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SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Friday (May 8) that it would increase flight frequencies between Singapore and Manchester, Milan, Munich, and London Gatwick amid “strong demand” on the routes.<\/p>\n
The airline will also launch five times weekly services to Madrid via Barcelona on Oct 26.<\/p>\n
In a news release, SIA said that it will restructure its current twice-weekly Singapore-Barcelona services, SQ388 and SQ387, to operate on the route, making Madrid SIA\u2019s 15th destination in Europe and its second in Spain.<\/p>\n
SIA will operate its Airbus A350-900 long-haul variant with 253 seats on this route.<\/p>\n
From Jul 13, Manchester services SQ302 and SQ301 will increase from five times weekly to daily, while SQ314 and SQ313, SIA’s current three times weekly Singapore-London Gatwick services, will increase to daily from Oct 25.<\/p>\n
“This will give SIA two daily services to the airport, and six flights a day to London after including the four daily services to London Heathrow,” said the national carrier.<\/p>\n
SIA’s Milan services SQ356 and SQ355 will increase from four times weekly to daily from Oct 25, while its Milan-Barcelona services, which fly three times a week, will be cancelled on Oct 27, following the launch of the new Madrid service.<\/p>\n
SIA will launch a new three times weekly service to Munich (SQ340 and SQ339) from Oct 26, bringing its total to 10 weekly services to the German city.<\/p>\n
“All flights are subject to regulatory approvals and aircraft deployment may vary due to operational reasons,” SIA said.<\/p>\n
Tickets for the new Madrid service will go on sale from June.<\/p>\n
\u201cEurope is an important market for Singapore Airlines, and these adjustments reflect our commitment to it,” said Mr Dai Haoyu, senior vice president of marketing planning at SIA.<\/p>\n
“We are seeing strong demand for travel to Europe, and increasing frequencies to key destinations such as Manchester, Milan, Munich, and London Gatwick in response.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Madrid is also an increasingly popular tourist destination, as well as a financial and business hub,” he added.<\/p>\n
Mr Lim Ching Kiat, executive vice president of air hub and cargo development at Changi Airport Group, said: ” Madrid is one of Changi’s most in-demand destinations that has yet to be served by direct flights.<\/p>\n
“Since 2022, the number of people travelling between Madrid and Singapore has grown by about 27 per cent a year, exceeding pre-COVID levels by nearly 20 per cent,” he noted.<\/p>\n
“The introduction of flight services to Madrid will strengthen Singapore\u2019s connectivity to Spain and give travellers more choices when flying to Europe.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n