Back in July this year, we reported on the news that Singapore Airlines had quietly hiked its seat selection costs for Economy and Premium Economy Class passengers, the second increase for these fees in less than three years.
While the general increases topped out at around 50% compared to previous levels, we noted in particular that costs on the airline’s “fifth freedom” hops between the USA and Europe, or between the USA and Japan, had suffered a double-whammy repricing.
That was because a zone banding change was also applied for these routes, from Band 4 to Band 5, leading to the highest fee increases of all at up to 75%, but now there’s some good news to report.
USA “fifth freedom” flights return to Band 4
Effective from 15th August 2024, Singapore Airlines has had a change of heart about its pricing levels for these flights, which applies to those travelling on the following city pairs:
- Frankfurt to/from New York JFK (SQ26/25)
- Manchester to/from Houston (SQ52/51)
- Tokyo Narita to/from Los Angeles (SQ12/11)
This has been achieved by moving these flights back into the Band 4 pricing category for seat selection fees, which is not only good news but is also a fair decision in our opinion.
| Band | Routes |
| Band 1 | Singapore to/from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Spain to/from Italy. |
| Band 2 | Singapore to/from Bangladesh, Hong Kong, China, India, Japan, Korea, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and U.A.E. |
| Band 3 | Singapore to/from Australia and New Zealand. |
| Band 4 | Singapore to/from Europe and South Africa. |
| Band 5 |
Singapore to/from USA and Canada. |
In the case of USA – Europe flights, these clock in at between 7 hours 45 minutes and 9 hours 50 minutes, while for USA – Japan flights, the range is 10 hours 10 minutes to 11 hours 30 minutes.
Between 1st July 2024 and 14th August 2024, seat selection fees on these flights had been harmonised with mammoth non-stop flights of up to 19 hours, which seemed extremely disproportionate.
SIA’s seat selection fees are charged per person, per flight, unless you are travelling on the same aircraft all the way from your origin point to your destination, without stopping over.
For flights like SQ26, which flies a SIN-FRA-JFK routing, those joining in Frankfurt to fly solely to New York (for less than 8 hours) were paying an identical amount to select a seat in Economy or Premium Economy Class as passengers travelling all the way from Singapore to New York (over 20 hours) on the same aircraft!
Thankfully, that’s now been resolved.
New pricing for USA “fifth freedom” flights
Following this banding correction, here’s the new charging structure for ‘Standard Seats’ in Economy Class on these routes.
| Standard Seats Economy Class |
|||
| 1 Jul 24 14 Aug 24 |
From 15 Aug 24 |
Change | |
| USA Europe / Japan |
US$35 | US$30 | US$5 ( 14%) |
The recent fee increase for these seats on 1st July 2024 from US$20 to US$35 was a 75% hike, but at least that has now been tempered slightly, with a 14% reduction now in effect.
Standard seat selection in Economy Class is payable by those booking cash fares in the following classes:
- Economy Lite
KrisFlyer Elite Silver and above are exempt from this fee, as are all award redemptions and all passengers travelling with at least one child (aged 2 to 11 years) in the same booking.
Economy Value fares became exempt from Standard seat selection fees earlier this year.
Here’s the new charging structure for ‘Forward Zone Seats’.
| Forward Zone Seats Economy Class |
|||
| 1 Jul 24 14 Aug 24 |
From 15 Aug 24 |
Change | |
| USA Europe / Japan |
US$60 | US$50 | US$10 ( 17%) |
The recent fee increase for these seats on 1st July 2024 from US$40 to US$60 was a 50% hike, but at least that has now been tempered slightly, with a 17% reduction now in effect.
Forward Zone seat selection in Economy Class is payable by those booking cash fares in the following classes:
- Economy Lite
- Economy Value
- Economy Standard
Forward Zone seat selection in Economy Class is payable by those booking award tickets in the following classes:
- Economy Saver
KrisFlyer Elite Gold and PPS Club members are exempt from this fee, whether booking cash or award tickets, and all Economy Advantage award ticket holders are similarly exempt.
Pro Tip: Bassinet seats are often located in the ‘Forward Zone’ in Economy Class. If you have a booking including an infant, you can select a bassinet seat for free, subject to availability, regardless of your fare type.Here’s how the changes look for Extra Legroom seats.
| Extra Legroom Seats Premium Economy Class Economy Class |
|||
| 1 Jul 24 14 Aug 24 |
From 15 Aug 24 |
Change | |
| USA Europe / Japan |
US$130 | US$110 | US$20 ( 15%) |
The recent fee increase for these seats on 1st July 2024 from US$100 to US$130 was a 30% hike, but at least that has now been tempered slightly, with a 15% reduction now in effect.
The extra legroom fee is payable by most Economy and Premium Economy passengers, since it applies when booking in any fare class or redeeming any award ticket in those two cabins.
(Photo: Singapore Airlines)
PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members are the only ones exempt from this fee.
Discounts for KrisFlyer members
If your cabin and booking class requires you to pay a fee for seat selection, don’t forget you’ll get a discount based on your KrisFlyer membership tier, while there are no charges payable for PPS Club members, as outlined in the following table.
| Seat Selection Fees KrisFlyer Member Discounts |
|||
| Standard | Forward Zone | Extra Legroom PEY “Upgrade” Solo Seats |
|
| Non-KF | No discount | No discount | No discount |
 KF Basic |
5% discount | 5% discount | 5% discount |
 KFES |
Free | 10% discount | 10% discount |
 KFEG |
Free | Free | 15% discount |
 PPS Club |
Free | Free | Free |
Travel companions on the same booking may get discount on seat selection fees if they hold a lower status level themselves, compared to the highest status holder on the same booking, as shown below.
| Seat Selection Fees KrisFlyer Companion Discounts |
|||
| Highest status holder in same booking |
Standard | Forward Zone | Extra Legroom PY “Upgrade” PY Solo Seats |
| Non-KF | No discount | No discount | No discount |
| KF Member |
No discount | No discount | No discount |
| KF Elite Silver |
5% discount | 5% discount | 5% discount |
| KF Elite Gold |
10% discount | 10% discount | 10% discount |
| PPS Club |
Free | Free | 15% discount |
You read more information about this benefit and all the other perks of KrisFlyer Elite and PPS Club status at our dedicated and recently updated guides linked below:
Seat selection becomes free at T-48 hours
Exactly 48 hours before departure time, additional seat selection costs are cancelled and any passenger can select any available seat for free within their cabin class.
This does not apply to those hoping to sit in the Premium Economy cabin on shorter Band 1 flights, which then becomes blocked for selection to all except PPS Club members.
There’s still a chance to secure an Extra Legroom, Forward Zone or Solo seat for nothing, however we recommend logging on to the manage booking portal exactly 48 hours before your flight departure time if you want to try and do this, as any available seats tend to disappear quickly – especially the Solo seats on Airbus A350 ULR flights.
One slightly frustrating “feature” of the Singapore Airlines website and app is that since COVID-19, once online check-in opens 48 hours before departure it often no longer allows you to modify your seat selection, making it impossible to move into an empty seat.
In this case, you can still switch your seats by calling SIA or using Kris the Chatbot (click “Chat with a live agent”). They will happily assist to move you to an unoccupied seat, in our experience.
Full guide to SIA seat selection fees
Following this latest revision, we’ve updated our comprehensive guide to seat selection fees on Singapore Airlines flights for a full overview of the charges applied in all cabins and on all routes by fare type, so you know what to expect in advance.
This guide fully covers the rules when you’re travelling with infants and/or children in your booking too, essential reading for many families.
Summary
Last month Singapore Airlines increased its fees for advance seat selection in Economy and Premium Economy Class cabins, but one group was hit more than most.
That was those flying on one of the carrier’s “fifth freedom” flights between the USA and Japan or between the USA and Europe, with fee hikes of up to 75% due to a double-whammy repricing – a rate change plus a banding change to the most expensive on the network.
Thankfully Singapore Airlines has decided the banding change, which matched these services with the longest passenger flights in the world, wasn’t logical.
The routes have now been shifted back into “Band 4” pricing, and while this did suffer seat selection cost increases in July, it means that for these routes the rates are now far more closely in line with flights of a similar duration.
Your KrisFlyer status still saves you some money, while PPS Club members continue to have no seat selection fee concerns in any cabin on any routing.
The best strategy to avoid these fees (short of becoming a PPS Club member) continues to be jumping online exactly 48 hours before your flight, when seat selection fees are cancelled and you then get free pick at whatever is left.
(Cover Photo: MainlyMiles)