Last week we reported on Singapore Airlines reinstating flights between Singapore and Riyadh from June 2026, after a 12-year hiatus in services, with four times weekly operation using two-class Airbus A350 Medium Haul aircraft.

Each Airbus A350 flight on this route is fitted with 40 of the carrier’s 2018 long-haul Business Class seats, and while this will represent SIA’s longest route with that product the great news is that generous award space is loaded for the first eight months of operation.

This allows you travel to Saudi Arabia for 32,000 miles one-way in Economy Class or 68,000 miles one-way in Business Class.

The schedule

First of all, here’s a recap of the schedule for this new four times weekly service.

Singapore Riyadh
2 June 2026 – 24 October 2026

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ498 A350 Medium Haul
SIN 18:20		RUH 21:45
Duration: 08:25

Riyadh Singapore
2 June 2026 – 24 October 2026

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ499 A350 Medium Haul
RUH 23:00		SIN 12:15*
Duration: 08:15

* Next day

The same days of operation, with slightly different timings, continue during the northern winter 2026 / 27 season right through to late March 2027, so Riyadh is a year-round service for the carrier.

Flights are now loaded

This afternoon, Singapore Airlines loaded the full schedule of flights on this route for booking, including KrisFlyer redemption space, and we’re seeing generous award availability through to the last bookable date, 31st January 2027 (355 days from now).

Each day Singapore Airlines loads fresh award availability on all its flights departing in 355 days, with slightly different timings depending on the origin city for your routing, but for flights originating in Singapore or in Riyadh it’s 8am Singapore time you need to target.

This is often the best opportunity to snag a pair of Saver Business Class awards even on some of the carrier’s most popular long-haul flights, so do keep it in mind if you’re able to plan trips a year in advance, whatever your preferred destination.

KrisFlyer award space

As a reminder from our previous article, here are the one-way KrisFlyer redemption rates you’ll pay by cabin on the Singapore – Riyadh route (Zone 10).

KrisFlyer Redemption Rates One-Way Singapore ⇄ Riyadh
Airline / Cabin		Saver	Advantage	Access
	Economy	32,000	66,500	86,500
	Business	68,000	122,000	152,500 to 244,000

Interestingly SIA will offer the only KrisFlyer award option within the group to and from Saudi Arabia – Scoot excludes its Jeddah service from redemption bookings.

As you can see, you’re looking at 68,000 KrisFlyer miles each way for a saver award seat in Business Class.

The good news is that Singapore Airlines has loaded a significant quantity of award space on these new flights, with most services boasting four immediately confirmable Saver awards using KrisFlyer miles in Business Class, including on the inaugural flight at the time of writing.

Taxes and fees come to S$68 in the Singapore – Riyadh direction and SAR 173 (around S$58) in the return direction.

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 – an extra S$25.60 in Business Class and S$6.40 in Economy Class in the Singapore – Riyadh direction – so try to redeem future-dated flights before then if you can.

In total, there are 1,120 Saver Business Class awards up for grabs using KrisFlyer miles over the first eight months of this service.

That’s because the airline is loading four immediately confirmable Business Saver seats on every single flight at this stage.

For many, that means the rare ability for the whole family to fly to and from Saudi Arabia in Business Class between June 2026 and January 2027, if you have enough miles.

Remember that if there are five or more of you travelling, book for four passengers initially at the Saver rate, then the remaining passengers at the Advantage rate on a separate booking, otherwise it prices all of you at the higher redemption level!

Note: PPS Club members may see more award space than KrisFlyer members.

Cash fares

While award space is generous on this route, do also consider a cash fare, with SIA loading some competitive round-trip deals between Singapore and Riyadh on selected dates:

• Economy Class: From S$487
• Business Class: From S$2,688

Fares like these can actually make even a Saver Business Class redemption marginal value compared to most routes, and if you can score round-trip Economy Class for under S$500 that’s definitely much better than forking out 64,000 miles instead.

A huge supply of saver Business Class award availability has been loaded on SIA’s new Riyadh route, practically from day one until 355 days from now, giving you a great opportunity to redeem at 68,000 miles per person, even when travelling as a group or family.

This will be the carrier’s longest route to feature the 2018 Regional Business Class, but despite it’s tighter dimensions compared to the carrier’s long-haul products it’s still a flat bed with direct aisle access from every seat.

Also remember you can redeem 355 days out, with new seats loaded at 8am Singapore time each day, so this is one route to keep an eye on if you are planning to visit Saudi Arabia in 2027, as next year’s winter season award space is progressively loaded.

(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)