It’s always a privilege to fly Singapore Airlines (SIA), especially if you’ve got money to burn. Thing is, that privilege is going to cost travellers slightly more from January 20 onwards, and we’re not talking about first class here (although that categories underwent an extreme makeover back in November).
It’s the economy section where the big changes are rolling in. Three new fare types: Lite, Standard, or Flexi, are the options that travellers will have to select from when booking a seat on economy class – for both Singapore Airlines and SilkAir. The new fare type also applies to Business Class seats.
This is all part of a new airfare pricing structure that will be introduced next month. It will affect advance seat selection, frequent flyer mileage accrual rates, baggage allowance, as well as changes and refund flexibility. And of course, the changes apply to tickets sold worldwide as well.
Here is what you can expect:
Economy
Premium Economy
Business
Besides the new pricing scheme, which introduces an additional US$5 charge for passengers that want to reserve seats, SIA and SilkAir will also be renaming their seats. For instance, “Preferred Seats” will be known as “Extra Legroom seats”, while a new category called “Forward Zone seats” – near the doors, will be introduced.
Chocking up mileage will also be easier now. Economy Class passengers on Lite fares will earn 50% of the mileage rate, while those on Standard fares and Flexi fares will earn 75% and 100% respectively. Premium Economy passengers on the Flexi tier will earn 125%, with Flexi passengers in the Business Class section getting 150% per mile.
The new changes are all part of SIA’s three-year transformation plan to combat fierce competition from low-cost carriers. Whether this achieves the desired effect remains to be seen. Only one thing is for certain: flying SIA will never be the same again.
For more information, visit singaporeair.com.
Images: Singapore Airlines
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