When Singapore Airlines revealed its new Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble flight schedules last week there was a perhaps unsurprising lack of award availability throughout the November, December and January periods of operation, with only cash fares available in the two (later three) operating cabins.
It’s good news today with the airline opening up decent award space on the route, including on the inaugural service, though don’t get too excited as many of the redemptions are at Advantage rates or are waitlisted, especially in the coming weeks.
As a reminder, here is a list of Singapore Airlines ATB flights on the Hong Kong route:
Business Class
One-way award rates:
- Saver: 30,500 miles
- Advantage: 50,000 miles
Business Class awards are mostly waitlisted until mid-December, with the first Singapore – Hong Kong confirmable saver options we found appearing on 15th December and 6th January.
From mid-January however, the route is widely open, with ATB flight SQ860 operating daily from 1st January 2021 (tentatively, SIA’s ATB flights run until 31st January 2021).
On the return leg from Hong Kong to Singapore, waitlist for Business Class awards starts around 8th December (almost coinciding with the daily flights), with confirmable saver awards largely matching the pattern seen above for Singapore to Hong Kong services.
That means waiting until mid to late January 2021 for consistent saver award space in this cabin to appear, especially for a round-trip booking, unless you can afford to be very flexible with your leave dates.
If you’re a couple, it’s mid-January 2021 before you’ll see two immediately confirmable saver awards offered in this cabin, though they then remain available on most dates through to the end of that month.
Premium Economy Class
One-way award rates:
- Saver: 24,500 miles
In Premium Economy only Saver award rates are offered, with availability appearing almost immediately on the ATB flights.
This availability remains widely available once the route goes daily for SIA, including space for couples on most dates.
There are even dates in January with four immediately confirmable seats available.
Economy Class
One-way award rates:
- Saver: 15,000 miles
- Advantage: 30,000 miles
In Economy Class, Advantage awards start on the inaugural service (though how you’l now apply for the pre-departure PCR test, which requires 7 days notice, I’m not sure!).
Saver awards then start to appear from mid-December and remain fairly widely available, even around the Christmas and New Year period.
By January 2021, it’s easy pickings.
The same applies when searching between Hong Kong and Singapore.
Taxes
Here are the taxes you’ll pay when making a KrisFlyer award booking on the ATB flights:
- Singapore > Hong Kong: S$41.50
- Hong Kong > Singapore: HKD260 (~S$45)
The only exception is for Business Class awards from Hong Kong to Singapore, which come in at a slightly higher HKD330 (~S$57) due to the increased Hong Kong Airport Construction Fee charged when flying in this cabin.
Upgrades
Upgrade awards are also available on ATB flights, starting at just 9,000 miles one-way, if you have an existing booking in Economy or Premium Economy.
If you already hold or intend to book a firm ticket in an eligible booking class, here’s how many miles it will then cost you to upgrade, assuming saver upgrade award availability in your proposed cabin class.
| Upgrade using KrisFlyer miles Singapore ⇄ Hong Kong |
||
| Upgrading to → |  Premium |
 Business |
| Existing booking ↓ | ||
| Economy Standard (Class: M, H, W) |
15,000 | 25,000 |
| Economy Flexi (Class: Y, B, E) |
9,000 | 18,500 |
| Premium Economy Standard (Class: P) |
→ | 17,000 |
| Premium Economy Flexi (Class: S, T) |
→ | 13,000 |
Remember that upgrade availability doesn’t always exactly match ‘pure’ redemption space in your desired cabin, but it is usually a good indication. You’ll be able to check if you can upgrade via the manage booking portal.
To waitlist for an upgrade award, you must call KrisFlyer.
Summary
Great to see award space starting to be loaded for the upcoming Singapore – Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble flights, including at least some immediately confirmable saver awards in all three cabin classes, and options for couples and groups especially in January 2021.
It’s especially good news given the high cash fares being charged on the route, giving you some potentially great value if you can be flexible with your dates.
Remember it’s now easy to scan through 7-day award period windows on the Singapore Airlines website, following a search functionality enhancement in June this year.
Some date ranges remain restrictive, especially in Business Class during December, but keep checking as award space may change regularly as departure dates start to approach.
Don’t forget, yesterday KrisFlyer launched a 15% bonus for transfers from Singapore credit cards to miles, with some readers in Brunei, Hong Kong and Indonesia even receiving a 20% bonus offer, which could go some way to making your ATB booking even cheaper.
Good luck with your award searches!
(Cover Photo: MainlyMiles)
With another wave of cases in HK, will the ATB even go ahead?
The ATB’s survival depends on the 7-day rolling average of daily unlinked cases (rather than total cases). If this exceeds 5 in either city, the ATB is suspended (or as you say, cannot even go ahead to start with).
Currently the 7-day average is 2 cases in Hong Kong and 0 cases in Singapore, based on 11/11 – 17/11.
There would have to be around 9 unlinked cases per day in Hong Kong between 18/11 – 21/11 for the ATB to be cancelled.