Act fast! 80 saver awards in SIA’s NEW A380 Suites to and from London next year

For the third consecutive year, Singapore Airlines is boosting capacity on its London Heathrow route during the peak European holiday season in July and August. In 2020 there’s even better news for travellers on this route – those two months will see an Airbus A380 Version 3 with the latest 2017 Suites and Business Class products replacing a Boeing 777-300ER, meaning two daily options to and from London with these new seats.

Better still, we found 80 immediately confirmable saver Suites awards on this route during this two month period, including 26 flights with two awards available for that coveted ‘double bed’ experience.

The schedule

Here’s how the summer schedule for Singapore Airlines’ flights to and from London, both prior to and after the two-month A380 capacity boost.

This is the regular schedule on the route with two A380s operating per day, alongside two 777-300ERs. The seat types in First and Business Class are also shown.

Summer schedule (Until 30th June 2020 and from 1st September 2020)

All flights operate daily
* Arrives next day

From 1st July 2020 until 31st August 2020 the SQ306/305 flight, usually operated by the Boeing 777-300ER Version 2, is substituted with an Airbus A380 Version 3. This change is highlighted in yellow in the timetable below.

Peak summer schedule (1st July 2020 to 31st August 2020)

All flights operate daily
* Arrives next day

New Suites

This announcement is fantastic news for those already booked in the small four-seat 2013 First Class cabin on SQ306/305 during July and August next year. The seat map will now look like this, reflecting the very latest 2017 Suites cabin:

Better still, Singapore Airlines is no longer blocking bassinet positions in Suites, First or Business Class for advance selection, so all passengers have access to both double bed options in an empty cabin from the outset.

If you’re booked on one of these flights you should log on to your booking now to choose the best option, especially if you’re flying as a couple as you’ll no doubt want to secure the double bed arrangement in that case. Only two such options exist in this cabin – 1A/2A and 1F/2F.

If you’re travelling alone, while it seems a shame to block the double bed options for others, do note that Suites 1A/1F and 2A/2F are bigger. Suites 3A and 3F have the smallest footprint and are also close to the galley, potentially leading to some light and noise disturbance.

KrisFlyer Suites awards

Getting a saver award in Singapore Airlines’ brand new Suites cabin is no easy feat, but on these longer routes like London it’s been nearly impossible, especially for a couple.

The strategy has largely been to waitlist and chance your luck, or shell out for an advantage award to secure this experience. In fact the existing daily SQ322/317 Heathrow flight with new Suites is notoriously difficult to secure a Suites award on, even at advantage rates.

These are the KrisFlyer award ticket rates for the Singapore – London route.

When this SQ306/305 flight pair used the A380 Version 2 during July and August 2019, there were over 160 saver award tickets made available in the (older, 2006) Suites cabin.

We weren’t expecting to see anything like that with the latest 2017 Suites product introduced in 2020, given that there are only six Suites in total installed on the newer aircraft.

What we found is astounding – even given the much smaller cabin capacity a large swathe of availability has been replicated again this year. There are 80 immediately confirmable new Suites awards on SQ306/305 flights during July and August 2020, for 125,000 KrisFlyer miles each way.

Remember too that London is the longest A380 route on the Singapore Airlines network, clocking in at over 13 hours each way, so you’re enjoying a fantastic experience in this luxurious cabin despite the high mileage rate.

Here’s how the availability looks on the route. Do note that the majority of options are available from London to Singapore, where you’ll be hit with the UK’s steep Air Passenger Duty (APD).

Singapore to London (SQ306 – New Suites)

Correct at 9th December 2019. WL – Waitlist

Correct at 9th December 2019. WL – Waitlist

For the London to Singapore sector, if you can also stomach the hefty £232 (S$415) taxes and fees per person, there are 62 saver award seats across the two-month period as shown below.

London to Singapore (SQ305 – New Suites)

Correct at 9th December 2019. WL – Waitlist