Singapore Airlines adds restrictions on Business Class seat selection on Lite fares and most awards

Singapore Airlines has historically given Business Class passengers free rein to choose their preferred seats — with some limited exceptions such as bassinet positions, or the coveted bulkhead and throne seats on selected aircraft, which are set aside for infant bookings or PPS Club members.

However, this appears to have changed. I’m waiting for an official statement from Singapore Airlines, but from what I can see, the airline has revised its advance seat selection policy to introduce a “restricted zone” in the Business Class cabin on all aircraft except the Boeing 737-8 MAX. 

These seats are only available for advance selection by passengers on the more expensive Business Flexi or Business Standard fares, as well as the most expensive Business Access award category.

Passengers travelling on other commercial fares or award types — namely Business Lite fares or Business Advantage, Saver and Promo awards — will only be able to choose from a limited number of seats at the rear of the cabin, until closer to departure. 

Singapore Airlines revises Business Class seat selection policy

Singapore Airlines’ webpage on Advance Seat Selection previously stated that Business Class passengers would enjoy complimentary advance seat selection at any time.

You’ll enjoy complimentary seat selection at any time.

The wording has now been updated with additional caveats, which specify that only “some fare types” allow the selection of any available seat, while others may face limitations.

Business Class seat selection depends on the fare type and membership status. Some fare types allow selection of any available seat, while others may be limited to certain seats at the time of booking.

The rollout of this policy has been somewhat messy. It briefly escaped into the wild on 23 May, and was picked up on Reddit. However, on 25 May, the seat blocks were lifted and selection reverted to regular rules, where it’s remained until now.

The restrictions on advance seat selection apply to Business Lite fares, as well as Business Advantage, Saver and Promo awards.

Solitaire PPS Club and PPS Club members continue to enjoy an unrestricted selection of Business Class seats, regardless of what commercial fare or award type they book. 

There is no similar privilege for KrisFlyer Elite Gold and KrisFlyer Elite Silver members, who are treated the same as regular KrisFlyer members when it comes to advance seat selection in Business Class.

Which seats are restricted?

Singapore Airlines appears to be taking its “Forward Zone” concept from Economy Class and applying it to the Business Class cabin, with the forward rows blocked off, and only the rearmost rows available for general advance selection.

Here’s an aircraft-by-aircraft list of which seats remain available for advance selection on Business Lite fares, or Business Advantage, Saver and Promo awards, by a non-PPS Club passenger.

Airbus A350-900MH

✅ Full Selection	❌ Restricted Selection

Only four rows of the Business Class cabin — rows 17, 18, 20 and 21 — remain available for advance selection on Business Lite fares, or Business Advantage, Saver and Promo awards.

Passengers on Business Flexi and Standard fares, or Business Access awards, can select any seat except the following.

Airbus A350-900LH

✅ Full Selection	❌ Restricted Selection

Only rows 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22 remain available for advance selection on Business Lite fares, or Business Advantage, Saver and Promo awards.

Passengers on Business Flexi and Standard fares, or Business Access awards, can select any seat except the following.

Airbus A350-900ULR

✅ Full Selection	❌ Restricted Selection

Only the last eight rows of the Business Class cabin — rows 22-29— remain available for advance selection on Business Lite fares, or Business Advantage, Saver and Promo awards.

Passengers on Business Flexi and Standard fares, or Business Access awards, can select any seat except the following.

Airbus A380-800

✅ Full Selection	❌ Restricted Selection

Only rows 23-24, rows 92-95 and row 97 remain available for advance selection on Business Lite fares, or Business Advantage, Saver and Promo awards.

Passengers on Business Flexi and Standard fares, or Business Access awards, can select any seat except the following.

Boeing 737-8 MAX

✅ Full Selection	❌ Restricted Selection

There does not appear to be any additional blocking on the Boeing 737-8 MAX, which is fortunate because this is a very small Business Class cabin to begin with.

All Business Class passengers, regardless of fare class or award type, can select any seat except the following.

Boeing 777-300ER

✅ Full Selection	❌ Restricted Selection

Only the last six rows of the Business Class cabin — rows 18-23— remain available for advance selection on Business Lite fares, or Business Advantage, Saver and Promo awards.

Passengers on Business Flexi and Standard fares, or Business Access awards, can select any seat except the following.

Boeing 787-10

✅ Full Selection	❌ Restricted Selection

Only the last four rows of the Business Class cabin — rows 17-20— remain available for advance selection on Business Lite fares, or Business Advantage, Saver and Promo awards.

Passengers on Business Flexi and Standard fares, or Business Access awards, can select any seat except the following.

What if you have an existing booking?

If you have an existing booking and have chosen a seat in the restricted zone, that’s fine. Nothing will happen to your selection, so long as you don’t touch it further.

If you do decide to switch your seat, you will not be able to switch back to a seat in the restricted zone again.

In other words: move it and lose it.

Seat blocks removed at T-96

Business Class seat blocks are removed 96 hours before departure (known as T-96), at which point you can select any open seat left in the cabin regardless of fare/award type or status.

However, here’s an important quirk to note: the Singapore Airlines website and app do not allow online seat selection between 96 to 48 hours of departure.

You could wait until T-48, when online check-in opens and all seats can be assigned online, but that runs the risk of your preferred seat getting snapped up. Instead, it’s safer to switch seats at T-96 by calling the Singapore Airlines hotline or chatting with an agent via the website. Simply quote your booking reference number, and provide the seat you wish to switch to. 

This restriction does not affect bookings made through partner airlines, so if you booked your ticket through a different frequent flyer programme, you should be able to visit the respective website and select the unblocked seats at T-96.

Do remember that certain seats may be blocked for crew rest, and those will not be unblocked at the T-96 mark.

Pay a fee for seat selection?

Singapore Airlines’ new restrictions on advance seat selection naturally raise questions about whether it is moving towards monetised seat selection, as many rivals have already done for cheaper commercial fares and award tickets. 

It’s not impossible, but the way I see it, the airline’s current Business Class seats do not lend themselves particularly well to monetised seat selection. This isn’t an Allegris situation where there’s a bewildering number of different seat types, and some are genuinely better than others.

Business Class seats on Singapore Airlines are basically identical, with the exception of the bulkhead seats which allow passengers to sleep parallel to the aisle (instead of at an angle), and the throne seats on the B737-8 MAX which offer extra privacy and storage.

Those seats would be the ones most suited to monetisation, but they’re already blocked for PPS Club members, and I can’t imagine the earful the airline would catch if they tried to make them available to the highest bidder.

Moreover, given that Business Class is relatively low density, there isn’t much of an advantage to being in the forward zone. It’s not like Economy Class where every row you regress by adds another nine people ahead of you in the queue for immigration (and besides, at some airports the aerobridge might connect to the rear Business Class door, giving those passengers a leg up instead!).

Therefore, the only scenario where I could see someone on a restricted fare or award type paying for advance seat selection is if they’re travelling as a group, and want to guarantee they’ll be seated together. 

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines has introduced new restrictions on Business Class seats selection for Lite fares, as well as Advantage, Saver and Promo awards. These passengers will only be able to choose from a limited selection of seats until closer to departure, mostly at the rear of the cabin.

This restriction does not apply to Solitaire PPS and PPS Club members, as well as passengers travelling on Business Flexi and Standard fares or Access award bookings. All seat blocks will be lifted at the T-96 mark, which is your best opportunity to snag your preferred seat from whatever’s left over. 

I don’t expect Singapore Airlines to introduce paid seat selection in the near future, though the mechanism certainly exists now. But even if it does happen, I don’t think there’s much value in paying for anything other than a bulkhead or throne seat, unless you strongly prefer a window seat, or need to guarantee seating together. 

I’ll update this article once I get a statement from Singapore Airlines on the changes.