Singapore Airlines adding sixth daily Bali flight

Singapore Airlines is hiking its Bali flight schedule from July, with the addition of a sixth daily service, which will see the carrier offer its highest ever capacity to and from Indonesia’s most popular tourist destination, known for its beaches, temples and cultural sights.

The extra service, which will be operated by the carrier’s Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft, will seal an impressive 18% increase in capacity on the route for the carrier, compared to pre-COVID.

It also comes as low-cost subsidiary Scoot plans to offer 32% more seats on its Bali services this summer, compared to pre-COVID, including twice-daily wide-body Boeing 787 service to and from the island.

News of the increase comes as Emirates also announced this week that it would become the first airline to operate the Airbus A380 to Bali from June this year, deploying its 615-seat two-class superjumbo on one of two daily flights from Dubai.

The schedule

Here’s how the full SIA schedule including flight timings looks for the upcoming northern summer season from 26th March 2023, with the additional flight from July 2023 highlighted.

Singapore    Bali

26th March 2023
to 28th October 2023

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ934 737-8 MAX
SIN 06:55		DPS 09:40
	SQ936 787-10
SIN 08:20		DPS 11:00
	SQ938 787-10
SIN 09:15		DPS 11:55
	SQ944 787-10
SIN 16:10		DPS 18:50
	SQ946 787-10
SIN 17:50		DPS 20:50
	SQ948^ 737-8 MAX
SIN 21:20		DPS 00:00*

^ From 1st July 2023
* Next day

The airline will use Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft for this new late evening service from Singapore, for a total of two MAX flights each day ‘bookending’ four Boeing 787-10 departures.

Here’s how it looks in the return direction.

Bali    Singapore

26th March 2023
to 28th October 2023

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ949^ 737-8 MAX
DPS 07:20		SIN 10:00
	SQ935 737-8 MAX
DPS 10:30		SIN 13:05
	SQ937 787-10
DPS 12:10		SIN 14:55
	SQ939 787-10
DPS 13:05		SIN 15:50
	SQ945 787-10
DPS 20:00		SIN 22:40
	SQ947 787-10
DPS 21:45		SIN 00:20*

^ From 2nd July 2023
* Next day

Singapore Airlines’ seat capacity on the Bali route will now far surpass pre-pandemic levels, with 11,592 seats per week in each direction from July 2023, an 18% increase compared to the 9,800 seats per week offered in January 2020 by SIA and SilkAir combined, before COVID hit.

Since October 2022, Singapore Airlines flights to Bali operate from Terminal 2 at Changi Airport, where the reopened KrisFlyer Gold and SilverKris lounges await eligible frequent flyers and Business Class customers.

Don’t forget though, you also have access to a superior set of newly-renovated lounges in Terminal 3, which is a short SkyTrain ride away. You can also check in for your T2 flight at T3 if you wish, for easier access to the lounges there, then simply take the SkyTrain across to T2 when it comes time to board.

Who wants to arrive in Bali at midnight?

One thing you’ll notice about this new SQ948/949 flight is its rather antisocial timings, departing from Singapore at 9.20pm for a midnight arrival in Bali.

The aircraft will then night-stop there and operate back to Singapore the following morning, offering a new 7.20am service to Changi for the early risers.

This will be the second non-stop flight of the day from Bali to Singapore, with AirAsia offering a slightly earlier 7.10am departure on this city pair.

In reality, these flights will primarily cater for transit passengers on this route, rather than those making a short trip from Singapore.

Tourist’s travelling to Bali on a long-haul trip from Europe of the USA tend to vacation for a week or longer, and aren’t as sensitive to “wasting” their first night, or departing early in the morning on their last day, like those on short trips from Singapore itself would be.

Currently the final Singapore – Bali departure the airline can offer is at 5.20pm, which misses a number of connections from North Asia, India and even New Zealand (Christchurch).

Similarly the first Bali – Singapore service currently offered by SIA doesn’t arrive at Changi until 1.05pm. The earlier 10am arrival of this new service captures additional connections to North Asia, New York and London.

It also potentially allows Singapore residents to maximise their trip while still being able to attend work on their outbound or return date, or take only a half day of annual leave.

All flat-bed Business Class to Bali

Good news for SIA’s Bali route is that it will feature all-flat-bed operation in Business Class from tomorrow (26th March 2023), when the existing morning SQ934/935 flight upgrades from the ex-SilkAir Boeing 737-800 to the Boeing 737-8 MAX.

We recently reviewed the old SilkAir Business Class seats on the 737-800, and it’s safe to say these won’t be missed on the Bali route from tomorrow onwards!

In fact at the time of writing, the final 737-800 flight on this route is already in the air – let’s hope for the last time.

Four out of five daily SIA Bali flights will continue to use the airline’s Boeing 787-10 aircraft, with 36 of the 2018 Regional Business Class seats, sporting flat-bed functionality and a 1-2-1 all-aisle-access layout.

These are complemented by 301 Economy Class seats in a 3-3-3 configuration – sadly not great for couples (come back A330 all is forgiven!).

Meanwhile, the two daily Boeing 737-8 MAX flights, including this newly added sixth daily service, offer a slightly inferior product in both cabins, but do feature flat-beds in Business Class, a great benefit in particular for those connecting to or from a long-haul destination.

Here are our dedicated articles covering the MAX cabins, to help you know what to expect on board.

Do bear in mind that on the Bali route you’ll get a better experience in both cabins on the larger Boeing 787-10 aircraft compared to the 737 MAX.

The differences here include direct aisle access regardless of your seat allocation in Business Class, plus a wider seat, while in Economy Class there’s more legroom and recline, plus AC charging sockets, on the wide-body jets.

On the plus side, it also means that from 27th March 2023 all of SIA’s Bali flights will also offer Wi-Fi (not available on the 737-800), with an unlimited free allowance in Business Class.

Unfortunately it’s the slower Ku-band connection on the 737 MAX and 787-10s, so expect around 4 Mbps download speeds – see our guide here to find out which aircraft have the faster Ka-band system.

KrisFlyer awards

This new SQ948/949 service has no award space loaded at the time of writing, which is normal for a few days when a flight is newly added to the schedule.

Cash fares are available, but if you are interested in a redemption, hold off for a while and keep monitoring the award space – it should appear soon.

Once it does, these are the applicable rates on Singapore – Bali flights.

KrisFlyer Redemption Singapore ⇄ Bali
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	8,500	15,000
Business	21,000	35,000

Bali does occasionally appear on the monthly Spontaneous Escapes deal, with 30% off Saver awards, which brings one-way redemption rates down to 14,700 in Business Class and 5,950 in Economy Class.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see this new flight included in the deal from mid-June onwards, given its inevitably unpopular timing, but hey – a saving is a saving!

Scoot has also ramped up Bali capacity

Singapore Airlines is not the only group carrier hiking its Bali services.

Prior to COVID-19, based on January 2020 schedules, Scoot was offering three times daily (21 weekly) flights to and from Denpasar, but using smaller Airbus A320ceos on most of those, for a total weekly capacity of 5,025 seats in each direction.

The budget carrier will now use its Boeing 787s (a mixture of -8s and -9s) on the majority of its Bali flights this summer (two per day), supplemented by a 236-seat Airbus A321neo on a daily service, for a total seat capacity of 6,638 in each direction per week.

That’s a 32% increase in seat capacity, reflecting the strongly leisure-led nature of the COVID-19 recovery.

It also means the option of ScootPlus on this route, which is akin to a Premium Economy product – somewhere between Economy and Business Class.

These ScootPlus seats can sometimes be competitively priced (e.g. SIN-DPS for ~S$190), or made available. for cash upgrade a couple of days prior to departure.

Other Bali options

42 weekly Singapore Airlines flights to and from Bali aren’t the only option on this route during the upcoming season.

Here are the other options available, based on July 2023 schedules, some of which offer relatively competitive fares and potentially more useful timings.

• AirAsia: 28/wk (A320)
• Batik Air: 7/wk (739)
• Garuda Indonesia: 5/wk (738)
• Jetstar: 14/wk (A320)
• Scoot: 21/wk (787 x 14, A321neo x 7)
• KLM: 5/wk (77W)

Overall there will be 122 flights per week between Singapore and Bali this summer season, compared to 119 per week pre-COVID (based on July 2019 schedules), essentially a full restoration of pre-pandemic capacity by flight volumes.

Current requirements when flying to Indonesia

Singapore Citizens and those holding other ASEAN nationalities can enter Indonesia visa-free for tourist visits of up to 30 days.

• Brunei
• Cambodia
• Laos
• Malaysia
• Myanmar

• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Vietnam

Those with 87 nationalities can opt for a Visa on Arrival (VoA) at a cost of IDR 500,000 (~S$45). This can be obtained at the airport or in advance via the recently-introduced e-VoA system.

A VoA is good for a 30 days, extendable to 60 days. Singaporeans and ASEAN citizens can also opt for a VoA if they want the flexibility of a longer visit, since visa-free entry cannot be extended.

The only other requirement for quarantine-free travel to Indonesia, including Bali, is that you must:

• have a COVID-19 vaccination certificate (physical or digital) showing that you were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before departure.
• download the ‘SatuSehat’ mobile app before departure (Apple / Google).

The vaccination requirement does not apply to passengers younger than 18 years, who are able to follow the entry requirements of their accompanying parents, guardians or travel companions.

Those aged 18 or over who are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons are allowed to travel test-free and quarantine-free to Indonesia, but they must carry a supporting doctor’s certificate from the country of departure.

If you are arriving by air at Bali, Jakarta, Surabaya or Medan, you should also complete the e-customs declaration before departure and obtain a QR code to show on arrival.

Singapore Airlines will fly six flights per day to and from Bali from July 2023, including two Boeing 737-8 MAX services.

Overall, this will increase capacity to and from the popular holiday destination by 18% compared to pre-COVID SQ/MI combined operation, while low-cost carrier Scoot is achieving a 32% hike in seats through use of larger aircraft on the route.

The new SIA services have terrible timings for those simply making a trip to or from Singapore, but will likely be well used by passengers with a connecting itinerary to or from another destination on the network, and might well end up as the only Bali option on some monthly Spontaneous Escapes deals!

It’s also great news that all Singapore Airlines Bali flights will offer flat beds in Business Class and Wi-Fi connectivity from tomorrow, with the carrier’s older 737-800s bowing out from this route.

(Cover Photo: Cairns Airport)