The MAX is back on SIA’s Phuket flights, as record capacity comes to the route

Singapore Airlines started flying its own services to and from the popular Thai holiday resort island of Phuket back in mid-2019, for the first time since the 1990s, as the mainline carrier stepped in to assist regional subsidiary SilkAir address a large capacity shortfall.

That had been caused by well-documented issues with the Boeing 737 MAX, a type that had been grounded four months earlier following two fatal crashes, leaving SilkAir at least six jets short of its usual 33-strong fleet.

The MAX issues are thankfully a thing of the past, and with SilkAir now fully merged into Singapore Airlines Phuket is a regular destination on the carrier’s network, with four daily Boeing 737-800 services.

Plans are now afoot to not only upgrade the passenger experience on this popular route, but to hike capacity to an impressive 106% of pre-COVID levels.

The 737 MAX returns to Phuket

In November 2021, when Singapore Airlines launched its own Boeing 737-8 MAX operations using ex-SilkAir aircraft refitted with new cabin products, Phuket was the launch destination for the fleet.

However, that wasn’t set to last.

Ex-SilkAir Boeing 737-800s, with older cabin products including basic recliner seats in Business Class, have been exclusively deployed on the Phuket route since September 2022, a situation that continues through to today.

The good news is that the MAX is coming back on selected SIA Phuket flights from October 2023.

That means 10 of the latest Thompson Vantage Regional Business Class seats and a fresh new Economy Class cabin with 144 Collins Aerospace seats, featuring seat-back IFE, USB charging and Wi-Fi, for a passenger experience more akin to long-haul flights.

The schedule

Currently Singapore Airlines operates to and from Phuket four times per day, using Boeing 737-800 aircraft on all services, which have ‘mildly enhanced’ ex-SilkAir cabins – and that means the worst passenger experience in the fleet.

From the start of the northern winter season in late October 2023, Phuket flights will be hiked by 50% to six times per day, including two Boeing 737-8 MAX services.

The additional daily timings compared to the current schedule are an early morning SQ724/723 and an early afternoon SQ732/731 service.

Singapore    Phuket

29th October 2023
to
30th March 2024

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ724* 737-800
SIN 06:55		HKT 07:50
	SQ726 737-8 MAX
SIN 08:25		HKT 09:15
	SQ728 737-800
SIN 09:50		HKT 10:45
	SQ732* 737-800
SIN 13:15		HKT 14:20
	SQ736 737-800
SIN 16:15		HKT 17:10
	SQ740 737-8 MAX
SIN 18:30		HKT 19:20

Phuket    Singapore

29th October 2023
to
30th March 2024

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ723* 737-800
HKT 08:40		SIN 11:35
	SQ725 737-8 MAX
HKT 10:05		SIN 13:05
	SQ727 737-800
HKT 11:35		SIN 14:25
	SQ731* 737-800
HKT 15:05		SIN 18:10
	SQ735 737-800
HKT 18:00		SIN 21:00
	SQ739 737-8 MAX
HKT 20:10		SIN 23:00

* Not operating 3rd December 2023 – 30th December 2023

Don’t get confused – the two new services aren’t the MAX services, with the aircraft swap actually happening on two existing Phuket flights instead, from late October:

• SQ726/725
• SQ740/739

Unfortunately as you can see there are still four Boeing 737-800 services in the mix each day, and these aircraft aren’t due to leave the fleet until late 2025, when the final lease expires.

Highest ever Phuket capacity

As a result of this new schedule with six daily services, Singapore Airlines will offer record seat capacity to and from Phuket, even surpassing SilkAir’s pre-COVID levels.

In November 2023, the airline will offer 6,692 weekly seats in each direction on six daily flights, compared to 6,314 weekly seats in each direction on five daily flights in November 2019 (MI and SQ combined).

That’s a 20% frequency increase and a 6% seat capacity increase, no doubt reflecting both pent-up and increasing demand for travel to this popular destination.

December 2023 reduction?

As you may notice, Singapore Airlines is not loading the two additional daily flights for a four-week period between 3rd December 2023 and 30th December 2023.

The December schedule reduction looks strange to us.

This is usually a peak period for Phuket flights, and has even seen wide-body aircraft deployed by the carrier, like the A350s in December 2021, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see SQ724/723 and SQ732/731 reappear during this period at a later date, perhaps even with a wide-body in play.

The northern winter 2023/24 season schedule is still being ironed out by the airline, but we should have a firm version in hand within weeks or even days, so watch this space on the Phuket route.

New cabin products

This big advantage when you fly on SIA’s 737 MAX rather than the 737-800 is the latest cabin products, including a flat-bed seat in Business Class, two “throne” seat options, and an upgraded experience in Economy Class including seat-back in-flight entertainment.

As a comparison, ex-SilkAir Boeing 737-800s (without the MAX designator) are a different story, with recliner Business Class seats providing a pretty mediocre hard product experience, highlighted by our recent review.

Although service was good and we were well fed and watered, it’s safe to say this is a waste of miles with clunky manual seat controls, no privacy, no Wi-Fi connectivity and in-flight entertainment via an iPad that didn’t work on both sectors of our journey!

The very minor refresh Singapore Airlines made to this cabin on the 737-800s is apparent in the ‘before and after’ shot below – we actually prefer the warmer tones used in the SilkAir fit, compared to the ‘Premium Economy grey’ SIA has gone with.

As you can see, apart from new upholstery and cushions there’s no major change to the hard product, with little privacy and no flat-bed function, both features of the airline’s other Business Class products including those fitted to the newer Boeing 737-8 MAX.

Wi-Fi is also available in both cabins on the MAX (and remember, it’s now an ‘all-you-can-eat’ allowance in Business Class, or as a KrisFlyer member in Economy Class).

Here’s a to-scale representation of the MAX cabin layout from the excellent aeroLOPA site, clearly showing the extended consoles at the two “throne” seats.

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

KrisFlyer redemptions

Here are the latest one-way KrisFlyer award rates you’ll pay for the Singapore – Phuket route.

KrisFlyer Redemption Singapore ⇄ Phuket
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	13,500	25,000
Business	24,000	40,000

In both cabins, but especially in Business Class, it’s obviously the 737-8 MAX flights you’ll want to be focusing on for a redemption, for the significantly superior hard product on offer.

Other flight options to and from Phuket

There will be a total of 75 non-stop flights between Singapore and Phuket during the upcoming winter season, based on November 2023 schedules, over 88% of the pre-COVID total (85 flights).

As an example, non-SIA flights for November 2023 are shown in the following table.

Singapore – Phuket flights
(November 2023)

Airline / Flight Number		Aircraft	Days
	FD377/376	A320	Daily (7/wk)
	3K535/536	A320	Mon, Fri-Sun (4/wk)
	3K537/538	A320	Tue-Sun (6/wk)
	TR658/659	A320	Daily (7/wk)
	TR656/657	A320	Fri, Sun (2/wk)
	TR652/653	A320	Daily (7/wk)

SIA’s Phuket route has been stuck with recliner seats in Business Class and a lack of Wi-Fi connectivity in both cabins since September 2022, so it’s great news that some services will be flown by the MAX aircraft once again from late October 2023.

These will offer a far better passenger experience compared to the dated cabins installed on the airline’s ex-SilkAir Boeing 737-800s, but you’ll have to pick your flight carefully to take advantage.

If you have a booking already on one of the flights that’s been switched to a MAX, be sure to check your seat selection and amend it accordingly, especially in Business Class where you may see a solo ‘mini-suite’ option available – if you’re lucky.

(Cover Photo: Kittikun Yoksap / Shutterstock)