Half of Singapore Airlines’ Bali flights switch to the Boeing 737 MAX

Through the current summer schedule the route offers 2,022 seats and 216 Business Class seats each way every day. Across the coming winter, it averages out at roughly 1,316 seats and 122 Business Class seats a day – a 35% reduction overall, and a 43% reduction in Business Class.

More than half of all Bali departures – 441 of the 841 flights – will be operated by the narrow-body, up from a quarter of departures last winter.

The six-daily era has been a short one

When we reported the arrival of the sixth daily Bali flight in March 2023, it was the airline’s highest ever capacity to the island – 11,592 seats a week in each direction from July that year, an 18% increase on the 9,800 weekly seats Singapore Airlines and SilkAir offered between them in January 2020, before COVID.

That new sixth service was SQ948/949, and it was launched with the Boeing 737-8 MAX and deliberately awkward timings – a 9.20pm departure from Singapore for a midnight arrival in Bali, returning at 7.20am – designed to pick up long-haul connections rather than short-trip travellers from Singapore.

Capacity kept climbing from there, and today’s all-787-10 summer schedule represents the route’s highest ever capacity at 14,154 weekly seats each way.

The coming winter takes a sizeable step back from that.

Averaged across the winter, SIA will be offering around 9,200 seats a week each way – roughly 20% below the level it hit when the sixth daily flight was introduced three years ago, and around 6% below what Singapore Airlines and SilkAir were between them flying to Bali in January 2020.

A poorer passenger experience

For our readers, the cabin product is the biggest impact of this change.

Passengers on SQ934/935, SQ946/947 and SQ948/949 currently enjoy the far more spacious Boeing 787-10, with direct aisle access from every Business Class seat and better legroom in Economy.

From late October, all three rotations shift to a narrow-body cabin that falls short in almost every category. Here’s a summary of the key differences to be aware of.

The key advantage of the Boeing 787-10 is that all Business Class passengers have direct aisle access – unlike the MAX’s awkward 2-2, 1-1, 2-2 configuration, where two-thirds of window passengers (those in 11A/K or 14A/K) must disturb their neighbours to reach the aisle.

The two solo seats (12B and 12J) are the clear exceptions, offering excellent space and privacy – but with only two available per flight, and advance selection reserved for PPS Club members until 96 hours before departure, good luck securing one.

Couples can probably worry less, provided they can secure either a ‘throne’ seat each (12B and 12J), or one of the pair arrangements.

Additionally, the MAX offers smaller entertainment screens in both cabins, and provides less legroom and more limited device charging options in Economy.

Seats do at least convert into fully flat beds, now guaranteed in Business Class on all SIA flights network-wide.

Here are our dedicated articles covering SIA’s Boeing 737 MAX cabins, to help you know what to expect on board these less popular aircraft.

You can always check which aircraft type and Business Class seat model Singapore Airlines plans to operate network-wide in our continually-updated Business seats by route guide.

Why the downgauge?

The short answer is probably that Singapore Airlines now simply has more MAXs and no more wide-bodies.

As we reported in May, the carrier’s long-haul fleet is shrinking for the first time in six years, with the Boeing 737-8 MAX its sole new aircraft type arriving this financial year. Five deliveries will take the narrow-body fleet from 21 to 26 aircraft, a 24% increase in a single year, as SIA finally begins the last push towards its 29-strong order after years of Boeing production delays.

Those aircraft have to fly somewhere, and the natural home for them is the regional network of one to six hour sectors. Bali, at around 2 hours 45 minutes, sits comfortably in the middle of that band.

It’s a pattern repeating across the map. In June we reported that the MAX would serve Manila for the first time from August 2026, while Cairns goes daily from December 2026 downgauging from the Airbus A350 MH to the narrow-body in the process.

KrisFlyer awards

Bali has historically been one of the more redeemable routes in the KrisFlyer programme, helped by six daily wide-body flights and regular appearances on the monthly Spontaneous Escapes list.

With a third of the winter’s Business Class seats removed, and three of the six timings offering just 10 seats up front, Saver space in the front cabin will be considerably harder to find between late October and late March.

Most of those 10 seats are also likely to be taken by long-haul connecting passengers arriving from Europe, the USA and Australia, potentially leaving very little to release as award inventory.

KrisFlyer Redemption Rates One-Way Singapore ⇄ Bali
Airline / Cabin		Saver	Advantage	Access
	Economy	8,000	16,500	23,500
	Business	22,000	40,500	52,500 to 83,500
	Economy	4,500	9,000	n/a

Taxes and fees on this route come in at around S$65 in the Singapore – Bali direction and S$17 in the Bali – Singapore direction, though do note that you’ll also be hit with Singapore’s new SAF Tax for bookings made from 1st October 2026 for travel on or after 1st January 2027.

Bali does occasionally appear on SIA’s monthly Spontaneous Escapes list, with 30% off Saver awards.

This brings one-way redemption rates down to 15,400 miles in Business Class and 5,600 miles in Economy Class.

If you’re set on redeeming in Business Class, the three continuing Boeing 787-10 rotations – SQ936/937, SQ938/939 and SQ944/945 – are where you’ll want to look first, bearing in mind each of those has a three-week gap in the season.

PPS Club members retain slightly better access thanks to additional award inventory, and remain the only passengers able to lock in those solo ‘throne’ seats on the 737 MAX in advance.

If you already hold or intend to book a firm ticket in an eligible Economy booking class, here’s how many miles it will then cost you to upgrade to Business Class on this route, assuming Saver upgrade award availability.

Upgrade using KrisFlyer miles Singapore ⇄ Bali
Upgrading to →	Business Saver
Existing booking ↓
Economy Standard (Class: M, H, W)	18,000
Economy Flexi (Class: Y, B, E)	16,500

As usual, upgrading with miles is not a great deal, unless perhaps your company is paying for an Economy fare on your behalf!

Wide-bodies return for summer 2027

Thankfully there is good news if you’re planning a Bali trip further ahead, with currently published schedules showing SIA’s Singapore – Bali schedule returning to six daily Boeing 787-10 flights from 28th March 2027, restoring the route to full wide-body operation and the same capacity it offers today.

That fits the pattern we saw last year, with SIA deploying its largest regional aircraft during Bali’s peak northern summer season, when European and North American visitors arrive in the dry season and premium demand is at its highest, then dials capacity back over the quieter winter months.

As always though, summer season aircraft allocations remain provisional at this stage. SIA typically finalises them in December or January, and what’s loaded today isn’t always what actually flies when the schedule is so far into the future.

Singapore Airlines is shifting half its Bali flights to the Boeing 737-8 MAX from late October 2026 – SQ934/935, SQ946/947 and SQ948/949 – while also trimming the route to five daily flights for 83 days of the 154-day winter season.

Total seat capacity falls by 21% compared with last winter, and by around 35% against what’s flying today, with Business Class capacity down by a third across the season. Averaged over the winter, the airline will be offering slightly fewer weekly seats to Bali than it and SilkAir managed between them before COVID – on a route that only reached six daily flights in July 2023.

For Economy passengers on a short three-hour hop, the MAX is perfectly ok, if a little tighter. For anyone hoping for a flat bed with direct aisle access – or a Saver award in Business Class – the three continuing Boeing 787-10 rotations are the ones to aim for, and they’ll no doubt be in higher demand than ever.

Wide-body service returns across the board from late March 2027, provisionally at least.

(Cover Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)