Singapore Airlines is beefing up its non-stop San Francisco flights this summer, with the carrier loading twice daily Airbus A350 flights on the route from June to October 2022, all of which will operate as Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) services on the leg back to Singapore.
This represents an increase from the originally planned 10 times weekly service, and will give San Francisco – Singapore the highest number of quarantine-free flights from any city in the USA, with SIA partner United Airlines also offering a daily non-stop VTL option, including its latest Polaris Business Class product.
Singapore Airlines will operate one of its daily non-stop flights with its 161-seat two-class Airbus A350 ULR and the other with its 243-seat three-class Airbus A350 Long Haul variant.
Singapore Airlines current schedule
Singapore Airlines is currently flying 10 flights per week on its non-stop San Francisco route, with the following schedule comprising a daily Airbus A350 ULR and three times weekly Airbus A350 Long Haul operation.
Singapore San Francisco
Now – 26th March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
SQ32 A350 Long Haul |
||||||||
| SIN 09:20 |
SFO 07:50 |
||||||||
|
SQ34 A350 ULR |
||||||||
| SIN 18:40 |
SFO 17:20 |
||||||||
San Francisco Singapore
Now – 26th March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ31 A350 Long Haul VTL |
||||||||
| SFO 09:30 |
SIN 19:05* |
||||||||
|
SQ33 A350 ULR VTL |
||||||||
| SFO 20:50 |
SIN 06:25** |
||||||||
* Next day
** Two days later
From 27th March to the end of May 2022, these same 10 flights per week continue to operate, with a slight timing adjustment.
Singapore San Francisco
27th March – 31st May 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ32 A350 Long Haul |
||||||||
| SIN 09:25 |
SFO 09:40 |
||||||||
|
SQ34 A350 ULR |
||||||||
| SIN 18:40 |
SFO 19:05 |
||||||||
San Francisco Singapore
27th March – 31st May 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ31 A350 Long Haul VTL |
||||||||
| SFO 11:30 |
SIN 19:10* |
||||||||
|
SQ33 A350 ULR VTL |
||||||||
| SFO 22:05 |
SIN 05:45** |
||||||||
* Next day
** Two days later
Singapore Airlines increased schedule
From 1st June 2022 Singapore Airlines is ramping up its San Francisco schedule by “filling in the gaps” on its three times weekly SQ32/31 service, upgrading the three-class A350 flight to daily with four additional services, as shown in the schedule below.
Singapore San Francisco
1st June – 29th October 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ32 A350 Long Haul |
||||||||
| SIN 09:25 |
SFO 09:40 |
||||||||
|
SQ34 A350 ULR |
||||||||
| SIN 18:40 |
SFO 19:05 |
||||||||
All 14 of these flights each week return to Singapore as designated VTL services, offering twice daily (late morning and late evening) departure options from San Francisco.
San Francisco Singapore
1st June – 29th October 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ31 A350 Long Haul VTL |
||||||||
| SFO 11:30 |
SIN 19:10* |
||||||||
|
SQ33 A350 ULR VTL |
||||||||
| SFO 22:05 |
SIN 05:45** |
||||||||
* Next day
** Two days later
This adds significant VTL capacity on the route, with four additional 253-seat three-class Airbus A350s adding over 1,000 seats a week to the quarantine-free lane between the two cities next summer, over and above what was already loaded.
This will be the first time Singapore Airlines has operated to and from San Francisco twice daily with non-stop services.
Prior to COVID-19, the San Francisco route had 10 weekly non-stop A350 flights (seven A350 Long Haul plus three A350 ULR), supplemented by seven weekly Boeing 777-300ER services via Hong Kong.
For obvious reasons, Singapore Airlines has suspended its San Francisco via Hong Kong link, leaving non-stop services as the only option for the time being.
KrisFlyer redemptions
These are the KrisFlyer award rates for the Singapore – San Francisco route.
| KrisFlyer Redemption (one-way) Singapore ⇄ San Francisco |
||
| Saver | Advantage | |
| Economy* | 38,000 | 70,000 |
| Premium Economy | 68,000 | n/a |
| Business | 95,000 | 125,000 |
* SQ32/31 only
If you’re looking 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 ⇄ San Francisco |
||
| Upgrading to → |  Premium |
 Business |
| Existing booking ↓ | ||
| Economy Standard* (Class: M, H, W) |
49,000 | 85,500 |
| Economy Flexi* (Class: Y, B, E) |
32,500 | 68,000 |
| Premium Economy Standard (Class: P) |
→ | 61,000 |
| Premium Economy Flexi (Class: S, T) |
→ | 48,000 |
* SQ32/31 only
This option isn’t the best value, but it can prove useful if your company is paying for your ticket and you wish to use your personal KrisFlyer miles to upgrade.
Award availability on these VTL flights is relatively open during the summer season, on the dates we checked, so this could be a good time to lock in a redemption.
Premium Economy ‘Solo seats’
The option to take SIA’s Airbus A350 Long Haul or ULR aircraft on the San Francisco route also gives you the option of two slightly different Premium Economy Class products.
On the A350 Long Haul flights (SQ32/31) there are 24 Premium Economy Class seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.
On the A350 ULR flights (SQ34/33) a much larger Premium Economy cabin has 94 seats, also predominantly in 2-4-2 layout.
These aircraft include six ‘solo’ seats at the back of the cabin, offering the rare privacy of an individual seat plus a large personal storage bin that doubles up as a useful table surface when closed.
Solo seats are charged at an additional US$140 per passenger per passenger per sector, though there’s a discount for KrisFlyer members:
- KrisFlyer Basic: 5% discount (US$133)
- KrisFlyer Silver: 10% discount (US$126)
- KrisFlyer Gold: 15% discount (US$119)
PPS Club members can select these seats in advance for no additional charge, while everyone else who doesn’t want to pay will have to chance their luck at exactly 48 hours before departure time, when online check-in opens and seat selection fees are cancelled, allowing all passengers to choose any seat in their booked travel class for free.
United Airlines is also operating
In early January 2022, United became the only other airline aside from SIA to operate non-stop Singapore – USA flights, with four times weekly services now running on the San Francisco route alongside those of the national carrier.
United will increase its Boeing 787-9 flights to daily operation from 8th May 2022, all with VTL approval in the San Francisco – Singapore direction.
All these flights, the longest on the United network, feature 48 of the airline’s latest Polaris Business Class seats, with direct aisle access for all passengers.
United’s 787-9 also offers a Premium Economy and Economy Class cabin.
Between the two carriers there will therefore be a total of 21 weekly non-stops on this popular route. Here’s how the full VTL schedule for both carriers looks (click to expand):
San Francisco Singapore
27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ31 A350-900 |
||||||||
| SFO 11:30 |
SIN 19:10* |
||||||||
|
SQ33 A350-900 ULR |
||||||||
| SFO 22:05 |
SIN 05:45** |
||||||||
 |
UA1 787-9 |
||||||||
| SFO 22:45 |
SIN 06:45** |
||||||||
* One day later
** Two days later
Important
From 1st April 2022, there will be no more designated VTL flights to Singapore.All fully vaccinated travellers can enter quarantine-free on any flight operated by any airline on any route.
Including daily United VTL flights, there will be 4,697 seats per week offered on the VTL from San Francisco to Singapore by June 2022, the highest of any US city.
San Francisco lounge
If you fly in Business Class with Singapore Airlines or United Airlines from San Francisco to Singapore, you will happily now have the absolutely excellent Polaris lounge to look forward to there.
At over 28,000ft2, this is the largest United Polaris lounge, and includes a manned bar, à la carte restaurant, shower suites and nap rooms.
It’s truly a fantastic experience and beats any Singapore Airlines Business Class lounge by a country mile.
The only downside? You’ll have to be flying in Business Class, with Star Alliance Gold members (including KrisFlyer Gold status holders) travelling in Economy or Premium Economy directed to the more mundane United Club.
New York goes triple daily
This expansion on the San Francisco route comes two months after Singapore Airlines will introduce a record triple daily New York operation from late March 2022, with a reinstatement of non-stop Newark flights in addition to a continuation of non-stop JFK flights and the JFK via Frankfurt link.
The SQ26/25 flight between Singapore and New York JFK via Frankfurt will also upgauge to the Airbus A380 from 27th March 2022, offering the latest Suites and 2017 Business Class products on regular USA flights for the first time.
All USA – Singapore VTL flights
By June 2022 there will be 50 VTL flights per week from the USA to Singapore:
- San Francisco: 21/wk
- New York: 14/wk
- Los Angeles: 7/wk
- Houston: 4/wk
- Seattle: 4/wk
Here are the full VTL flight schedules from other cities in the USA, in addition to the San Francisco schedule outlined above (click to expand):
Houston Singapore
Note that this service operates via Manchester, with a 1 hour 35 minute transit stop en-route to Singapore.
27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ51 A350 Long Haul |
||||||||
| IAH 19:10 |
SIN 07:40* |
||||||||
* Two days later
Important
From 1st April 2022, there will be no more designated VTL flights to Singapore.All fully vaccinated travellers can enter quarantine-free on any flight operated by any airline on any route.
Los Angeles Singapore
27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ37 A350 Long Haul |
||||||||
| LAX 23:40 |
SIN 07:50* |
||||||||
* Two days later
Important
From 1st April 2022, there will be no more designated VTL flights to Singapore.All fully vaccinated travellers can enter quarantine-free on any flight operated by any airline on any route.
New York Singapore
27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ25 A380^ |
||||||||
| JFK 20:55 |
SIN 06:50* |
||||||||
|
SQ23 A350-900 ULR |
||||||||
| JFK 22:30 |
SIN 05:20* |
||||||||
^ 777-300ER on 27th March
* Two days later
Note that the SQ25 service operates via Frankfurt, with a 1 hour 50 minute transit stop en-route to Singapore.
Important
From 1st April 2022, there will be no more designated VTL flights to Singapore.All fully vaccinated travellers can enter quarantine-free on any flight operated by any airline on any route.
Seattle Singapore
Note that this service operates via Vancouver until 31st May 2022, with a 1 hour 30 minute transit stop en-route to Singapore.
27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ27 A350-900 |
||||||||
| SEA 12:15 |
SIN 21:40* |
||||||||
* Next day
Important
From 1st April 2022, there will be no more designated VTL flights to Singapore.All fully vaccinated travellers can enter quarantine-free on any flight operated by any airline on any route.
In addition there will be daily non-VTL flights from Newark to Singapore during the summer, but at this stage these will require seven days of home SHN on arrival in Singapore.
For a full list of all VTL flights to Singapore by route, see our dedicated and updated reference page.
Summary
The San Francisco – Singapore route will offer the most VTL flights and the highest daily VTL capacity from any US city to Singapore from June this year, with Singapore Airlines ramping up to a record double daily non-stop schedule, in combination with a daily United Airlines option.
Business Class and Premium Economy travellers will have the option of a morning and evening departure in both directions, while those flying Economy Class get a daily morning departure on the three-class A350.
These SIA flights are in addition to a daily United Airlines flight, also part of the VTL scheme and boasting the latest Polaris Business Class seats.
(Cover Photo: Singapore Airlines)
The ZIM PEY seats are only on the 77W and 380. All A350s use the same PEY seats from Zodiac.
Thanks, updated!
Thanks for this great info, as I have summer travel plan to SIN from LAX (preferred) or SFO.
Any idea when they will restart the A350 ULR service from LAX?.
I wonder if this means the one-stop Hong Kong flights are gone forever. Would SQ just keep two daily nonstops or revive another fifth-freedom route like SFO-ICN (Seoul)?
When are youll starting flts SIN ADL