Singapore Airlines is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first flights between London and Singapore, with a 48-hour flash sale and forthcoming partnerships with two British food and drinks brands.
Return business class fares have are available for £1,971 (a nod to the year 1971 when flights were first launched), and £707 in premium economy (celebrating the B707 which first operated the route).
There is also 50 per cent off selected base economy fares, with flights available from £345 to Bangkok, £355 to Kuala Lumpur and £385 to Singapore.
The special fares are valid for bookings made by June 4, for travel between June 10, 2021 and May 31, 2022 in economy and premium economy, and between June 10, 2021 and November 30, 2021 in business class.
When flights first launched between London and Singapore on June 3, 1971, they took almost 18 hours, with stops Rome, Bahrain and Mumbai (then known as Bombay).
They were initially operated by Malaysia-Singapore Airlines, before the two countries decided to set up their own carriers in 1972 and Singapore Airlines was founded.
A potted history of the carrier’s flights to the UK can be seen below, and the airline has also produced a YouTube video entitled “50 years in 50 seconds”.
SIA is also teasing two new food and drinks partnership with British brands, which will be unveiled “in the coming weeks”.
Commenting on the anniversary Mohamed Rafi Mar, general manager UK and Ireland, Singapore Airlines, said:
“Fifty years of continuous flights from London is a significant milestone and one that we are very happy and proud to be able to celebrate.
“Our history with the UK – both London and Manchester – is incredibly strong and we look forward to creating many more memories in the years to come.”
For our most recent Tried and Tested review of SIA’s service between Singapore and London (on one of its newer A380s), see:
Potted history of Singapore Airlines' flights to and from the UK
| Decade | Year | Fact |
| 1970s | 1971 | First transcontinental flight, Singapore to London, stopping at Bombay (now Mumbai), Bahrain and Rome |
| 1973 | London-Singapore becomes a daily service | |
| 1977 | Joint Concorde flights launched with British Airways | |
| 1980s | 1984 | First non-stop London-Singapore flight |
| 1986 | Launch of Manchester-Singapore flights | |
| 1990s | 1993 | Singapore Airlines launches the world’s first global inflight fax service on a MEGATOP 747 between Singapore and London |
| 1993 | The Singapore Girl waxwork unveils at Madame Tussaud’s in London, thus becoming the first commercial figure to be displayed at the museum | |
| 1993 | Singapore Airlines becomes the first airline to operate no-smoking services between the UK and Australia via Singapore. | |
| 1994 | Singapore Airlines launches SQ320 ‘Flying Start’, Singapore-London service, the only daytime flight from South East Asia to London. | |
| 2000s | 2002 | Singapore Airlines launches the new US$100 million Raffles Class lie-flat seat – the biggest Business Class bed in the Sky – the SpaceBed, in London. The first SpaceBed equipped aircraft, a B747 Megatop, entered service on the Singapore-London route |
| 2008 | First commercial A380 flights to London, moving to double daily the same year | |
| 2009 | Millionth A380 passenger, a Mr Pollard, checking in from London | |
| 2014 | Singapore Airlines launched the UK’s first Rail-Fly partnership with Great Western Railways, allowing customers to book their Singapore Airlines flight journey beginning from their local train station | |
| 2016 | First Singapore Airlines transatlantic flights from the UK launched; Singapore-Manchester-Houston | |
| 2017 | First commercial A350 flight from Manchester Airport | |
| 2018 | Singapore Airlines brought the world’s first Michelin Starred Hawker Chef to the UK to cook for Londoners | |
| 2018 | Singapore Airlines welcomed Channel 4 to feature in the documentary ‘World’s Most Luxurious Airline’ | |
| Singapore Airlines safely transported koalas and wombats from Australia to London as part of a ground-breaking conservation initiative to create an International Koala Centre of Excellence (IKCE) at Longleat Safari Park |
