Singapore Airlines has been finalising its flight schedule for the upcoming northern summer season over the last few weeks, and it’s good news for the carrier’s Dubai route, which will see a reintroduction of First Class and Premium Economy cabins from late March this year, plus a return of long-haul Business Class seats.

This will restore a First Class option to Dubai for the first time since March 2020, when schedules were cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the route temporarily axed.

Singapore Airlines returned to Dubai in January 2021, but since then has been deploying its two-class Airbus A350 Medium Haul aircraft on the route, which only feature Regional Business Class and Economy Class.

Dubai will become the 17th route to have its SIA First Class option restored for at least part of the year. Before COVID-19, 22 of the airline’s cities were regularly served by First Class or Suites products.

The schedule

Singapore Airlines currently operates a single daily service to and from Dubai:

• SQ494/495 (A350 Medium Haul)

From 30th March 2025, the route will continue with daily service but will transition to the four-class Boeing 777-300ER. However, there will be exceptions on five days in early April, during which the A350 Medium Haul will still operate. Consistent Boeing 777 service only commences from 7th April 2025.

Singapore Dubai
30 Mar 2025 – 25 Oct 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ494 777-300ER^
SIN 15:10		DXB 18:30
Duration: 07:20

^ A350 MH operates 1 Apr, 3-6 Apr

Dubai Singapore
30 Mar 2025 – 25 Oct 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ495 777-300ER^
DXB 19:45		SIN 07:30*
Duration: 07:45

^ A350 MH operates 1 Apr, 3-6 Apr
* Next day

The daily Dubai route is provisionally set to revert to Airbus A350 Medium Haul aircraft operation from the start of the northern winter season on 26th October 2025, though this is subject to change.

Our First Class reviews

SIA’s 2013 First Class seat may not live up to ‘Suite standards’, but it remains one of our favourite products and we’ve always really enjoyed our trips in this cabin.

The intimate single-row section has only four seats in a 1-2-1 layout, including a large void behind the middle pair for the cabin crew to pass between the two aisles while remaining out of sight.

In mid-2018 we concluded our round-the-world trip in First Class on SQ1 from San Francisco to Singapore via Hong Kong in this excellent cabin, and had the chance to thoroughly review it including both a long-haul and short-haul experience across the two stages of the journey.

If you haven’t tried the product, while we probably don’t recommend parting with Advantage award rates, we don’t think you’d be disappointed if a Saver comes up.

Here’s a more recent review of what you can expect in First Class post-pandemic, though practically all of the COVID restrictions in effect on this Frankfurt to Singapore flight in September 2021 have already been relaxed.

Aside from Suites on the A380, this First Class product is now the only one fitted to Singapore Airlines aircraft, following the retirement of older 2006 First Class seats on the Boeing 777-300 (non-ERs).

Business Class and Premium Economy

The shift from the Airbus A350 Medium Haul to the Boeing 777-300ER on the Dubai route this summer also means that in Business Class the 2018 regional seats will be swapped out for the carrier’s roomier (but older) 2013 J product (see our review).

Business Class capacity will also get a boost, since the Boeing 777-300ER has 48 seats in this cabin, eight more than the Airbus A350 Medium Haul.

Premium Economy will also make a return to the Dubai route as a result of this aircraft switch, with a 28-seat cabin in a 2-4-2 configuration.

Singapore Airlines recently improved its Premium Economy service, with better Champagne, amenity kits and enhanced dining options.

Book the Cook

Singapore Airlines offers its ‘Book the Cook’ meal pre-ordering service on flights departing from Dubai, so this option is available in both directions of the journey.

While currently only Business Class benefits from the option on this route (see the menu here), it will be extended to First Class and Premium Economy too once the Boeing 777-300ER is operating.

Menus for those cabins have not yet been published, but you can still view the pre-COVID ones at the following links, which should provide an idea of what to expect:

• SQ494 First Class BTC menu (March 2020)
• SQ494 Premium Economy BTC menu (March 2020)

KrisFlyer awards

Here are the latest KrisFlyer award rates for the Singapore – Dubai route, including for the First Class cabin.

KrisFlyer Redemption Singapore ⇄ Dubai
	Saver	Advantage
Economy	29,000	63,500
Premium Economy	43,000	n/a
Business	56,500	103,500
First	86,500	148,500

In common with many of the carrier’s other First Class routes, Singapore Airlines is only offering redemptions at the Advantage rate on SQ494/495 services for the time being, though hopefully some Saver options will become available in due course.

For the time being it means you’ll have to part with a painfully large quantity of miles to enjoy the First Class experience on these Dubai flights – probably not worth considering at 143,500 miles each way for a seven-hour flight, in our opinion.

SIA has been struggling to increase its Dubai flights

Back in August 2023, Singapore Airlines announced a 57% increase in capacity on its Dubai flights, exceeding pre-COVID capacity with 11 times weekly service planned from late March 2024.

Unfortunately the airline had to walk back on its proposal, having been unable to obtain appropriate takeoff and landing slots at Dubai Airport during last year’s summer season.

In the end timings allocated to SIA for these additional flights at least 2 hours different to the ones they wanted.

It seems likely that the significant timing offset allocated by the slots regulator in Dubai pushed this new service so far outside optimal connection ‘banks’ in Singapore that it simply wasn’t feasible to proceed with whatever slots the carrier was actually given.

The situation didn’t improve this year either.

In its report for summer 2025, Dubai’s slots regulator confirmed that Singapore Airlines had requested an additional daily slot pair at the airport, which would have been sufficient for twice daily service overall, however this was unsuccessful.

For now, it appears that SIA is unable to expand its Dubai schedule beyond a single daily service. However, the reintroduction of First Class and Premium Economy, along with the return of a more spacious long-haul Business Class seat, is at least a positive development for the route.

Where else is First Class available?

Singapore Airlines currently offers its First Class or Suites product year-round on 16 routes, with two additional destinations – Auckland and Dubai – offering First Class seasonally. Auckland features it during the northern winter season, while Dubai now benefits in the northern summer season.

Here’s a list of where the products will be seen during the upcoming summer season this year.

Singapore Airlines
First Class and Suites Routes
(April 2025 – October 2025)

Route	2013 First Class	2017 Suites
Beijing Capital	SQ802/807
Delhi		SQ406/403^
Dubai	SQ494/495
Frankfurt	SQ26/25	SQ326/325
Hong Kong	SQ892/893
Jakarta	SQ950/953 SQ964/965
London Heathrow	SQ306/305 SQ318/321	SQ308/319 SQ322/317
Los Angeles	SQ12/11
Melbourne	SQ227/238 SQ237/228
Mumbai		SQ424/423*
New York	SQ26/25
Paris	SQ336/335
Shanghai	SQ828/831 SQ830/833
Sydney	SQ211/212	SQ231/222 SQ221/232**
Tokyo Haneda	SQ636/631
Tokyo Narita	SQ12/11	SQ638/637^^
Zurich	SQ346/345

^ Boeing 777-300ER First Class 23rd June 2025 – 27th July 2025
^^ May 2025 only
* Boeing 777-300ER First Class 28th July 2025 – 31st August 2025
** Boeing 777-300ER First Class during May 2025

The following airports, which had an SIA First Class or Suites option prior to COVID-19, are still not scheduled to receive these cabins through to late October 2025:

• Brunei
• Canberra (discontinued)
• Copenhagen
• Manila
• Osaka
• San Francisco
• Seoul

Singapore Airlines is bringing First Class and Premium Economy cabins back to its Dubai route, which will be a nice enhancement for travellers, thanks to a shift to four-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from 30th March 2025.

This upgrade, which also includes the return of long-haul Business Class seating, arguably offers a more premium experience compared to the current A350 Medium Haul aircraft operating on the route with regional cabin products.

While the addition of First Class is always great to see, redemption options at Advantage rates will deter most KrisFlyer members from splurging their miles – let’s hope for some Saver space in this cabin in due course.

SIA continues to face challenges in expanding its Dubai schedule due to slot constraints, but it’s good to see a product upgrade on the daily service the airline continues to operate.

(Cover Photo: Agent Wolf / Shutterstock)