• 

  Singapore Airlines

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  SQ/SIA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Singapore Changi Airport

  Year Founded:

  1972

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  CEO:

  Goh Choon Phong

  Country:

  Singapore

Melbourne is poised to begin handling four Singapore Airlines flights a day, with Cairns and Darwin also enjoying extra flights as the airline responds to surging passenger demand. The extra flights come as Singapore Airlines says demand on flights to and from Australia is tracking towards pre-COVID levels.

Four Singapore Airlines flights a day to Melbourne

Melbourne (MEL) joins Sydney (SYD) in hosting four Singapore Airlines flights a day from June 1. Flights will depart Singapore (SIN) at 00:25 (SQ237), 07:45 (SQ207), 11:10 (SQ217), and 22:00 (SQ227) for the trek down to Melbourne. A Boeing 777-300ER will operate SQ237, while Airbus A359-900 (medium haul) jets will handle the remaining three flights.

The flights from Melbourne to Singapore leave Australia's second-biggest city at 09:35 (SQ238), 15:40 (SQ228), 18:25 (SQ208), and 23:55 (SQ218). The Boeing 777-300ER will operate the 09:35 service from MEL while the A350s fly the remaining services.

"Since Australia’s borders opened on November 1 last year and as other countries have removed travel restrictions, we have seen continued growth in demand for travel," says Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President South West Pacific, Mr Louis Arul.

“Increasing our services to four-times daily in Melbourne is thanks to the collaborative efforts to facilitate a continued growth in demand for travel to the Victorian capital by our key stakeholders, including the Victorian Government and Melbourne Airport."

More Singapore Airlines flights for Cairns & Darwin

The northern Queensland city of Cairns (CNS) will get extra Singapore Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flights. From Monday, May 30, the single aisle Boeings will jet in every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. SQ203 pushes back in Singapore at 08:45 to land in Cairns later that afternoon. After one hour on the ground, SQ204 heads back to SIN, landing there at 23:05 on the same evening.

New services to Darwin (DRW) are also proving a success for Singapore Airlines, with the airline boosting flights to the Northern Territory capital to five times a week from Tuesday, May 31. Singapore Airlines is also swapping out the Boeing 737-800 for the MAX 8 on the route later this week. Morning flights down to Darwin will operate every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Late afternoon departures out of DRW will have you back in Singapore later that evening.

“Increasing services to holiday destinations such as Cairns and Darwin in the lead up to peak season, shows that leisure travel is continuing to recover strongly," says Mr Arul. “We will continue to remain nimble to ensure Australia remains connected with the right aircraft and schedules that will further support and facilitate the continued growth in travel demand, both to and from Australia."

Singapore Airlines says their Australian flights are starting to normalize

According to Singapore Airlines, Sydney is now seeing four SQ flights a day using a combination of Airbus A380-800, Boeing 777-300ER, and Airbus A350-900 (medium haul) jets. Brisbane (BNE) is back to three flights a day using a mix of A350-900 medium and long-haul aircraft. Perth (PER) is handling three Singapore Airlines flights a day, relying on Boeing 787-10 and A350-900 (medium haul) aircraft, while Adelaide (ADL) sees five Singapore Airlines' A350-900 (medium haul) flights each week.

Ten days ago, Mr Arul confirmed traffic on high-profile routes like Sydney - London (LHR) was largely back to 2019 levels and other routes were recovering nicely. He added the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market was proving the best source of passenger traffic, but general tourist and business traffic was also tracking well.