Singapore Airlines is boosting its flights to and from Taipei in Taiwan during the country’s cherry blossom season in March 2024, with additional four times weekly services using 253-seat Airbus A350 Long Haul aircraft, supplementing regular year-round twice daily Boeing 787 service to and from the island.

This will give the carrier’s Taipei route a 21% capacity boost to 5,730 seats per week in each direction during this peak period, with the popular 2013 long-haul Business Class product in play – a rare seat type on these four-hour flights.

March is a popular time for travel to Taiwan, with the peak cherry blossom in bloom on various parts of the island and comfortable temperatures in the mid-20s celsius.

Regular schedule

On a year-round basis, Singapore Airlines operates twice daily Boeing 787-10 service to and from Taipei, with an early morning and late morning departure in the outbound direction, translating into mid-afternoon and early evening return timings.

Here’s how the schedule looks for the majority of the upcoming northern winter 2024/25 season.

Singapore Airlines
Singapore ⇄ Taipei Schedule
27th October 2024 – 28th February 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ876 Boeing 787-10
SIN 08:10		TPE 12:55
	SQ878 Boeing 787-10
SIN 11:40		TPE 16:20
	SQ877 Boeing 787-10
TPE 14:10		SIN 18:55
	SQ879 Boeing 787-10
TPE 17:35		SIN 22:20

March 2025 schedule

For the month of March 2025, these regular flights will be supplemented by an additional four times weekly Airbus A350 Long Haul service, offering a civilised mid-morning departure from Changi and mid-afternoon return to the Lion City on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Airbus A350 LH services

Singapore Airlines
Singapore ⇄ Taipei Schedule
1st March 2025 – 29th March 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ876 Boeing 787-10
SIN 08:10		TPE 12:55
	SQ872 Airbus A350 LH
SIN 10:00		TPE 15:00
	SQ878 Boeing 787-10
SIN 11:40		TPE 16:20
	SQ877 Boeing 787-10
TPE 14:10		SIN 18:55
	SQ873 Airbus A350 LH
TPE 16:05		SIN 21:00
	SQ879 Boeing 787-10
TPE 17:35		SIN 22:20

The Airbus A350 Long Haul includes 42 of the popular 2013 Business Class seats, which will be the widest on offer to and from Taipei, all offering direct aisle access.

These additional Taipei flights also operated between early February and mid-March 2024, but use the two-class Airbus A350 Medium Haul aircraft, which has the same 2018 Regional Business Class as the Boeing 787-10s.

The last time long-haul Airbus A350s were deployed on the Taipei route was in February 2022, when the airline ceased its short-lived resurrection of Singapore – Taipei – Los Angeles flights using the aircraft during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Premium Economy will be sold as Economy Class

SIA’s Airbus A350 Long Haul aircraft, which will be operating four times weekly to and from Taipei in March 2025 as outlined above, are all three-class models with Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins installed.

Singapore Airlines does not usually offer Premium Economy Class on this route, and has instead decided to sell these seats as Economy Class, allowing customers to pay an additional fee for the larger seat in this cabin with additional legroom, but with no service differentiation offered.

This is already the case on the airline’s regular Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta flights, using aircraft equipped with Premium Economy Class cabins.

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 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)
• 2-4-2 seating layout (3-3-3 in 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

Here’s how the cash rates look for selecting a seat in the Premium Economy cabin on these Taipei flights with a Premium Economy cabin, but not offering a differentiated Premium Economy service.

There are discounts applied, based on you KrisFlyer status, while for PPS Club members advance seat selection in the Premium Economy section is free of charge.

Singapore Airlines Premium Economy Seat Selection (on Taipei flights)
Status	PY Standard	PY Extra Legroom
Non-KF	US$50.00 (~S$64)	US$90.00 (~S$116)
KF Basic	US$47.50 (~S$61)	US$85.50 (~S$110)
KF Elite Silver (full details)	US$45.00 (~S$58)	US$81.00 (~S$104)
KF Elite Gold (full details)	US$42.50 (~S$55)	US$76.50 (~S$98)
PPS Club (full details)	Free	Free

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. Promo, 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 Taipei on an Airbus A350 Long Haul flight.

There’s an alternative tactic though, if you don’t wish to pay extra to sit in this cabin.

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 specific A350 LH Taipei flights.

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.

This strategy won’t always work, but it’s definitely worth a try.

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.

Award rates

Here are the redemption rates you’ll pay when flying on an SIA flight between Singapore and Taipei.

KrisFlyer Redemption Rates Taipei to/from Singapore
	Saver (one way)	Advantage (one way)
Economy	16,500	30,000
Business	34,000	73,000

Remember these rates apply regardless of the aircraft type used, so you’re paying the same mileage rate to fly on the Airbus A350 Long Haul as you are to fly on the Boeing 787-10 with smaller 2018 Regional Business Class seats.

Choose wisely on dates where both aircraft types have award space.

Taipei sometimes appears on SIA’s monthly Spontaneous Escapes promotion, with 30% off Saver award rates on selected flights, which can bring the one-way miles cost down to 11,550 miles in Economy Class and 23,800 miles in Business Class.

Starlux downgrades Singapore flights

As we recently reported, Taiwan’s boutique carrier Starlux has been downgauging many of its Singapore-Taipei flights from the larger Airbus A350 to the smaller Airbus A321 in recent months.

Sadly that continues for much of the winter season too, with the A350 only operating on this route between mid-November and early December.

That probably makes Singapore Airlines a better proposition in Business Class either on the Boeing 787-10 or the Airbus A350 Long Haul, to avoid Starlux’s 2-2 configuration in this cabin on the A321.

Singapore Airlines is adding additional peak season flights to and from Taipei in March next year, but this time there’s a treat in store with Airbus A350 Long Haul aircraft deployed, instead of the usual two-class regional wide-body A350 or 787.

That means a rare opportunity to travel on this route in the wider, more comfortable 2013 Business Class seat in March next year, whether for cash or miles.

For those looking for a little extra comfort, seats in the Premium Economy cabin on these A350 Long Haul flights can be selected for an additional fee, or for free if you’re a PPS Club member or are lucky enough to score one at online check-in within 48 hours of departure.

Remember you can see a full list of aircraft types and Business Class seats in use on the Singapore Airlines network between now and late March 2025 at our continually updated guide here.

(Cover Photo: MainlyMiles)