If you thought Singapore Airlines’ Premium Economy cabin was the reserve of the carrier’s long-haul flights you’d certainly be forgiven, since that’s almost the correct assumption. There are a few regional routes, however, that regularly benefit from these seats, and the airline doesn’t even sell the cabin as Premium Economy.
Instead on these shorter flights they are sold as Economy Class seats, and rather than being offered on a first-come-first-served basis, or being exclusive to status holders, Singapore Airlines began charging a fee for them in early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.
That means you can opt to pay extra to sit in this cabin when flying shorter routes it’s not actually sold on, for an additional fee, or take your chances at online check-in 48 hours before departure and potentially pay no extra charge for the privilege of a little more space and legroom.
Over the last couple of years there have been a wider than usual range of routes benefitting from this option, including Bangkok, Colombo and Hanoi, but it has now returned to the traditional pair – Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
There is no service differentiation
The important to thing to note about SIA’s operation of aircraft with a Premium Economy cabin on these shorter regional routes is that there is no service differentiation from Economy Class, whether you have paid extra to sit in this section, or you have been allocated a seat there.
Passengers who choose this option [on selected flights] will be seated on a more comfortable Premium Economy Seat, while their class of service remains Economy and all fare conditions will remain the same as their originally-booked Economy Class fare.
Singapore Airlines
That’s because no one gets the Premium Economy service or benefits on these flights, since the cabin class is simply not sold on these routes.
Instead you’ll benefit only from a separate cabin, with wider seats and additional legroom. There are also ‘couple pairs’ by the window, a nicer experience for two passengers travelling together than the 3-3-3 configuration in Economy Class on these aircraft.
Which aircraft?
To be able to pay extra to sit in a Premium Economy seat on shorter regional ‘non-PY’ flights to and from Singapore, even though you’re booked in Economy Class, you’ll need to pick a service operated by one of the following aircraft:
- Airbus A350 Long Haul (3-class)
- Boeing 777-300ER (4-class)
Other aircraft types, like the Airbus A350 Medium Haul, don’t feature a Premium Economy Class cabin, while the airline’s Airbus A380s do not operate any shorter flights where the Premium Economy Class cabin is not sold as such.
Here’s how the Premium Economy seat maps look on these two aircraft.
While there is no priority service on the ground, enhanced miles earning or upgraded F&B on board when sitting in this cabin on these short flights, here’s what SIA’s Premium Economy seat offers:
- 38″ seat pitch (6″ more than Economy Class)
- 19″ seat width (0.5″ more than Economy Class)
- 8″ seat recline (2″ more than Economy Class)
- 13.3″ HD touchscreen monitor (2.1″ bigger than Economy Class)
- In-built calf rest and footrest
- 2 USB ports and AC power supply
- Adjustable reading light
Those travelling in the Premium Economy cabin on Boeing 777-300ERs (and A380s for that matter, though they don’t fly these short routes) benefit from a slightly wider 19.5″ seat.
How much does it cost?
Seat selection fees on Singapore Airlines flights are all quoted in US Dollars, then converted to the currency of your departure city when you make your booking or pay for seat selection later.
Here’s a table showing the current rates for selecting a seat in the Premium Economy cabin on regional flights not offering a differentiated Premium Economy service, including approximate SGD rates.
There are discounts applied, based on you KrisFlyer status.
| Singapore Airlines Premium Economy Seat Selection (on non-PY routes) |
|||
| Singapore to/from |
Status | PY Standard |
PY Extra Legroom |
| Band 1 e.g. Jakarta Kuala Lumpur |
Non-KF | US$35.00 (~S$48) |
US$50.00 (~S$69) |
 KF Basic |
US$33.25 (~S$46) |
US$47.50 (~S$65) |
|
 KFES |
US$31.50 (~S$43) |
US$45.00 (~S$62) |
|
 KFEG |
US$29.75 (~S$41) |
US$42.50 (~S$59) |
|
| Band 2* e.g. Colombo* Dhaka* |
Non-KF | US$75.00 (~S$103) |
US$90.00 (~S$124) |
| KF Basic |
US$71.25 (~S$98) |
US$85.50 (~S$118) |
|
| KFES |
US$67.50 (~S$93) |
US$81.00 (~S$112) |
|
| KFEG |
US$63.75 (~S$88) |
US$76.50 (~S$105) |
|
* No current PY option on these non-PY routes, but there have been previously, so these rates are quoted for possible future reference
These seat selection fees do not vary based on your Economy Class fare type (e.g. Lite, Standard, Flexi). They also apply to those booked on any award redemption in the Economy Class cabin (i.e. Saver or Advantage).
Here’s an example for a KrisFlyer Gold member reserving a Premium Economy seat (but remember, not a PY service standard) from Singapore to Bangkok.
Though this particular route doesn’t offer the PY seat selection option in the current schedule through to late March 2024, these are the same rates you’ll see on SIA’s selected Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur flights.
It’s free for PPS Club members
Good news if you are a PPS Club member, with all seat selection fees waived, including these seats in the Premium Economy cabin on these non-PY routes.
Right from the booking stage you can therefore select any seat you like in this cabin at no additional charge, when travelling on an Economy Class ticket or redemption, so don’t forget to pick a seat in row 31-34!
Which flights?
During the current northern summer 2023 schedule and the upcoming northern winter 2023/24 schedule from now until 30th March 2024, you can pay extra to sit in the Premium Economy cabin on selected flights between Singapore and the following cities:
- Jakarta
- Kuala Lumpur
Here are the specific flights you’ll have to be traveling on for each route to be able to utilise this option in the A350 Long Haul (359 LH) or Boeing 777-300ER (77W).
Note that in the case of Kuala Lumpur, Singapore Airlines also operates other flights that don’t have a Premium Economy cabin installed. Only those which do are listed here.
Jakarta
| Singapore to Jakarta | |||
| Flight & Aircraft |
Time | Days | Notes |
| SQ950 77W |
06:20-07:05 | Daily | — |
| SQ956 359 LH |
09:15-10:10 | Daily | — |
| SQ958 359 LH |
12:30-13:15 | Daily | — |
| SQ962 359 LH |
16:25-17:10 | Daily | — |
| SQ964 77W |
17:20-18:05 | Daily | — |
| SQ968 77W |
21:55-22:40 | Daily | — |
| Jakarta to Singapore | |||
| Flight & Aircraft |
Time | Days | Notes |
| SQ951 77W |
05:25-08:10 | Daily | — |
| SQ953 77W |
07:55-10:45 | Daily | — |
| SQ957 359 LH |
11:15-14:05 | Daily | — |
| SQ959 359 LH |
14:10-17:00 | Daily | — |
| SQ963 359 LH |
18:05-20:55 | Daily | — |
| SQ965 77W |
19:00-21:50 | Daily | — |
Note: Minor timing adjustments in the NW23/24 season
Pro Tip: All SIA Singapore – Jakarta – Singapore flights between now and 30th March 2024 feature a Premium Economy Class cabin.Kuala Lumpur
| Singapore to Kuala Lumpur | |||
| Flight & Aircraft |
Time | Days | Notes |
| SQ106 359 LH |
08:30-09:30 | Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri |
— |
| SQ108 359 LH |
09:20-10:20 | Sat Sun |
— |
| SQ126 359 LH |
18:45-19:45 | Daily | — |
| Kuala Lumpur to Singapore | |||
| Flight & Aircraft |
Time | Days | Notes |
| SQ105 359 LH |
10:25-11:35 | Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri |
— |
| SQ107 359 LH |
11:10-12:10 | Sat Sun |
— |
| SQ125 359 LH |
20:40-21:50 | Daily | — |
Note: Minor timing adjustments in the NW23/24 season
It probably goes without saying that on all these flights the Business Class cabin is better too – with the 2013 Long Haul product installed. Check our continually updated list of Business Class seats by route on the SIA network for details.
Singapore Airlines also operates a Premium Economy cabin on some other short routes it operates:
- Milan to/from Barcelona (1.5 hours)
- Johannesburg to/from Cape Town (2 hours)
In the case of Milan – Barcelona, this “fifth freedom” route is an extension of a long-haul services linking these cities to Singapore. That means the Premium Economy cabin is actually sold as a separate class, including the appropriate service differentiation, even on these shorter flights.
You’ll therefore have to search for Premium Economy itself if you want to sit in this cabin on that intra-Europe route, there is no opportunity to ‘upgrade’ via the seat selection tool for a fee when booked to fly in Economy Class.
Singapore Airlines does not have permission to carry passengers solely between Johannesburg and Cape Town, which would require “eighth freedom” traffic rights – very rarely approved outside Europe. All passengers on these flights are therefore always travelling to or from Singapore, and full Premium Economy service is offered in this cabin.
Even ‘Premium Economy passengers’ have to pay
One strange aspect of SIA using aircraft with a Premium Economy cabin on regional routes is that even those booked in Premium Economy to or from a long-haul SIA service still have to pay the seat selection fee to sit in the Premium Economy cabin for the shorter part of their trip.
For example flying in Premium Economy from London to Jakarta via Singapore, you can book a standard seat on the LHR-SIN sector for no fee, but to sit anywhere other than Economy on the SIN-CGK sector will attract a fee, even though all CGK-SIN flights have a Premium Economy cabin.
All the airline will offer a non-status holder in this case when connecting to or from a long-haul flight in Premium Economy is a complimentary Forward Zone seat, which seems super stingy when PY seats actually exist!
It’s free when online check-in opens
While it might be worth forking out ~S$50 to secure a Premium Economy seat for some, most of our readers think it’s too expensive to justify on these shorter hops to and from KL and Jakarta.
There’s an alternative tactic though.
When online check-in opens at exactly 48 hours prior to your flight’s departure time, all seat selection fees are cancelled and any passenger can select any available seat for free within their cabin class.
In this case, that includes the Premium Economy section, for those booked in Economy on these regional flights, where the aircraft is equipped.
We therefore strongly recommend checking the Manage Booking portal as soon as the clock hits 48 hours prior to your departure time, at which point you should then see the same Premium Economy seat selection that existed for a fee just a few minutes before, all available to select for free.
Free example
Here’s the Premium Economy section seat map for a dummy booking made as a non-KrisFlyer member for an Economy Class ticket from Singapore to Jakarta, departing in 49 hours’ time (online check-in not yet open).
As you can see there’s quite an open selection of options in the PY cabin, but the steep seat selection fee still applies.
I would really want to sit in 31K with extra legroom on this flight if possible, and of course hope that 31H remains vacant too, but this will set me back S$69 – hardly worth it for a 1-hour flight!
However, if I return to make the seat selection at 12:30 local time, exactly 48 hours prior to the departure of my flight SQ958, all the seat selection costs have now been set to zero, even in the Premium Economy cabin.
This strategy won’t always work, but it’s definitely worth a try.
If there are still seats available to select in this cabin on your flight for a fee just prior to 48 hours before departure time, log on again at exactly 48 hours before and you should be able to secure one for nothing.
Other seat selection costs
Singapore Airlines sneakily increased a raft of its seat selection costs during the pandemic, which we reported back in November 2021.
Most of the increases were achieved by moving countries into different region ‘bandings’, rather than increase the fee schedule itself, but luckily for our readers (and unfortunately for SIA), not much gets past us!
Economy Class passengers flying between Singapore and Australia bore the brunt of the increases – SIA moved the country from seat selection ‘Band 2’ to ‘Band 3’, with fees increasing by 67% in some cases.
Summary
Between now and the end of March 2024 you can select a seat in the Premium Economy cabin on selected flights between Singapore and both Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, due to the airline’s regular deployment of long-haul jets on these regional routes.
Premium Economy seats are available at an additional S$41-48 each way, depending on your KrisFlyer status.
PPS Club members can of course benefit from cost-free selection in this cabin, while the same benefit extends to everyone at 48 hours before departure – the perfect time to jump online and secure a comfier seat with more width and legroom, even for these short hops, without paying a cent.
(Cover Photo: Zac George / Points from the Pacific)
Just a very minor “English” correction. “How to sit in” is a very, hmm, “Singlish” way of wording this. You are not teaching people “how to sit” anywhere. If you were actually teaching that, your article would say something like, “get up out of your Economy Class seat. Walk towards the front of the aircraft. Find a seat between rows 15-25 (whatever the PEY rows are). Position yourself in front of one of these seats while facing front of the aircraft, and place your backside on the seat. That is how you sit in a Premium Economy Class seat”.
You are teaching people to GET a seat in Premium Economy. Other words you could use here could be “snag”, “obtain” (a bit too formal), “grab”, “get your hands on”, “snatch” etc.