Singapore Airlines announced today that from March 2018 it will increase frequency on the Singapore to Cape Town route from the current four times per week service to a daily flight, to meet growing demand.
The route will continue to be served by the Airbus A350 via Johannesburg in both directions. While Singapore to Johannesburg was always a daily service, the aircraft currently does not continue to Cape Town every day.
Schedule
Until 25th March 2018
| Flight | From / To | Aircraft | Days |
| SQ478 | SIN0125 – JNB0610 | 359 | ·23·5·7 |
| SQ478 | SIN0210 – JNB0650 | 359 | 1··4·6· |
| SQ478 | JNB0710 – CPT0925 | 359 | ·23·5·7 |
| SQ479 | CPT1040 – JNB1240 | 359 | ·23·5·7 |
| SQ479 | JNB1345 – SIN0610* | 359 | 1234567 |
* – next day
From 26th March 2018
| Flight | From / To | Aircraft | Days |
| SQ478 | SIN0125 – JNB0610 | 359 | ·23·5·7 |
| SQ478 | SIN0200 – JNB0635 | 359 | 1··4·6· |
| SQ478 | JNB0710 – CPT0925 | 359 | ·23·5·7 |
| SQ478 | JNB0735 – CPT0945 | 359 | 1··4·6· |
| SQ479 | CPT1040 – JNB1240 | 359 | ·23·5·7 |
| SQ479 | CPT1100 – JNB1255 | 359 | 1··4·6· |
| SQ479 | JNB1345 – SIN0610* | 359 | ·23·5·7 |
| SQ479 | JNB1355 – SIN0610* | 359 | 1··4·6· |
* – next day
It’s a redemption “sweet spot”
As we mention in our how much is a KrisFlyer mile worth section, Cape Town is a well-known redemption “sweet spot” on the SIA network, as the miles rate is low and the cost of getting there, especially in business class, and even via the Middle East, is high.
The rate in business class is 45,000 miles each way for a ‘Saver’ redemption, plus S$34.00 in taxes on the outbound, and about S$50 in taxes on the way back. This gives you great bang for your buck in miles terms, as a round-trip with say Qatar Airways via Doha is still north of S$5,000 return in business.
The flights have been loaded into the reservation system, and while redemptions are still a bit scarce we expect this to improve, as demand will take some time to bed in on routes with significantly increased frequency.
We’re trying the route out ourselves in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned for a full review.