Readers of Business Traveller have voted Singapore’s Changi airport the world’s best countless times, and with good reason. Not only is Changi spacious, efficient and clean, it is also one of the world’s leading aviation hubs. Passengers flying from Europe can reach destinations in South East Asia and Australasia more easily via Singapore than Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Sydney or Auckland.
So the news that national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) will boost flight frequency out of London Heathrow to Singapore this autumn is to be welcomed. Although SIA has increased the number of seats out of Heathrow in recent years by using larger planes, its thrice-daily frequency hasn’t changed for a long time.
Phee Teik Yeoh, general manager of Singapore Airlines for UK and Ireland, says: “SIA last introduced a new service to Heathrow in 1998 and has wanted to increase this to a fourth daily service ever since. The difficulty has been with obtaining the relevant slots at Heathrow. Only now have we been able to obtain slots at times that offer a viable operation based on the availability of onward connections beyond both London and Singapore.”
The fourth flight launches on September 14 and initially will not operate daily – the frequency will increase in stages until October 21, from which date it will operate every day of the week. Flight SQ305 leaves Heathrow at 2000 to arrive into Singapore at 1550. Return flight SQ306 departs at 2345 to reach London at 0620. From October 26, SQ305 will leave Heathrow at 1515 to arrive in Singapore at 1155, and SQ306 will depart at 0110 to reach London at 0720.
It means there will be two late-night departures out of Singapore – good news for business people who have spent the working day in the city-state, or the many Antipodean passengers who are connecting to London, as the existing late-night flight is always heavily booked (SQ322 leaves Singapore at 2345 and arrives in London at 0555).
Who else flies there?
Besides SIA, there are daily flights with British Airways and Qantas. Both fly twice daily. One BA flight terminates in Singapore, with the other continuing to Sydney. Both Qantas flights continue beyond Singapore to Sydney and Melbourne.
What SIA offers
Until the launch of the fourth service, all SIA flights are operated by A380s featuring the latest premium products, including suites in first class and fully-flat beds in business. The latter is an exceptional product with spacious four-across (1-2-1) seating. The airline’s fourth service is rostered for a B777-300ER aircraft with the latest business seating but a more conventional first class. SIA is the only carrier with daytime flights between Singapore and London.
What BA/Qantas offer
The carriers operate the London-Singapore route as a joint venture. Both Qantas flights are operated by A380s; both BA ones by B747s. Under the arrangement, the airlines codeshare flights, charge the same fares and use Changi as a hub to feed passengers on to Qantas flights bound for cities throughout Australia (in addition to Sydney and Melbourne).
Both feature fully-flat beds in business. BA’s Club World is eight-across (2-4-2) on the main deck and four-across (2-2) on the upper deck, against Qantas’s six-across (2-2-2).
Unlike SIA, both offer premium economy, with Qantas having the more modern seating. This is configured in a more generous seven-across (2-3-2) layout, while BA’s World Traveller Plus has not changed over the years, at eight-across (2-4-2).
Fares
We avoided September as prices are distorted by the end of the Olympics and the Paralympics. A midweek return in early October, like November and December, is a busy month for travel between Europe, South East Asia and Australasia. SIA (singaporeair.com) quotes around £850 for economy, £3,526 for business and £5,990 for first class. BA/Qantas (ba.com, qantas.co.uk) have rates of £929 in economy, £1,671 for premium economy, £3,258 for business and £5,392 for first class. Fares are subject to change. Check for last-minute seat sales.
