News Singapore Airlines VTL

Singapore Airlines to operate double daily non-stop San Francisco flights (VTL)

San Francisco - Singapore will boast 21 weekly VTL flights from June, the highest of any US city, with twice daily non-stop SIA service in addition to a daily quarantine-free United option.

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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 will use its Airbus A350 ULR on one of the two daily non-stop San Francisco flights. (Photo: Dillon Chong)

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
 bgcolor= SQ32
A350 Long Haul
       
SIN
09:20
SFO

07:50
 bgcolor= SQ34
A350 ULR
SIN
18:40
SFO

17:20

San Francisco Singapore
Now – 26th March 2022

  Days
M T W T F S S
 bgcolor= SQ31
A350 Long Haul

VTL
       
SFO
09:30
SIN

19:05*
 bgcolor= 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
 bgcolor= SQ32
A350 Long Haul
       
SIN
09:25
SFO

09:40
 bgcolor= 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
 bgcolor= SQ31
A350 Long Haul

VTL
       
SFO
11:30
SIN

19:10*
 bgcolor= 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
 bgcolor= SQ32
A350 Long Haul
SIN
09:25
SFO

09:40
 bgcolor= 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
 bgcolor= SQ31
A350 Long Haul

VTL
SFO
11:30
SIN

19:10*
 bgcolor= 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.

All 14 weekly San Francisco – Singapore flights are operating under the VTL programme
SIA’s three-class A350 Long-Haul includes a more intimate Business Class ‘mini-cabin’ with only four rows. (Photo: MainlyMiles)

This will be the first time Singapore Airlines has operated to and from San Francisco twice daily with non-stop services.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

KFtrans

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.

KFtrans

Upgrade using KrisFlyer miles
Singapore ⇄ San Francisco
Upgrading to 2013 W (Singapore Airlines).jpg
Premium
SQ 77W J (MM) 2
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.

SIA A350 Long Haul Premium Economy. (Photo: View from the Wing)

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.

Premium Economy Solo seat. (Photo: One Mile at a Time)

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

United’s Boeing 787-9s operating to and from Singapore have the latest Polaris cabins installed. (Photo: PriestmanGoode)

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 Polaris Business Class. (Photo: United Airlines)

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):

27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022

  Days
M T W T F S S
 bgcolor= SQ31
A350-900
SFO
11:30
SIN

19:10*
 bgcolor= 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
ADVERTISEMENT

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):

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
 bgcolor= 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.

27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022

  Days
M T W T F S S
 bgcolor= 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.

27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022

  Days
M T W T F S S
 bgcolor= SQ25
A380^
JFK
20:55
SIN

06:50*
 bgcolor= 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.

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
 bgcolor= 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.

  Full list of all VTL Flights

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.

Singapore Airlines will operate two daily non-stop A350 flights to and from San Francisco this summer. (Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)

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)

ADVERTISEMENT

5 comments

  1. 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?.

  2. 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)?

Leave a Reply