Singapore Airlines returns to Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane

SINGAPORE A380-841 9V-SKJ (CN 45)       File Photo

Singapore Airlines is set to resume flights to Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane for the first time since the closure of Australian and Singaporean borders. The airline will also add additional routes to Sydney as part of its new ‘minimum connectivity network’ that will run from the 8th June to the 31st July. Singapore Airlines’ regional vice president, Philip Goh, said the move was a “small first step” towards international travel, but still warned there is a “long way to go” before the meaningful return of capacity. “With Australia’s travel restrictions remaining at Level 4, these flights will provide additional cargo capacity for carriage of imports and exports between the cities and our global network, while allowing people who have an urgent and essential need to travel, or return home, to do so,” said Goh. Singapore Airlines will add flights to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney but a new Singapore-Sydney-Brisbane-Singapore circular service will be subject to regulatory approval.
The new routes are outlined in full at the bottom of this page and also include the resumption of twice-weekly operations to Auckland and once-weekly flights to Christchurch.
Other destinations served as part of the wider network include Amsterdam, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Narita, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai and Zurich. Last week, Singapore Airlines also announced it was expanding its cargo-only passenger flights to meet demand for capacity for exports out of Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. It also comes after Singapore Changi Airport announced it would lift its transit ban from 2 June, following similar announcements from Dubai and Hong Kong. Abu Dhabi currently allows transit but with customers remaining on the plane. “We are committed to re-establishing Australia’s connection to Singapore and the rest of world in a COVID-safe manner during these challenging times,” Goh said. “As we increase services, our priority remains the health and safety of our customers and crew, and we will work closely with the authorities to safeguard this in every area of our operations.” “We continue to monitor border restrictions globally and, when appropriate, will make further changes to our minimum connectivity network.”

New Singapore Airlines network

• Adelaide will be served once weekly using Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A350-900 medium-haul aircraft, with SQ279 departing Singapore on Mondays at 11:40pm and arriving in Adelaide on Tuesday at 7:55am. The return flight, SQ278 will depart Adelaide on Tuesday at 9:10am, arriving in Singapore at 3:10pm.
• Melbourne will be served twice a week with Singapore Airlines’ A350-900 medium-haul aircraft. SQ237 will depart Singapore on Monday at 11:55pm, arriving in Melbourne at 9:20am Tuesday. The return flight, SQ218, will depart late Tuesday at 11:50pm, arriving in Singapore at 5:45am the next morning.
• The second weekly service to Melbourne, SQ217 will depart Singapore at 11:10am Friday before arriving in Melbourne at 8:35pm. The return flight, SQ238 will then depart Melbourne at 9:35am on Saturday, arriving in Singapore at 3:25pm on Saturday.
• Sydney will be served five times weekly with Singapore Airlines A350-900 long-haul aircraft. Three services a week will be direct Singapore-Sydney flights, with SQ231 departing Singapore at 12:45am on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday, arriving in Sydney at 10:25am. The return flight, SQ232 will depart Sydney at 12:10pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, arriving in Singapore at 6:40pm.
• The Adelaide, Melbourne and direct Sydney services will commence from Monday, 8th June, however the new twice-weekly Singapore-Sydney-Brisbane-Singapore service will begin once regulatory approval has been received. SQ288 is planned to operate on Tuesday and Friday, with the flight leaving Singapore at 9:35am and arriving in Sydney at 7:15pm, it will then depart Sydney at 8:25pm, arriving in Brisbane at 9:55pm, before departing at 11:00pm and arriving in Singapore the next morning at 5:00am.

SINGAPORE A350-941 9V-SMI (CN 77)         File Photo

Discussions of a travel bubble between Australia and Singapore are also underway, with talks the two countries could coordinate a “green lane” with no 14-day isolation requirement upon arrival. The country’s Trade and Industry Minister, Chan Chun Sing, says he is speaking with “as many countries as possible” to negotiate a travel agreement. Successful discussions could result in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia joining China in Singapore’s green lane agreement.

Story sourced from here with additions
https://australianaviation.com.au/2020/06/singapore-airlines-returns-to-adelaide-melbourne-and-brisbane/