Singapore Airlines is upgrading one of its four daily Brisbane services to feature its long-haul cabin products from 1st November 2026, which many will welcome thanks to the return of the airline’s spacious 2013 Business Class seats and Premium Economy cabin to the route.
It also puts Brisbane on the map for the carrier’s all-new closed-door Business Class product, sometime between its launch in mid-2026 and fleet-wide retrofit completion in late 2030.
(Photo: Shutterstock)
SIA last flew its Airbus A350 Long Haul aircraft on this route in October 2022, but it was a regular option on at least one daily Brisbane service pre-pandemic.
The aircraft change
From 1st November 2026, the SQ265/266 flight pairing will transition from an Airbus A350 Medium Haul aircraft to the Airbus A350 Long Haul variant, which features the airline’s 2013 Business Class seats and Premium Economy cabin.
Overall seat capacity on the route will fall marginally, by around 4%, but Business Class capacity will actually increase, with 14 additional seats per week in each direction thanks to the A350 Long Haul’s larger premium cabin configuration.
This marks a shift from both 2022 and pre-pandemic operations, when it was the SQ245/246 service that operated with the three-class A350 Long Haul configuration on this route, not SQ265/266.
The SQ265/266 service holds some significance as it was the last Brisbane flight to have its daily frequency restored post-pandemic, upgrading from four times weekly to daily service just a few months ago, in mid-June 2025.
(Photo: Brian Bukowski)
Brisbane’s history of long-haul products
Singapore Airlines’ Brisbane operations in 2018 saw much more extensive long-haul product deployment, with all four daily flights featuring long-haul Business Class seats (either the 2013 J or now-retired 2006 J configuration).
While the 2018 Regional Business Class (which progressively replaced the long-haul seats) is technically newer, many passengers find it narrower and less comfortable compared to the older 2013 long-haul seats.
The schedule
Singapore Airlines operates four flights per day on the Brisbane route, with the SQ265/266 rotation upgrading to the Airbus A350 Long Haul from 1st November 2026, as shown in the following schedule tables.
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Brisbane
From 1st November 2026
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
SQ255 A350 MH |
||||||||
| SIN 00:55 |
BNE 10:45 |
||||||||
| Duration: 07:50 | |||||||||
|
SQ265 A350 LH |
||||||||
| SIN 07:05 |
BNE 16:55 |
||||||||
| Duration: 07:50 | |||||||||
|
SQ245 A350 MH |
||||||||
| SIN 09:55 |
BNE 19:45 |
||||||||
| Duration: 07:50 | |||||||||
|
SQ235 A350 MH |
||||||||
| SIN 21:35 |
BNE 07:15* |
||||||||
| Duration: 07:40 | |||||||||
* Next day
Singapore Airlines
Brisbane Singapore
From 1st November 2026
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ256 A350 MH |
||||||||
| BNE 09:10 |
SIN 15:10 |
||||||||
| Duration: 08:00 | |||||||||
|
SQ236 A350 MH |
||||||||
| BNE 14:35 |
SIN 20:25 |
||||||||
| Duration: 07:50 | |||||||||
|
SQ266 A350 LH |
||||||||
| BNE 18:10 |
SIN 00:05* |
||||||||
| Duration: 07:55 | |||||||||
|
SQ246 A350 MH |
||||||||
| BNE 23:25 |
SIN 05:05* |
||||||||
| Duration: 07:40 | |||||||||
* Next day
This offers daytime service from the Lion City to Queensland, with an evening return flight.
Consistency for long-haul transit passengers
The timing of SQ265 to Brisbane and SQ266’s return to Changi make these flights ideal for long-haul connectivity.
SQ265 connects with arrivals from London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Paris, Amsterdam, Zurich, Rome, Johannesburg and Cape Town, all popular origin points for Australia-bound travelers, plus selected services from India and China.
SQ266 from Brisbane offers onward connections to London Heathrow, Zurich, Rome, Manchester, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and cities in India and North Asia.
This connectivity profile makes the flight a prime candidate for long-haul cabin products. Many passengers on these services are undertaking journeys exceeding 22 hours, so maintaining a consistent, spacious seat in Business Class throughout, or having Premium Economy available on both sectors, is a significant selling point.
(Photo: MainlyMiles)
It eliminates the perceptible ‘downgrade’ that currently exists for long-haul travellers when stepping aboard the shorter Singapore – Brisbane leg.
Singapore is Brisbane Airport’s second-busiest international route, after Auckland. According to Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff in 2024, “more than half of all visitors from India to Brisbane travelled via Singapore Airlines”.
Indians represented the largest group of non-Australian passport holders arriving into Brisbane on Singapore Airlines flights in 2024, followed by Singaporeans and British citizens, underscoring the airline’s important role in bringing international tourists to Queensland.
KrisFlyer award redemptions
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer members can redeem miles for flights between Singapore and Brisbane at the following award rates per person, one-way:
| KrisFlyer Redemption Rates One-Way Singapore ⇄ Brisbane |
||||
| Airline / Cabin | Saver | Advantage | Access | |
 |
Economy Class |
29,000 |
60,500 |
78,500 |
|
Premium Economy |
53,500 |
n/a |
69,500 to 89,500 |
|
Business Class |
72,000 |
103,500 |
129,500 to 207,000 |
Taxes and fees apply in addition to miles and typically total around S$102 from Singapore to Brisbane and S$97 in the return direction.
This is higher than many other routes to and from Singapore because Australia levies both arrival and departure taxes on international passengers.
Note that redemptions made on or after 1st April 2026, for travel on or after 1st October 2026, will also be hit with Singapore’s new SAF tax on this route, so try to redeem future-dated flights before then.
New long-haul Business Class launching next year
Singapore Airlines will introduce its long-awaited closed-door suite-style Business Class on the Airbus A350 Long Haul from the second quarter of 2026. The airline plans to retrofit all of these aircraft by the end of 2030, though take it with a pinch of salt – if history is any guide, these programmes always take longer than promised!
While it may not be among the first routes to see the new seats, provided Brisbane retains the A350 Long Haul it will eventually have the latest products, in common with Sydney and Melbourne, both of which have flights operated by this aircraft type.
Hopefully we will have more news on this exciting new product’s deployment on the network following the launch event, which is scheduled for the first half of next year.
Summary
Singapore Airlines’ reinstatement of long-haul cabin products to Brisbane from November 2026 is a positive development for the route, particularly benefiting the many passengers connecting through Changi on journeys to and from Europe, South Africa, and the Indian subcontinent.
The upgrade of SQ265/266 to A350 Long Haul configuration will allow many travellers to have consistent premium cabin products throughout their journey, avoiding the current step-down in comfort on the Brisbane sector in many cases.
Looking further ahead, Brisbane’s position on the A350 Long Haul network also puts it in line for Singapore Airlines’ highly anticipated new closed-door Business Class suites, expected to begin rolling out across this aircraft type from mid-2026 through to late 2030.
For a route that once saw long-haul products on all four daily flights back in 2018, this is a welcome step in the right direction.
(Cover Photo: MainlyMiles)