Passengers travelling with Singapore Airlines on the Singapore-Melbourne-Wellington route will be able to experience the airline’s A350-900 service from November 1 this year.
Currently, Singapore Airlines doesn’t offer non-stop services between Singapore and Wellington, but it operates the Singapore-Melbourne-Wellington route (SQ247) four times a week using a Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The airline said last month that it will increase the Singapore-Melbourne-Wellington service to five times a week from January 1, 2020, according to Wellington Airport.
In addition to this Singapore-Melbourne-Wellington service, you can also choose to book a Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Auckland or Christchurch first, before transferring to another codeshare flight operated by Air New Zealand to Wellington. However, you won’t be guaranteed to fly on an A350 if you go for this option, as the Singapore-Auckland/Christchurch routes are flown by both A350s and B777-300ERs.
The airline’s A350-900 features lie-flat business class seats and new ergonomically designed economy class seats. According to Wellington Airport, Singapore Airlines will also be the first airline flying out of Wellington to offer customers the option of flying the premium economy class.
Business Traveller reviewed the airline’s A350 business class and premium economy services in 2017:
- Flight review: Singapore Airlines A350-900 business class
- Flight review: Singapore Airlines A350-900 premium economy
Steve Sanderson, chief executive of Wellington Airport, said the airline’s decision to fly its A350 aircraft to the city is “a vote of confidence in the region and Wellington Airport”.
He said: “Singapore Airlines has been operating out of Wellington for three years and over that period there has been a 35% increase in visitors from Asia. This illustrates how popular the service is and we are thrilled with the positive response from travellers.
“Wellington and Central New Zealand has greater access to Asia and better onward connections to Europe than ever before. The service has also made it far easier for travellers from Europe and Asia to make Wellington their gateway to New Zealand.”
Earlier in July, Singapore Airlines confirmed it will also fly its A350 to Copenhagen and Istanbul from October 27 and December 1 this year, respectively. Last week, Business Traveller Asia-Pacific also reported that the airline will partner with Air New Zealand to increase capacity on the Auckland-Singapore route next year.
