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Singapore Airlines announces May 2021 schedule

Singapore Airlines takes on four routes from SilkAir in the coming months, and tweaks some frequencies on its network, as it maintains 25% passenger capacity.

Singapore Airlines and SilkAir have announced their flight schedules through to the end of May 2021, adding an additional month to the previously confirmed route list, which was had been published through to 30th April 2021.

Besides some route transfers from SilkAir to the mainline carrier, including Phuket and Malé, there are no new routes planned, meaning a total of 42 cities linked by SIA and four by SilkAir through to the end of the new schedule period.

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The passenger network over the next three months is set to be served by the following aircraft types:

  • Airbus A350-900s
  • Boeing 737-800s
  • Boeing 777-300ERs
  • Boeing 787-10s

Overall the SIA Group will operate 25% of its pre-COVID passenger capacity by May 2021, its largest schedule since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Sydney is set to become the airline’s busiest passenger route with 17 weekly flights from April 2021, followed by Jakarta and London with 14 flights per week.

Sydney will be SIA’s busiest route by flight volumes from April. (Photo: Shutterstock)

There are also now nearly 20 cities with daily service, including Amsterdam, Frankfurt and New York.

  Headline figures

In total SIA and SilkAir will fly over 2,200 passenger flights during May 2021, in common with April 2021 as the highest total since the pandemic hit.

“The Group’s passenger capacity will reach approximately 25% of its pre-Covid-19 levels by the end of May 2021.”

Singapore Airlines, 26 February 2021

Singapore Airlines Schedule

The most significant change for Singapore Airlines in the coming months is the addition of four new routes as a consequence of the SilkAir – SIA merger, which is now entering its final stages and involves the transfer of nine Boeing 737-800s into the mainline operation.

Boeing 737-800 9V-MGA is one of the aircraft making the move into the Singapore Airlines fleet this month. (Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)

This will mark a new era for the carrier as it introduces narrow-body aircraft service for the first time in over 30 years, with the following routes in the initial tranche to move across:

  • Chongqing
  • Malé
  • Phnom Penh
  • Phuket

Here’s a map of the Asia-Pacific destinations Singapore Airlines will be serving by May 2021.

(click to enlarge)

In addition, three US destinations, 11 European cities, Dubai in the Middle East and Johannesburg in South Africa will continue to be served.

(click to enlarge)

Singapore Airlines will be running the following passenger route network between March 2021 and May 2021.

SQtrans small

All routes not listed below are cancelled during this period, or will have cargo-only operation.

= Newly added

Singapore Airlines Routes
Short-haul & Asia

(Mar – May 2021)
City Month Acft
Mar Apr May
Bangkok 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 77W
Brunei 3/wk 3/wk 3/wk 738
  Chongqing   1/wk   1/wk   1/wk 738
Colombo 3/wk 3/wk 3/wk 359R
Dhaka 4/wk
  5/wk   5/wk 359R
Fukuoka 1/wk 1/wk 1/wk 787
Hanoi 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359R
Ho Chi Minh 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 77W
Hong Kong 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359
Jakarta 14/wk 14/wk 14/wk 359
77W
Kuala Lumpur 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 77W
  Malé   3/wk   3/wk 738
Manila 7/wk 7/wk   4/wk 359R
Nagoya 3/wk 3/wk 3/wk 787
Osaka 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359R
  Phnom Penh   7/wk
(fm 17/3)
  7/wk   7/wk 738
  Phuket   2/wk
  2/wk   2/wk 738
Seoul 6/wk
6/wk 6/wk 787
Shanghai 1/wk 1/wk 1/wk 787
Taipei 3/wk 3/wk 787
Tokyo Haneda 3/wk
7/wk 7/wk 359R
Tokyo Narita 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 787
Total 104/wk
108/wk 105/wk  

The latest updated schedules including days of operation is available at this dedicated page on the Singapore Airlines website.

A rare drop in flights to and from Manila is programmed in May 2021, reducing SIA service on the route from daily to four times weekly. The city is also served five times weekly from Singapore by Jetstar.

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Plans for Malé to have five flights per week from April 2021 (from two per week under SilkAir in March) have been tempered slightly, and the route will be flown three times per week by SIA.

Singapore Airlines Routes
Australia & Long-haul

(Mar – May 2021)
City Month Acft
Mar Apr May
Adelaide 3/wk 3/wk 3/wk 359*
359R
Amsterdam 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359
Auckland 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359
Barcelona 3/wk 3/wk 3/wk 359
Brisbane 6/wk   7/wk   7/wk 359
359R
Christchurch 3/wk 3/wk 3/wk 359
Copenhagen 3/wk 3/wk 3/wk 359
Dubai 5/wk 5/wk 5/wk 359R
Frankfurt 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359
Istanbul 1/wk 1/wk 1/wk 359
Johannesburg 5/wk
5/wk 5/wk 359
London 14/wk 14/wk 14/wk 359
Los Angeles 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359
Melbourne 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359
359R
Milan 3/wk 3/wk 3/wk 359
Moscow 3/wk 3/wk 3/wk 359
Munich 3/wk
3/wk 3/wk 359
New York JFK 7/wk
7/wk
7/wk 359ULR
Paris 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359
Perth 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359*
787
San Francisco 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359ULR
Sydney 14/wk   17/wk   17/wk 359
359R
787
Zurich 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 359
Total 136/wk
140/wk 140/wk  

* Selected through-flights from London carrying transit passengers from the UK use 3-class A350s
The latest updated schedules including days of operation is available at this dedicated page on the Singapore Airlines website.

Brisbane and Sydney both get frequency increases over the coming months, with the latter taking top spot for total weekly passenger flights by the airline.

London Heathrow remains the carrier’s busiest European route, with twice daily service.

SilkAir Schedule

SilkAir is being gradually wound down as aircraft and routes move across to Singapore Airlines, however the carrier is still operating and will continue to serve four routes over the coming months with its own flight numbers.

MI logo

All other SilkAir routes not listed below are cancelled during this period.

SilkAir Routes
(Mar – May 2021)
City Month Acft
Mar Apr May
Cebu 1/wk 1/wk 1/wk 738
Chongqing Transfer to SIA 738
Kathmandu 2/wk
2/wk   3/wk 738
Kuala Lumpur 7/wk 7/wk 7/wk 738
Malé 2/wk Transfer to SIA 738
Medan 1/wk   2/wk   2/wk 738
Phnom Penh 7/wk
(till 16/3)
Transfer to SIA 738
Phuket Transfer to SIA 738
Total 20/wk
12/wk 13/wk  

The latest updated schedules including days of operation is available at this dedicated page on the Singapore Airlines website.

Kathmandu sees another increase to three times weekly in May 2021, having already been lifted from one to two services each week, while Medan returns to twice weekly from April.

As the SilkAir – SIA merger progresses, don’t miss our full rundown of what to expect on board the narrow-body Boeing 737 aircraft from March 2021.

Summary

This month sees the first former SilkAir Boeing 737-800s joining the Singapore Airlines fleet, meaning routes like Phuket and Chongqing moving across to mainline operation.

Aside from some minor frequency changes to and from other cities, the airline is maintaining more or less the same schedule across the period, with 25% of pre-COVID passenger capacity offered, though actual passenger numbers remain extremely low at around 3% of usual levels, based on January 2021 data.

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With COVID-19 border restrictions remaining in force there is some light at the end of the tunnel as vaccinations roll out and countries like Australia and Thailand begin pointing towards relaxations for vaccinated travellers later in 2021.

Realistically though there is likely to be little discretionary travel opportunity until the second half of this year, so any significant further SIA schedule expansion between now and then seems unlikely.

(Cover Photo: AirImages / Shutterstock)

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