Singapore Airlines will increase its operations to four times daily to Melbourne, while Cairns and Darwin will increase to five times weekly, as travel demand continues to grow.
Also, the airline will roll out the airline’s newest narrowbody aircraft, the Boeing 737-8 from June 2 on services to Darwin.
From today, Monday, May 30, Cairns services will increase from three to five-times weekly, with SQ203/SQ204 to operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
From Tuesday, May 31, SIA will increase its operations to Darwin to five-times weekly, with SQ251/252 operating every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Darwin will also welcome a brand-new Boeing 737-8 on Thursday, June 2.
The 737-8 is fitted with 154 seats across two classes, 10 in Business Class and 144 in Economy Class.
Singapore Airlines has invested around S$230 million in the development, design, and installation of the new cabin products, which elevate the standard for short- and medium-haul travel onboard narrowbody aircraft.
The increase in services to the two Northern Australian destinations aligns with the region’s peak visitation period and will support the recovery efforts of local tourism and travel operators.
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From Wednesday, June 1, Victorians will have four-daily flight options between Melbourne and Singapore when SQ207/SQ208 begins operations.
The fourth-daily service will be operated by SIA’s Airbus A350-900 medium-haul aircraft, fitted with 40 lie-flat Business Class seats, all with direct aisle access and 263 ergonomically designed Economy Class seats in a 3-3-3 layout.
Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President South-West Pacific, Mr Louis Arul, said SIA’s ability to remain nimble allowed it to deploy additional services and new aircraft to destinations when demand warranted.
“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,” Mr Arul said.
“Australia has always been an important part of our global network since we first operated here in 1967, and we are pleased to have not only kept the country connected during the height of the pandemic but are in a position to support the recovery with increased operations.
“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.
“Increasing our services to four times daily in Melbourne is thanks to the collaborative efforts to facilitate continued growth in demand for travel to the Victorian capital by our key stakeholders, including the Victorian Government and Melbourne Airport.
“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.”
From June 1, Singapore Airlines will operate 113 weekly flights between Singapore and seven Australian ports, while low-cost subsidiary Scoot will operate 23 weekly flights across four Australian ports for a total of 136 weekly services.
