Singapore Airlines adds Houston and Manchester to the VTL

Singapore Airlines is making a welcome return to the longest direct service on its network from 1st December 2021, with Airbus A350s traversing the 27-hour route from Changi to Houston as an extension of the carrier’s Manchester flights, three times a week.

When the Houston reinstatement was first announced, one disappointing aspect was a lack of ‘VTL status’, since both the UK and the USA had already been added to the list of eligible countries for travellers to participate in the quarantine-free programme at the time.

Houston and Manchester will join the VTL

While it won’t happen immediately, Singapore Airlines has announced that both cities on this route will join the VTL list from mid-January 2022.

SIA will add Houston and Manchester to our VTL network from 19 January 2022.

Singapore Airlines

While that’s sadly not in time for the busy Christmas and New Year period, this will provide two more origin city options for travellers wishing to fly to Singapore quarantine-free, including a second UK departure point, where London is currently the sole choice.

That’s good news for those struggling to find award space or good value confirmed tickets on the VTL flights announced so far, provided their travel dates fit the new schedule.

Singapore – Manchester / Houston

Here’s how the regular three times weekly flight schedule from Singapore to Houston via Manchester looks from 1st December 2021.

Singapore Manchester Houston
Flight Schedule
(1 Dec 2021 – 26 Mar 2022)

	SQ52 A350-900		Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
SIN 01:30		MAN 07:55
MAN 10:05		IAH 14:25

There’s no designated VTL service in this direction, since quarantine-free arrival is possible in both the UK and the USA without any special conditions attached to the flights.

Houston / Manchester – Singapore (non-VTL)

From 1st December 2021 to 18th January 2022 this route from Houston to Singapore via Manchester will continue to operate three times weekly with non-VTL status.

Houston Manchester Singapore
Flight Schedule
(1 Dec 2021 – 18 Jan 2022)

	SQ51 A350-900		Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
IAH 18:50		MAN 09:30*
MAN 11:00		SIN 07:55*

* Next day

While that won’t impact your quarantine-free arrival if you’re flying solely from Houston to Manchester, you’ll face a 7-day SHN period at your place of residence or other suitable accommodation on arrival in Singapore, whichever city you boarded in.

Houston / Manchester – Singapore (VTL)

From 19th January 2022, the three times weekly SQ51 flight from Houston and Manchester to Singapore gets the designated VTL tick.

Houston Manchester Singapore
Flight Schedule
(19 Jan 2022 – 26 Mar 2022)

	SQ51 A350-900 VTL		Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
IAH 18:50		MAN 09:30*
MAN 11:00		SIN 07:55*

* Next day

With no frequency change, that means that from mid-January, there will be no non-VTL flights to Singapore from these two cities.

To travel on these flights you’ll need to meet the VTL criteria, including passengers fly solely from Houston to Manchester.

That’s a more stringent requirement than on the airline’s intra-Europe “fifth freedom” VTL flights from Rome to Copenhagen, where passengers do not need to be fully vaccinated if they are not continuing to Singapore.

Redemption rates

These are the one-way KrisFlyer miles redemption rates for flights between Singapore and Manchester on SIA flights, which are also applicable for the airline’s other Europe zone destinations.

KrisFlyer Redemption Rates Singapore ⇆ Manchester
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	38,000	70,000
Premium Economy	64,500	n/a
Business	92,000	120,000

If you’re flying all the way to or from Houston, the following rates apply.

KrisFlyer Redemption Rates Singapore ⇆ Houston
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	40,000	75,000
Premium Economy	73,000	n/a
Business	99,000	140,000

Finally if you’re just on board for the “fifth freedom” transatlantic portion of the route, the mileage rates are as follows.

KrisFlyer Redemption Rates  Manchester ⇆ Houston
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	22,500	40,000
Premium Economy	47,000	n/a
Business	72,000	85,000

In particular the Economy Class Saver award rate between Manchester and Houston is really competitive for a 10-hour flight, if you can manage a long daytime sector ‘down the back’!

Other USA VTL options

Here are the other VTL designated flight options from US cities to Singapore, including recently announced United Airlines flights non-stop from San Francisco.

There are also some newly announced increases from Los Angeles in the run-up to Christmas, and from New York, the latter seeing double-daily VTL flights from mid-January (both non-stop and via Frankfurt).

Other UK VTL options

Aside from the upcoming Manchester link, the only direct VTL designated flights from the United Kingdom to Singapore operate from London Heathrow Airport.

From mid-January there are three daily options here – one from British Airways and the other two from Singapore Airlines.

Unfortunately the recently announced Scoot flights from London Gatwick to Singapore via Bangkok are not VTL designated services.

All designated VTL flights to Singapore

We’ve updated our full and continually updated list of designated VTL flights allowing you to arrive quarantine-free in Singapore, with over a dozen airlines now included in the scheme and some recent frequency increases on a range of routes.

Each airline website will obviously only show you its own flight options, so be sure to bookmark the page – an essential resource when planning your VTL trip.

There are often flight and carrier options you may not have considered, sometimes with cheaper fares and/or better award space.

Two more cities joining the VTL list is good news for travellers trying to secure a quarantine-free seat back to Singapore, with both Houston and Manchester joining the VTL scheme from mid-January 2022.

Unfortunately these additions don’t come in time for the busy Christmas and New Year holiday period, but they should still come in handy for those travelling into next year.

(Cover Photo: Dillon Chong)