flight must be completed within three months from the first day of the KrisFlyer member’s birthday month. For example, if your birthday is 14 April 2026, you will need to fly between 1 April to 30 June 2026 to qualify (note how the flight can be before your actual birthday).

There is no minimum duration or distance required for the bonus to be triggered, but codeshare flights (sold by another carrier and operated by SIA/Scoot) are not eligible. Also, it does not matter when the booking was made, only when it is flown. 

Do note that the birthday bonus only applies to commercial flights paid fully with cash. No birthday bonus will be awarded if you:

• Redeem an award flight
• Partially or fully pay with miles
• Partially or fully pay with vouchers

The birthday bonus will be earned on a maximum of one flight segment, so even if your itinerary involves multiple segments, like SQ26 from SIN-FRA-JFK, you’ll only earn a single birthday bonus.

Solitaire PPS Club members: Birthday upgrade

An unpublished benefit of the Solitaire PPS Club is a one-cabin upgrade when flying on their birthday, or +/- 1 calendar day.

For example, if your birthday falls on 5th June, you’ll be eligible for an upgrade if your flight departs from 4th to 6th June. 

Some important points to note:

• The free upgrade is valid for both award and commercial tickets
• The upgrade is only for the Solitaire PPS Club member, and not for companions in the same booking
• Only principal Solitaire PPS Club members are entitled to birthday upgrades, and not supplementary cardholders
• Upgrades are based on seat availability at the time of airport check-in. There is no point calling up SIA ahead of time to request your upgrade
• If you are on a multi-legged journey (e.g. SIN-FRA-JFK), the upgrade may only be for one of the legs due to seat availability

As a reminder, the upgrade is only for a single cabin. This means that Solitaire PPS Club members who book an Economy Class ticket will only be upgraded to Premium Economy, unless the route they’re flying doesn’t offer that cabin.

However, there is no cap on the maximum cabin you can be upgraded to, so even Suites is fair game! And yes, you’re given the full entitlements of the upgraded cabin, including access to The Private Room where applicable. 

Since this is not a guaranteed perk, please don’t waste your time (and the CSO’s time) calling up beforehand and making enquiries. Whether your upgrade comes through boils down to luck, though you can improve your chances by picking a flight where the next highest cabin still shows good availability. 

How the Solitaire PPS Club’s secret birthday upgrade perk works

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines passengers travelling on or around their birthday can request for a birthday cake to be added to their booking. There are (unpublished) rules dictating who is eligible, so now that you know them, please set your expectations accordingly. 

This is fun little gesture, but what I really want to know is this: if you’re born on a leap day, do you get extra leeway with the +/- requirement, since your birthday could either be 28 February or 1 March?

Inquiring minds want to know.