Singapore Airlines is increasing its capacity to and from Frankfurt this summer, with the addition of three weekly Airbus A350 services from late May to mid-August, which will help to offset the drop in capacity resulting from a downgauge from A380s to Boeing 777s on the route during the peak season.
The news also means some additional KrisFlyer Saver award space is available, even in Business Class, with Frankfurt representing a great option for getting to Europe next summer even if Germany isn’t your final destination, given the extensive list of onward connection options.
The schedule
This additional service will see the Singapore – Frankfurt route served three times daily on selected days of the week between late May and mid-August 2023, using three-class Airbus A350 Long Haul aircraft.
Here’s how the schedule looks during that peak period, with the new A350 flights SQ330/329 highlighted.
Singapore Airlines
Frankfurt Schedule
(31st May 2023 – 13th August 2023)
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
SQ330 A350 Long Haul |
||||||||
| SIN 02:15 |
FRA 09:00 |
||||||||
|
SQ326 A350 Long Haul |
||||||||
| SIN 10:55 |
FRA 17:40 |
||||||||
|
SQ26 777-300ER |
||||||||
| SIN 23:55 |
FRA 06:45* |
||||||||
|
SQ329 A350 Long Haul |
||||||||
| FRA 10:30 |
SIN 04:55* |
||||||||
|
SQ25 777-300ER |
||||||||
| FRA 12:30 |
SIN 06:50* |
||||||||
|
SQ325 A350 Long Haul |
||||||||
| FRA 22:00 |
SIN 16:25* |
||||||||
* Next day
As you can see, the additional flight will take the form of an Airbus A350 Long Haul service, SQ330, with departure from Changi at a (slightly unsociable) 2.15am on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, getting you into Frankfurt at (a more civilised) 9am the same calendar day.
On the return sector, SQ329 departs Frankfurt on the same weekdays at 10.30am, but it’s “matchsticks at dawn” to peel your eyes open for the 4.55am touchdown in Singapore the following morning.
On the plus side, you may be able to get it home in time for a few hours sleep and still make it to work the same day!
Frankfurt capacity is still down
It hasn’t all been good news for SIA’s Frankfurt route recently, with the airline announcing in November 2022 that it would be downgauging daily SQ25/26 service, which also continues to and from New York, from the Airbus A380 to the Boeing 777-300ER in mid-May 2023.
As a result, the Frankfurt route loses 1,449 seats per week, though of course it’s difficult to judge how many of those were occupied by travellers heading all the way to or from New York.
This new SQ330/329 service replaces 759 of those seats per week during this peak period, which probably addresses most of the shortfall over the European school holiday season.
Award space has been loaded
When these additional flights were first loaded into the system a few weeks ago, no immediately-confirmable award space was available in Business Class, with all 33 flights in both directions set to waitlist – even for a single passenger.
That’s not unusual just after a flight gets added to the schedule, so we put this one on the back-burner for a while, since some Business Class Saver space inevitably gets added a few days or weeks later, once the revenue management system wraps its head around what will and won’t probably sell between now and the departure date.
We’re happy to report that’s exactly what’s happened here, with 41 Saver Award seats now loaded up and ready for redemption in the Business Class cabin on these flights.
There’s particularly good award space in the Singapore – Frankfurt direction in July, with some flights boasting four immediately-confirmable Business Class Saver awards.
Here’s how the availability looks on these additional flights, as of 4th February 2023.
Singapore Frankfurt Singapore
Business Saver Availability
(as of 4 Feb 2023)
| Date | Flight | |
| SQ330 (SIN-FRA) |
SQ329 (FRA-SIN) |
|
| 31 May | — | 2 |
| 2 Jun | WL | WL |
| 4 Jun | WL | 1 |
| 7 Jun | WL | WL |
| 9 Jun | WL | WL |
| 11 Jun | — | — |
| 14 Jun | WL | 2 |
| 16 Jun | WL | WL |
| 18 Jun | WL | WL |
| 21 Jun | WL | WL |
| 23 Jun | — | WL |
| 25 Jun | — | — |
| 28 Jun | WL | 1 |
| 30 Jun | WL | — |
| 2 Jul | — | WL |
| 5 Jul | 1 | WL |
| 7 Jul | WL | — |
| 9 Jul | 3 | — |
| 12 Jul | WL | 1 |
| 14 Jul | 3 | — |
| 16 Jul | 4 | WL |
| 19 Jul | 4 | WL |
| 21 Jul | WL | WL |
| 23 Jul | 4 | — |
| 26 Jul | WL | WL |
| 28 Jul | 3 | WL |
| 30 Jul | 3 | WL |
| 2 Aug | 1 | 1 |
| 4 Aug | WL | WL |
| 6 Aug | 1 | — |
| 9 Aug | 1 | WL |
| 11 Aug | 3 | 2 |
| 13 Aug | — | WL |
Business Class saver options in the Frankfurt – Singapore direction are more limited, but don’t forget award space is dynamic – it comes and goes. Don’t fall for the myth that “once the Savers are gone, they’re gone” – that’s complete rubbish.
Saver space can be added even the day before departure – so keep checking!
Simply run your own search to find out what’s available right now (we sadly don’t have time to keep this table up to date – it’s a snapshot only).
Some dates also have Advantage Business Class award seats loaded for immediate confirmation, if you’re willing to stump up the 19,500 additional KrisFlyer miles each way. We haven’t shown Advantage award space on SQ330/329 flights in the table above.
Frankfurt award redemption rates
These are the KrisFlyer miles needed for the Singapore – Frankfurt route, based on the latest award rates since the 2022 devaluation became effective from 5th July 2022.
| KrisFlyer Redemption (one-way) Singapore ⇄ Frankfurt |
||
| Saver | Advantage | |
| Economy | 42,000 | 70,000 |
| Premium Economy | 71,000 | n/a |
| Business | 103,500 | 123,000 |
| First / Suites | 141,000 | 225,500 |
Frankfurt is well connected
Frankfurt is one of the most connected airports in Europe, with ample options for you to continue your journey across the continent with a range of full-service or low-cost carriers.
You can also position yourself from other parts of Europe to Frankfurt relatively easily, to take advantage of an SIA award flight back to Singapore at the end of your trip.
The additional daily flight will also provide travellers with more options for connecting flights to other destinations within Europe and North America with Star Alliance partner Lufthansa, which can even be combined into a single award itinerary for no additional miles outlay (for a Europe add-on).
With some Saver award space loaded in Business Class, it may not be a bad idea to lock in a speculative redemption for later this year, even if you haven’t decided exactly where in Europe you want to travel.
Summary
Singapore Airlines is boosting its flights to and from Frankfurt this summer, with an additional Airbus A350 service three times per week between late May and mid-August.
This will go some way to replacing the loss of seats that will come about from an A380 to 777 downgauge in mid-May, propping up capacity during the peak European holiday season.
Thanks to the relatively short notice addition of this service, there’s a decent amount of award space loaded, including up to four Saver Business Class awards in the Singapore – Frankfurt direction on selected dates right in the middle of the summer travel season.
(Cover Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)