If you’re looking to fly Singapore Airlines’ 777 first class or A380 Suites, unfortunately don’t expect to do so in the next year.
In this post:
Singapore Airlines zeroes out availability
Singapore Airlines has just pulled all first class & Suites availability through the end of the schedule, which currently goes through late February 2022.
To be clear, we’re not just talking about award availability, but rather we’re talking about inventory altogether, meaning you can’t even book these seats with cash. This is despite the fact that Singapore Airlines shows both four class 777s and some A380s scheduled in the next several months.
Prior to this change, Singapore Airlines had blocked all of this availability through October 31, 2021, so this represents a further extension of several months.
Singapore Airlines’ 777 first class
Why would Singapore Airlines do this?
You’re probably thinking “so is Singapore Airlines just going to fly all those 777s and A380s but not sell the top cabin?” No, probably not.
Here’s what’s going on:
- Singapore Airlines is currently primarily operating A350s and 787s, which don’t feature a first class or Suites cabin
- While the airline has operated a few 777s with first class cabins, first class simply hasn’t been sold on these flights
- Things continue to still very much be up in the air for Singapore Airlines’ future schedule; while things are generally headed in the right direction, it looks like Singapore has no plans to open its borders on a widespread basis in the coming months, even for those who are vaccinated
Singapore Airlines’ “new” A380 Suites
I wouldn’t take Singapore Airlines’ latest schedule update to mean that the airline definitely won’t offer first class or Suites through next February. However, I would take it to mean that the airline doesn’t have a very optimistic outlook for borders reopening, which also isn’t very surprising.
In fairness, Singapore Airlines is probably more conservative than most airlines when it comes to managing expectations, and the airline probably doesn’t want to sell a product it’s not sure it will be able to offer.
With aircraft changes highly likely on many routes, this isn’t a problem in business class, since all planes offer business class. The same isn’t true in first class or Suites, though.
Singapore Airlines’ “old” A380 Suites
Don’t expect A380s to return anytime soon
Singapore Airlines exclusively offers Suites on its fleet of A380s, and I wouldn’t be surprised if these planes indeed don’t fly for another year or so:
- The airline has 19 A380s, but seven of these will be retired, meaning the airline will only have 12 A380s remaining
- On the plus side, the airline is continuing with its project of reconfiguring these planes with new cabins, which suggests that the airline will keep these dozen planes around
- Since A380s are Singapore Airlines’ highest capacity planes, it seems highly likely that these will remain grounded even as demand begins to recover, with 777s being deployed first
- Many airlines that have A380s intend to keep them grounded for years, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same be the case at Singapore Airlines
Who knows when Singapore’s A380s will return to the skies
Bottom line
Singapore Airlines has blocked first class and Suites availability through February 2022. Given that the airline stopped selling the cabins in March 2020, that means we’re potentially looking at nearly two years without Singapore’s most premium products being offered.
Of course anything can change — presumably Singapore Airlines is erring on the side of caution here and it’s always possible that this availability gets reinstated. However, this tells me that Singapore Airlines isn’t expecting to fly any of its A380s or most of its 777s for at least another year.
What do you make of Singapore Airlines’ inventory updates?
Hello Rick,
Two if our fight legs have had aircraft changes and one nolonger has a first cabin so have been downgraded to business. The flight times and numbers have not changed. Do you think this booking is now eligible for a full refund, no longer the product purchased? Swiss are currently saying it's not eligible for refund. Your thought please :-) Thanks very much. John R
Hello Rick,
I really appreciate your time providing this information.
I'm UK too, booked companion fare direct with Swiss. 10th Dec Business out on Swiss with a A380 SQ code share leg from SIN to SYD. 29th Dec SQ suites back to Zurich via SIN. Currently all showing unchanged. Reserved 1A and 1B suites on one of the legs, would have been a fabulous experience.
Will wait for a significant change and see...
Hello Rick,
I really appreciate your time providing this information.
I'm UK too, booked companion fare direct with Swiss. 10th Dec Business out on Swiss with a A380 SQ code share leg from SIN to SYD. 29th Dec SQ suites back to Zurich via SIN. Currently all showing unchanged. Reserved 1A and 1B suites on one of the legs, would have been a fabulous experience.
Will wait for a significant change and see if we can defer / rebook similar flights for Oct 2022.
Thanks again for the very useful information.
John R
@John R - what tends to happen: if the airline is uncertain about equipment changes or class of service changes, their schedule, or even if the are, they like to do things in waves to make sure it’s manageable for themselves and their agents.
in normal times, if there was a significant schedule change (or you got downgraded), Lufthansa Group’s policy was that you’d have to get your new booking confirmed and get the ticket...
@John R - what tends to happen: if the airline is uncertain about equipment changes or class of service changes, their schedule, or even if the are, they like to do things in waves to make sure it’s manageable for themselves and their agents.
in normal times, if there was a significant schedule change (or you got downgraded), Lufthansa Group’s policy was that you’d have to get your new booking confirmed and get the ticket re-issued within 14 days of you being notified of the change (any changes brought about by the airline are called ‘involuntary change’) or ask for your money back.
In events of involuntary changes, the airline permits you to rebook irrespective of the fare difference** and without a change fee (as it’s involuntary).
The 14 day timescale was removed recently (at least in the UK market) so now essentially you can wait until right before departure of your ‘original’ flight to get yourself rebooked - as it’s likely there will be more certainty later in the year, plus you may see inventory open up again and the A380.
These rules can and do change, though, so I’d recommend to check this with the issuing agent, or the airline, depending on where you bought your ticket from!
What normally happens is, your reservation is changed to the new flights you want, then your ticket gets re-issued, so that means ticket validity is extended to 12 months from the re-issue date. The original fare rules still apply for voluntary change requests you make (and even if your ticket is ‘flexible’, and has no change fee, it’s likely you’ll have to pay the fare difference if you make a voluntary change request)
Cheers,
Rick
**It is noteworthy that, if the you get an involuntary change, if the flights are operated by a Lufthansa Group airline, they let you rebook without much quibble even if the original fare bucket is no longer available for the new flight you are after. For SWISS, they have buckets A and F for first class, so even if you’d booked in A and they only have space in F, they would simply do it as it’s their own aircraft.
If you’re hoping to rebook on the SQ A380, you need to ensure the fare bucket you were booked in to is available on the SWISS codeshare you want to be re-booked on; so if you were booked in to A, you need A, otherwise they will not allow you to rebook and you’d have to choose a Lufthansa Group operated flight instead.
Hello Rick,
Two if our fight legs have had aircraft changes and one nolonger has a first cabin so have been downgraded to business. The flight times and numbers have not changed. Do you think this booking is now eligible for a full refund, no longer the product purchased? Swiss are currently saying it's not eligible for refund. Your thought please :-) Thanks very much. John R
Hello Rick,
Thanks for the information. Just to clarify, if the airline makes a significant change can I defer selecting say a refund until things are clearer?
I booked in Jan 2021 for December 2021 flights, think still showing A380 when I last checked. The flex ticket only lasts for 12 months from date ticketed so won't be too flexible when things become clearer later in the year? I purchased the tickets on Swiss but...
Hello Rick,
Thanks for the information. Just to clarify, if the airline makes a significant change can I defer selecting say a refund until things are clearer?
I booked in Jan 2021 for December 2021 flights, think still showing A380 when I last checked. The flex ticket only lasts for 12 months from date ticketed so won't be too flexible when things become clearer later in the year? I purchased the tickets on Swiss but a Lufthansa sales person said a new ticket would reset the date, but will the new ticket still be flexible if processed after May 2021?
Thanks again for the information.
John R
@John R - I’ve cash booking with Swiss (companion fare) end of October 2021, one leg on LX codeshare (LX9001) operated by SQ A380 - they’ve now changed equipment to A350 and downgraded to Business. In answer to your question, you can accept a downgrade, rebook, or get your money back. You can also hang on before you confirm any changes...
Currently no Swiss codeshare flights operated by SQ between SIN-ZRH are showing any availability...
@John R - I’ve cash booking with Swiss (companion fare) end of October 2021, one leg on LX codeshare (LX9001) operated by SQ A380 - they’ve now changed equipment to A350 and downgraded to Business. In answer to your question, you can accept a downgrade, rebook, or get your money back. You can also hang on before you confirm any changes...
Currently no Swiss codeshare flights operated by SQ between SIN-ZRH are showing any availability at all (any booking classes!) - I work in industry and have GDS access.
SQ are not selling First at all (given that I can see up to April 2022).
I’m going to hang on personally and not make any changes until things become a bit clearer in three to four months time, and hope for the best (availability for later in 2022...)
I am curious if Singapore is actually flying the a380's and leaving first class completely empty? Has anyone flown to Singapore on an a380 in the last few months? If so, do you know if they allowed anyone to upgrade from biz to first at the airport?
I just cancelled a biz class ticket jfk-fra-sin-sgn because i only booked it hoping i'd be able to upgrade to first (old suite), but given their current policy...
I am curious if Singapore is actually flying the a380's and leaving first class completely empty? Has anyone flown to Singapore on an a380 in the last few months? If so, do you know if they allowed anyone to upgrade from biz to first at the airport?
I just cancelled a biz class ticket jfk-fra-sin-sgn because i only booked it hoping i'd be able to upgrade to first (old suite), but given their current policy that seems very unlikely. But I am really curious if they're truly flying a380's with a completely empty first class? it doesn't make any sense to me.
Hello, have a cash booking for suites booked via Swiss for travel during December 2020.
How would any downgrade offer work?
Thanks
I'm not sure why on a travel blog like this people complain about news that are obviously not relevant to them. If the decision criterion is "first world problem: yes/no" you might as well abolish this site altogether.
Countdown set for the "elitists need to grow up" comment by "Yiannis".
I’m not sure that SQ will even be up and running normally until next year as their vaccination and COVID recovery plans are slow. When they have no domestic coverage to help with their recovery I’m sure they are not wanting to invest in a first class product that will not be utilized - and I mean CASH not mileage freebies
@CST as someone who has had multiple award tickets with SQ cancelled in the last year they will offer to put you on another SQ flight; downgrade you if your cabin is no longer available or if a SQ operated flight isn’t available or doesn’t suit, they will refund your money and wish you the best.
I had one cancelled last week (actually First downgraded to Business which I refused) and have another First one...
@CST as someone who has had multiple award tickets with SQ cancelled in the last year they will offer to put you on another SQ flight; downgrade you if your cabin is no longer available or if a SQ operated flight isn’t available or doesn’t suit, they will refund your money and wish you the best.
I had one cancelled last week (actually First downgraded to Business which I refused) and have another First one lined up for November which will not doubt suffer the same fate.
Boo! Hiss!
I'd love to know your thoughts on @CST's question.
Oh the horrors!!! You have to fly business class instead of first on one of the best airlines in the world.
This defines “first world problem” and if it is worthy of a blog by Lucky I guess all is right w the world since this can’t be the most important issue!!
I don't think Singapore will open borders in 2023. They have zero case policy. Their vaccination program started just few weeks ago and its very slow..about 14 000/day. Also ridiculous business center was opened in Changi meaning they are not planning to open any time soon. Wouldn't book any SQ flight even with transit in Singapore.
Hey Ben - I suppose that reading this one can presume award travel of any kind won’t be coming back any time soon either? Looking for some intra-Asia award travel in January of 2022 - care to offer odds of those being offered anytime between now and then?
Singapore Airlines’ health verification trials, based on the IATA Travel Pass framework, will start with passengers traveling between Singapore and London from March 15 until March 28, 2021. Wonder if this foretells that SQ will resume selling First class on the SIN-LHR route before other routes?
There's no point speculating. If the travel waiver is extended by that point, you'll get free rebooking or a full refund of your miles and taxes. If the route is pulled or flight cancelled, you'll get a full refund of your miles and taxes. If you really need to get from New York to Frankfurt, you'll just have to find alternate award availability (on SQ or other *A carriers) or book yourself on a paid flight.
Good morning Lucky- and readers,
I wonder if you will speculate for me. I have a Krisflyer award ticket booked for November 2021 in J from JFK - FRA but I'm thinking, at this point, it's unlikely SQ will operate that flight. If so, what options (if any) do you suppose they will offer for rebooking? Will they offer to put me on a Star alliance partner flights? Will they offer to fly me on...
Good morning Lucky- and readers,
I wonder if you will speculate for me. I have a Krisflyer award ticket booked for November 2021 in J from JFK - FRA but I'm thinking, at this point, it's unlikely SQ will operate that flight. If so, what options (if any) do you suppose they will offer for rebooking? Will they offer to put me on a Star alliance partner flights? Will they offer to fly me on the direct JFK-SIN SQ flight connecting to FRA? Or will they say pound sand? Any informed opinions would be appreciated.
cheers
Have suites booked in Feb next year SYD-SIN-SFO with $$. No email from SQ notifying any change
we have a suites flight booked in November ZRH-SIN-ZRH and just checked the SQ app- all still shows as confirmed with the same a/c and seat assignments. Let's hope it stays that way!