Fans of Singapore Airlines (SIA) wishing to sample the carrier’s latest first class suites (see Online News October 19) will find they will pay a premium price for this new premium product.
SIA believes the new product is very special and has given it an “R” tariff code, which was last used by British Airways for its supersonic Concorde flights.
The premium seating is only fitted to the carrier’s new fleet of A380 super-jumbos, the first of which has begun plying the Singapore-Sydney route with a flight time of seven hours.
A passenger booking a regular first class ticket on this route, onboard one of SIA’s B747-400s, pays £2,501 (S$7,546). If he or she were to choose an A380-operated flight the price leaps almost £1,100 to £3,594 (S$10,846).
In comparison, business class for the A380 flights on this route costs the same irrespective of whether you book a B747-400 flight (which has the older angled lie-flat product) or the A380 (which has the newer wider, fully lie-flat bed seating).
When Business Traveller checked SIA’s website today there was ample availability of first class suites for flights in the immediate future. In contrast, business class (which isn’t surcharged) was fully booked on many A380-operated flights until next year.
Readers wishing to fly the A380 will find it operating on several days a week between Singapore and Sydney. It is being utilised on flight SQ221 departing Singapore at 2030 and arriving in Sydney at 0700 the following morning. Return flight SQ220 departs Sydney at 0850 to reach Singapore at 1345.
SIA intends that the A380 will enter service on its flagship Singapore-Heathrow route in the early part of 2008.
For more information visit singaporeair.com.
Report by Alex McWhirter
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