Singapore Air strengthens Latin American link, adds A350s to Brisbane.

Singapore Airlines and South American carrier Avianca will start code sharing on each other’s flights from September, further cementing the relationship between the Star Alliance partners. The deal will give SIA customers wider connections from Avianca’s hub in Bogota, Columbia,  while the Latin American carrier will add Singapore’s "SQ"  designator code on flights from Bogota to Barcelona and London. Avianca will also add its "AV" designator code to SIA-operated flights between Singapore and both Barcelona and London. The codeshare comes as the Singaporean carrier is boosting the presence in Australia of its newest aircraft, the Airbus A350-900,  by deploying three of the fuel-efficient planes to operate daily services to Brisbane. The Queensland capital is the second Australian SIA destination to see the new plane  and it will be the port in its network  with the biggest number of A350 flights once the third service is introduced early next year. Singapore has already grown the A350 fleet to 16 since it received its first aircraft in March, 2016, and has more than 50 firm orders yet to come. The Brisbane services will mark the introduction on the route of the airline's premium  economy class and will see business class capacity climb by 42 percent. The aircraft will be deployed over a four-month period starting October 16, when an A330-300 will be replaced on SQ235/256. The second plane will start on the route on December 16, replacing a Boeing 777-200 on SQ245/246, while the third plane will start January 18 on flights SQ255/236. The aircraft are fitted 42 business seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, 24 premium economy seats in 2-4-2 array and 187 economy seats in 3-3-3. SIA regional vice president Tan Kiow Kor said the introduction of the new aircraft and a fourth daily service was in response to growing demand. “While this growth is across all cabin classes the demand for additional premium cabin options has been encouraging,’’ he said in a statement. “With the growing number of A350 aircraft entering our fleet it makes sense to deploy three of them to Brisbane to help meet the premium market demand that we are seeing. “Not only will it provide the market with our new Business Class cabin product, it will also offer an alternative premium cabin option, Premium Economy, which I am confident will be warmly received.” Brisbane Airport chief executive Julienne Alroe said it was evident more travelers were seeking a premium experience. “Any extra or upgraded service to Brisbane Airport helps boost the economy and will benefit all of Queensland as visitors connect onto other popular intrastate destinations, as well as visiting local hot spots like the Gold and Sunshine Coasts,”  she said. The arrival of the new aircraft will give passengers an opportunity to use Singapore Airlines’ Companion App, which allows them to review in-flight entertainment ahead of the flight and create personalized playlists.