In each of the last two winter seasons, Singapore Airlines’ Jakarta route has received a First Class boost, with the airline doubling the number of Boeing 777-300ERs plying the busy city pair each day, but interestingly that’s not the case this time around.
From 25th October 2026 through to 27th March 2027, only two of the airline’s nine daily rotations to and from Jakarta will feature the 2013 First Class cabin on the Boeing 777-300ER, a simple continuation of the summer season pair, which is unusual:
- SQ950/953
- SQ964/965
The other seven daily flights are operated by Airbus A350s, which have no First Class cabin.
That’s half the four daily First Class options the route offered last winter. It’s also the first northern winter season in five years with only two daily First Class flights.
With four seats in each 777-300ER First Class cabin, that means eight First Class seats per day in each direction, down from 16 last winter and the winter before it. Across the five-month season, that adds up to around 1,200 fewer First Class seats each way.
(Photo: R.R. Aditya / Shutterstock)
We touched on this in our First Class and Suites by route update last month. This route is the cheapest way to reach SIA’s most exclusive lounge, though, so it deserves a closer look.
The schedule
Here’s how Singapore Airlines’ Jakarta schedule looks for the northern winter 2026/27 season, with the two First Class rotations highlighted.
Singapore Jakarta
25 Oct 2026 – 27 Mar 2027
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
SQ950 777-300ER |
||||||||
| SIN 06:50 |
CGK 07:35 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:45 | |||||||||
|
SQ952 A350 LH |
||||||||
| SIN 07:40 |
CGK 08:30 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:50 | |||||||||
|
SQ956 A350 LH |
||||||||
| SIN 09:20 |
CGK 10:15 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:55 | |||||||||
|
SQ958 A350 LH |
||||||||
| SIN 12:30 |
CGK 13:20 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:50 | |||||||||
|
SQ960 A350 LH |
||||||||
| SIN 15:15 |
CGK 16:05 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:50 | |||||||||
|
SQ962 A350 LH |
||||||||
| SIN 16:10 |
CGK 17:05 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:55 | |||||||||
|
SQ964 777-300ER |
||||||||
| SIN 17:20 |
CGK 18:10 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:50 | |||||||||
|
SQ966 A350 LH |
||||||||
| SIN 18:40 |
CGK 19:30 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:50 | |||||||||
|
SQ968 A350 MH |
||||||||
| SIN 22:40 |
CGK 23:25 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:45 | |||||||||
– Flights with First Class
Jakarta Singapore
25 Oct 2026 – 27 Mar 2027
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ951 A350 MH |
||||||||
| CGK 05:25 |
SIN 08:05 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:40 | |||||||||
|
SQ953 777-300ER |
||||||||
| CGK 08:40 |
SIN 11:20 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:40 | |||||||||
|
SQ955 A350 LH |
||||||||
| CGK 09:30 |
SIN 12:15 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:45 | |||||||||
|
SQ957 A350 LH |
||||||||
| CGK 11:10 |
SIN 13:55 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:45 | |||||||||
|
SQ959 A350 LH |
||||||||
| CGK 14:15 |
SIN 17:10 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:55 | |||||||||
|
SQ961 A350 LH |
||||||||
| CGK 17:00 |
SIN 19:45 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:45 | |||||||||
|
SQ963 A350 LH |
||||||||
| CGK 18:10 |
SIN 20:55 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:45 | |||||||||
|
SQ965 777-300ER |
||||||||
| CGK 19:10 |
SIN 21:55 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:45 | |||||||||
|
SQ967 A350 LH |
||||||||
| CGK 20:25 |
SIN 23:10 |
||||||||
| Duration: 01:45 | |||||||||
– Flights with First Class
The two First Class rotations offer an early morning and an early evening departure from Singapore, with morning and evening return options from Jakarta.
Those timings also make a same-day return possible in First Class, flying out on SQ950 and back on SQ965, with over 11 hours in Jakarta and The Private Room available at both the start and end of the journey, for 64,000 miles at Saver rates.
Do be aware though that The Private Room’s 5.30am opening time each morning offers a very limited quick breakfast window before you’ll have to hot-foot it to T2 for boarding on SQ950. Checking in the night before, having dinner in The Private Room, then staying in one of the transit hotels is a strategy many use instead.
Singapore Airlines does sometimes switch aircraft at short notice, as Hong Kong’s two-month First Class boost in September and October showed. We’ll let you know if any additional 777-300ER flights appear on the Jakarta route over the coming months.
Breaking the pattern
Here’s how First Class has been spread across SIA’s Jakarta flights, season by season, since before the pandemic.
| Singapore Airlines First Class Singapore ⇄ Jakarta |
|||
| Season | Flights with First Class |
First Class seats per day* |
Flight numbers |
| Winter 2019/20 (pre-COVID) |
5 of 9 | 40 | SQ950/953 SQ952/955 SQ958/959 SQ960/961 SQ966/967 |
| Winter 2021/22 | 2 of 3 | 8 | SQ950/953 SQ964/965 |
| Summer 2022 | 3 of 5 | 12 | SQ950/953 SQ964/965 SQ968/951 |
| Winter 2022/23 | 3 of 5 | 12 | SQ950/953 SQ964/965 SQ968/951 |
| Summer 2023 | 3 of 6 |
12 | SQ950/953 SQ964/965 SQ968/951 |
| Winter 2023/24 | 3 of 6 | 12 | SQ950/953 SQ964/965 SQ968/951 |
| Summer 2024 | 2 of 6 | 8 | SQ950/953 SQ964/965 |
| Winter 2024/25 | 4 of 8 |
16 | SQ950/953 SQ960/961 SQ964/965 SQ968/951 |
| Summer 2025 | 2 of 9 |
8 | SQ950/953 SQ964/965 |
| Winter 2025/26 | 4 of 9 | 16 | SQ950/953 SQ962/963 SQ964/965 SQ968/951 |
| Summer 2026 | 2 of 9 | 8 | SQ950/953 SQ964/965 |
| Winter 2026/27 | 2 of 9 | 8 | SQ950/953 SQ964/965 |
* In each direction. SIA’s 2013 First Class cabin on the Boeing 777-300ER has four seats. The Boeing 777-300 (non-ER) aircraft used on the route pre-COVID had eight 2006 First Class seats each.
Through 2022 and 2023, three daily Jakarta rotations featured First Class all year round – SQ950/953, SQ964/965 and SQ968/951. There was no real seasonal variation.
From summer 2024, a different pattern emerged. SQ968/951 lost its First Class cabin, leaving two daily options in the summer. That doubled to four each winter as extra 777-300ER rotations joined the mix – SQ960/961 and SQ968/951 in winter 2024/25, then SQ962/963 and SQ968/951 last season.
This time, the summer arrangement simply rolls over into the winter. Only 22% of SIA’s daily Jakarta flights feature First Class this season. That’s the lowest share of any winter season in the table, and it matches the low of the last two summers.
The contrast with the route’s pre-COVID heyday is even starker. In winter 2019/20, five of SIA’s nine daily Jakarta flights were operated by the Boeing 777-300, each with eight First Class seats. That’s 40 First Class seats per day in each direction, so this winter’s eight is a staggering reduction of 80%.
Why no winter boost?
A tighter Boeing 777-300ER fleet might be a factor here. As we reported in May, the airline is trimming its 777-300ER fleet from 22 to 21 aircraft during the current financial year.
The type is also picking up more long-haul flying this winter. Frankfurt’s SQ326/325 swaps the Airbus A380 for a 777-300ER from late October, and Auckland’s SQ281/282 moves up to the type from the A350 Long Haul.
Short regional hops like Jakarta have typically soaked up spare 777-300ER time between long-haul trips. When the type is stretched elsewhere, these shorter routes may lose out.
The cheapest way into The Private Room
Why does First Class on a flight of under two hours even matter so much?
Because a First Class ticket to Jakarta, whether for cash or miles, also gets you into The Private Room at Changi T3. It’s SIA’s most exclusive lounge, open only to passengers travelling in First Class or Suites on the airline’s own flights.
(Photo: MainlyMiles)
At 32,000 KrisFlyer miles one-way for a Saver award, a First Class redemption to Jakarta is the cheapest way in with miles.
Hong Kong is next, at 47,500 miles, but that route also reverts to a single daily First Class flight (SQ892/893) from 25th October, after its temporary doubling of First Class capacity in September and October.
Between them, the two cheapest routes into The Private Room will offer just 12 First Class seats per day in each direction this winter.
The Private Room is available either before departure or after arrival at Changi, or both, when you’re travelling in First Class or Suites. A round-trip Saver award to Jakarta for 64,000 miles therefore lets you visit at both ends of the trip.
(Photo: MainlyMiles)
Jakarta flights depart from Terminal 2, where SIA’s new First Class SilverKris lounge is worth a visit in its own right. Still, The Private Room is only a five-minute Skytrain ride away in T3, and many First Class passengers make the trip for the elevated experience there.
The flight itself is admittedly brief, so you won’t get long to enjoy the onboard product. On this route, it’s really the ground experience you’re paying for when redeeming.
Saver awards even harder to find
The catch is that Saver awards now come from a pool of just eight First Class seats per day in each direction. Snagging one this winter will be even harder than usual.
When Saver space isn’t available, the price jumps to the Advantage rate of 60,500 miles one-way, almost double. At a valuation of 1.8 cents per mile, that’s almost S$1,100 worth of miles for a flight of under two hours – very hard to justify, even with The Private Room thrown in.
For comparison, Saver First Class and Suites awards on much longer flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi and Mumbai cost only slightly more than that, at 61,500 miles.
Here are the KrisFlyer award rates for the route.
| KrisFlyer Redemption Rates One-Way Singapore ⇄ Jakarta |
||||
| Airline / Cabin | Saver | Advantage | Access | |
 |
Economy Class |
8,000 |
16,500 |
23,500 |
|
Business Class |
22,000 |
40,500 |
52,500 to 83,500 |
|
First / Suites Class |
32,000 |
60,500 |
112,500 |
Taxes and fees apply in addition to miles and typically total around S$65 from Singapore to Jakarta and around S$19 in the return direction.
Redemptions made for travel on or after 1st January 2027 are also subject to Singapore’s new SAF tax. For premium cabins on this short Southeast Asian hop, though, it’s only S$4 extra in the ex-Singapore direction.
If you’re set on a Saver award, flexibility is key. Check both First Class rotations in both directions, keep an eye on when award seats first open for booking if you have advance plans, and never rule out Saver space appearing closer to departure – it sometimes does.
One more tip – always check First Class when redeeming on this route, even if you’re planning to fly Business Class.
I recently needed to travel on a date when Business Class was only available at the Advantage rate of 40,500 miles. Thankfully I remembered to check First Class, and found a Saver award was available (and this was just a few days before departure), at 32,000 miles.
That’s 8,500 miles less than an Advantage award in Business Class, with a better seat and The Private Room thrown in. A Saver First Class award on this route is only 10,000 miles more than a Business Class Saver, so if your timings work with one of the two 777-300ER rotations, it’s actually always worth a look.
SIA’s 2013 First Class
If you do manage to snag a seat, you’ll be flying SIA’s 2013 First Class. It’s an intimate four-seat cabin in a 1-2-1 layout at the front of the Boeing 777-300ER.
(Photo: MainlyMiles)
Despite its age, it remains one of our favourite products. We reviewed it in detail back in 2018, on a journey that included both a long-haul and a short-haul sector.
All-new First Class on the horizon
Looking further ahead, there’s another change coming. SIA’s all-new First Class is due to debut from mid- to late 2027, on either refitted Airbus A350 ULR aircraft or the Boeing 777-9, whichever enters service first.
Both have already slipped, which is a kind term to use for the 777-9, now over five years behind its original schedule.
(Image: Singapore Airlines)
The A350 ULRs mainly fly SIA’s nonstop US routes, so they won’t help Jakarta.
The 777-9 is a different story. Boeing currently expects first deliveries in 2027, with Lufthansa as launch customer. SIA could be further back in the queue, so its first aircraft may not arrive until later in the year. With 31 on order, the first wave is expected to largely replace the ageing 777-300ERs.
Jakarta is unlikely to be among the very first routes for the new product, which will probably debut on flagship long-haul services. However, short regional hops like this slot neatly between long-haul duties. Jakarta has also been a regular fixture for SIA’s 777 First Class for years, from the 2006 seats on the 777-300 before the pandemic to today’s 2013 product on the 777-300ER.
It may take a while, but it would be no surprise to see Jakarta pick up the new First Class sooner or later, once the 777-9 fleet builds up.
Summary
Singapore Airlines is keeping First Class on just two of its nine daily Jakarta rotations this winter, SQ950/953 and SQ964/965. That’s a big cut, because in each of the last two northern winters, there were four.
It halves First Class capacity on the route to eight seats per day in each direction, well short of the 40 seats per day on offer before COVID. It’s also the first winter with only two daily First Class flights since the mid-pandemic period (2021/22).
For award chasers, that’s unwelcome news.
Jakarta remains the cheapest way into The Private Room at 32,000 miles for a Saver award. Hong Kong is also back to a single daily First Class flight, so Saver seats on both routes will likely be in high demand this winter. Paying the Advantage rate of 60,500 miles is tough to justify for such a short trip.
Longer term, the Boeing 777-9 and its new First Class cabin should eventually find their way to Jakarta, but don’t expect that to happen overnight.
(Cover Photo: Matt Str)