On December 18, 2023, Singapore Airlines announced its plans to expand its presence in London by launching flights to London Gatwick. The flights are set to start in June 2024. Continue reading to learn more. Singapore Airlines’ Upcoming Route...
On December 18, 2023, Singapore Airlines announced its plans to expand its presence in London by launching flights to London Gatwick. The flights are set to start in June 2024.
Continue reading to learn more.
Singapore Airlines will serve Gatwick using its A350s.
Singapore Airlines’ Upcoming Route to London Gatwick
In its announcement, Singapore Airlines said the first flight will depart Singapore on June 21, 2024, arriving in London the next day. The inaugural flight from London Gatwick to Singapore will take place on June 22, 2024. From then on, the flights will operate five times a week with the following schedule:
SQ310 / Singapore – London Gatwick / 11:55PM – 6:25AM+1 / Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun SQ309 / London Gatwick – Singapore / 10:15AM – 6:20AM+1The flights will be operated by the A350-900 and their early morning arrival in Singapore will offer good onward connectivity to other destinations in Asia as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
Singapore Airlines has A350-900s in three different configurations: medium-haul, long-haul, and ultra-long-range. The airline will use aircraft in the long-haul configuration on the flights to Gatwick. Those are equipped with a total of 253 seats including 42 (1-2-1 layout) in business class, 24 (2-4-2 layout) in premium economy class, and 187 (3-3-3 layout) in economy class.
Expanding Out of Slot-Restricted Heathrow Airport
Currently, Singapore Airlines operates four daily rotations between Singapore and London Heathrow for a total of 28 roundtrips a week. The flights are operated using a mix of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs, offering a total of nearly 1,500 seats in each direction every day. It is the only Star Alliance member operating non-stop flights between the two cities.
With London being one of the most lucrative markets in the world, it is understandable Singapore Airlines wants to expand its presence there further. Considering that slots at Heathrow are nearly impossible to get, launching flights to Gatwick seems like the next best option.
Interestingly, Singapore Airlines’ wholly-owned low-cost subsidiary Scoot used to serve London Gatwick from Singapore via Bangkok until the summer of 2022.
Singapore Airlines already serves London four times a day with its A380s.
In the past, Scoot used to offer a one-stop service to London Gatwick.
London Gatwick will be Singapore Airlines’ 14th destination in Europe. It also serves Manchester five times a week and almost a dozen European destinations outside the UK including Barcelona, Frankfurt, Milan, and Rome among others.
As for the London – Singapore market, two other airlines (both oneworld members) serve the market out of Heathrow.
British Airways flies on the route twice a day using a mix of 787s, 777s, and A380s. Qantas has fifth freedom rights on the route and operates it as part of its daily Sydney – London Heathrow via Singapore service using its A380s.
British Airways runs double daily flights between Heathrow and Singapore.
Qantas operates daily A380 flights from Sydney to London Heathrow via Singapore.
Summary
Singapore Airlines will launch flights between Singapore and London Gatwick in June 2024. While this will be the first time for the airline to operate the route, it already serves Heathrow Airport four times a day. Also, in the past, its subsidiary Scoot used to offer a one-stop service from Singapore to Gatwick via Bangkok.
Once the flights launch, London Gatwick will be Singapore Airlines’ second destination in London after Heathrow, third in the UK after Heathrow and Manchester, and 14th in Europe.
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