Singapore Airlines goes 5 times daily to Perth from June 2020

Already a popular route for Singapore Airlines with 9,000 seats offered in both directions across 28 flights per week, Western Australia capital Perth is getting a big boost with a 24% capacity hike when a fifth daily Airbus A350 service starts on 1st June 2020.

The route will retain its “all new Regional Business Class” status, earned in October last year when the the sole remaining A330 flight on the route was swapped out for a Boeing 787-10.

The schedule

Perth is currently served four times each day, with two flights operated by the Airbus A350 Regional and two by the Boeing 787-10.

From 1st June 2020 an additional Airbus A350 Regional flight (SQ229) will operate a lunchtime departure from Changi, touching down in Perth just before 5.30pm, a nice timing for a quick freshen up in your hotel room then a dinner reservation.

Singapore to Perth (from 1st June 2020)

Slight timing adjustments apply from 25th October 2020 for the northern winter season

On the northbound sector, SQ230 will set off from Perth at 6.40pm, for a midnight arrival into Singapore. That’s not dissimilar to the SQ214, running just 90 minutes ahead of this new flight but arriving in Singapore at 10.30pm, more sociable if you’ll be back at work the next morning.

Perth to Singapore (from 1st June 2020)

* Next day
Slight timing adjustments apply from 25th October 2020 for the northern winter season

The new service will provide improved (i.e. shorter) connections from Perth to European cities including Manchester, Zurich and Rome, as well as some Japan flights which depart in the 1am to 2am window.

However, the new SQ230 timing also allows a better option for business travellers to maximise a full working day in the WA capital. These passengers are currently tied to a (slightly rushed) 5.10pm departure, or have to wait until 1am to take an overnight flight to Changi.

The additional flights highlighted above have now been loaded into GDS and reflect in the airline’s reservation system for cash bookings and award / upgrade redemptions.

787 vs A350

With five daily flights to choose from across two different aircraft types, there’s a good spread of choice between the Boeing 787-10 and the (slightly wider) Airbus A350 Regional cabin on this city pair.

We tried the 2018 RJ on the Airbus A350 in November last year, and we agree with what several regulars had already told us. It feels more spacious than on the Boeing 787 with an additional curvature ‘gap’ at the window seats and wider aisles.

There’s also a three-row ‘mini cabin’, if that’s your thing, and the passenger-to-toilet ratio in Business Class is significantly better on the A350 (13:1 vs 18:1 on the 787).

Yes, you can start to get really picky now!

Fun fact: Perth is one of 10 Singapore Airlines routes now exclusively served with the new flat-bed 2018 regional seats in the Business Class cabin.

Capacity

This new service represents a 24% overall increase in seat capacity for Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Perth, from 8,960 seats per week in each direction to 11,081 seats per week.

• In Economy Class, there are 1,841 more seats per week (7,896 to 9,737) – a 23% increase
• In Business Class, there are 280 more seats per week (1,064 to 1,344) – a 26% increase

KrisFlyer redemption

Perth is already quite a good route to pick up saver award space most of the year and this additional daily service from June 2020 will provide 40 more seats per day in Business Class and 263 more in Economy Class in each direction.

That should be good news for award availability. Here’s a reminder of the KrisFlyer redemption rates you’ll pay by cabin on this route.

Pro Tip: With the new SQ229/SQ230 flights now added to the reservation system, good Business Class award availability is already showing, so jump on any redemptions you need now.

If you already hold or intend to book a firm ticket in an eligible Economy booking class, here’s how many miles it will then cost you to upgrade to Business Class, assuming saver upgrade award availability.

Upgrade using KrisFlyer miles Singapore ⇄ Perth
Upgrading to →	Business
Existing booking ↓
Economy Standard (Class: M, H, W)	31,000
Economy Flexi (Class: Y, B, E)	26,000

These are both far too close to the full saver Business redemption rate for our liking, so unless your company is paying for your eligible ticket ‘down the back’ we’d recommend an outright Business Saver redemption.

Spontaneous Escapes

Our regular readers will know that Singapore Airlines has a monthly Spontaneous Escapes promotion, offering seats it doesn’t think it will sell for a discounted miles rate if you have the flexibility to book around one month before your travel date.

Perth does occasionally come up in the Spontaneous Escapes offer some months, and hopefully this significant capacity increase will mean it starts to appear more regularly especially as the new flight first launches.

At typical 30% discount levels you can expect to see last-minute one-way saver awards on the Perth route for:

• 14,000 miles in Economy Class
• 25,550 miles in Business Class

For a five-hour flight in each direction, that’s good value, though do compare it with the cash fares on offer especially in Economy Class.

New Regional Business Class

Set to secure its spot as pretty much the only Regional Business Class seat offered on Singapore Airlines wide body jets by this time next year, the airline’s latest 2018 Regional Business Class seat has enjoyed a fast rollout thanks to new Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft deliveries.

We have two comprehensive reviews from our firsthand experience of the 2018 Regional Business Class; one of the window seats and a shorter but still detailed look at the ‘couple’ middle pairs, which are available at alternate rows on aircraft with this product installed.

Those will help you learn what to expect from these new products if you haven’t flown them before.

Summary

Singapore to Perth was one of the first routes to receive SIA’s 787 with the new Regional Business Class product in May 2018. 18 months later that same aircraft type completed the full transition to those seats on all four daily flights serving the city pair.

Now we have a fifth daily service including the new Regional Business Class on the (superior) A350, adding over 2,000 seats per week in each direction to the route for SIA.

This will provide quicker connections for many travellers, especially those heading from Perth to certain destinations in Europe and North Asia, but also a welcome lunchtime flight from Singapore to Perth and a nicely timed northbound option for those wanting to have a full day’s work before heading to Changi the same evening.

(Cover Photo: Gordon Bell / Shutterstock)