SIA, SilkAir increase transit sources; Scoot to increase destinations

Singapore

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) and SilkAir on Monday said that customers can transit through Singapore Changi Airport from points in China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, to any destination in the SIA Group network currently operated by SIA, SilkAir or Scoot, with effect from June 22, 2020.

Ticket sales for these new destinations will be available from June 23 onwards. These are in addition to the points in Australia and New Zealand that were approved earlier.

They added that the transit flights are only for outbound journeys from the cities of Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo, Seoul, Auckland and Christchurch. Passengers will not be able to transit from other points in the SIA Group network through Singapore into these cities.

Eligible customers may book a return flight only if both the point of origin and the final destination are in the list of cities approved for transit through Singapore.

For example, customers may book a return flight for Tokyo (NRT)-Singapore-Sydney as both Tokyo (NRT) and Sydney are among the list of departure cities for transit flights. However, customers may only book a one-way outbound journey from Sydney- Singapore-Copenhagen as Copenhagen is not among the list of departure cities for transit flights.

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Customers should also book the full journey on one ticket, instead of splitting it up into separate tickets, to comply with regulatory requirements during this period. They should also ensure that they meet the entry requirements for their final destination.

In addition, transfers in Singapore are only allowed on flights between airlines within the SIA Group (Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot).

There may also be limited or no seat selection during the booking phase to meet regulatory requirements, and advance pre-paid seat selection has also been temporarily suspended for new bookings.

In line with regulations, transit and non-transit passengers will be kept apart at Changi Airport to ensure the health and safety of customers and staff. There will also be dedicated seating zones on board the aircraft to separate the transit and non-transit passengers. Upon arrival, they will also disembark in separate groups.

PPS Club members, Suites, First Class and Business Class transit passengers will not have access to the SilverKris Lounge (Business Class) at Changi Airport Terminal 3 due to the regulatory requirements, but will be invited to a premium waiting area in the transit holding area instead, where complimentary food and beverages will be provided.

Separately, budget carrier Scoot on Monday said it will reinstate flights to Guangzhou, Ipoh, Kuching and Penang this month, bringing its total number of flights to 80.

Flight to another two cities - Surabaya and Taipei - will be reinstated in July, for a total of 128 flights to eight destinations, up from the 52 flights to two cities - Hong Kong and Perth - the airline ran in April and May.

All other flights originally scheduled for the months of June and July will be cancelled. Scoot added that it will continue to adjust its network in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Customers affected by flight cancellations will have two options to claim a refund on the unused portion of their itinerary: a 100 per cent refund via their original payment method, or a 120 per cent refund in Scoot vouchers valid for 12 months.

The budget carrier is also offering customers a one-time free date change for new bookings made from June 22 to July 31 on its website, app, or WeChat mini booking site. The one-time free date change can be used up to four hours before the scheduled flight departure time. However, a fare difference may apply to the rate. Customers can also change their flight dates on the Scoot app and website without contacting a call centre, the airline said.