Singapore Airlines is set to double its first-class capacity to and from the City of Sails ( Auckland), adding the Boeing 777-300ER to its second daily service to Auckland Airport(AKL). The airline already offered first class on one of its everyday services; this move will see its second service also have the premium cabin.

This coming northern hemisphere winter season will see SQ add its second daily service with the upgraded 777-300ER, which features first class; this is an upgrade from its current Airbus A350-900 long-haul configuration to the 777-300ER. This is specific to flight SQ281, which is a midnight departure from the City State, with a mid-afternoon arrival into New Zealand’s largest city.

Singapore Airlines Adds More First Class Seats On Its Flights To Auckland

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Singapore Airlines is a key player on flights to and from New Zealand to Asia, with the airline planning a third daily flight to Auckland from October. While this third flight will be operated by the A350, which does not have first class, the other two services will be onboard the 777-300ER until January, when the A380 steps in and replaces one 777 per day flight.

Comparing SQ’s services to this time last year, this was just a single daily flight, which featured first class (SQ285/268). This was operated for three months with the Boeing widebody before being upgraded to the A380 for the peak travel months of January through to March.

This season, Singapore will proudly offer more first-class seats than this time last year, lifting its overall premium cabin availability across its network to Auckland. The move from the A350 to the 777 also sees an increase in business class and premium economy capacity. Economy class will see a slight reduction of seats (just three).

More Premium Seats On Offer To Auckland

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As described by Mainly Miles, the first class ‘suite’ is configured in a 1-2-1 layout onboard the 777-300ER, and includes a large void between the middle pair of seats to enable cabin crew to pass through the cabin. These seats were first introduced in 2013. These are vastly different from the A380, which includes the 2017-designed suite, which is one of the most luxurious first-class experiences available, including a double bed.

Alongside the upgrade to Auckland services, SQ is also adding more flights to its second New Zealand gateway, Christchurch (CHC), where year-round it maintains a regular one a day service to Singapore. Across the northern winter, SQ will once again add additional flights to the largest airport in the country’s South Island.

This season, the airline will offer up to 12 flights at its peak, an increase of 11 which were offered across the same season last year. These flights will be complemented by the recent announcement that Air New Zealand will return with flights to Singapore, taking off from October. Air NZ also offers daily flights to SIN from Auckland.

Singapore Airlines Is The Largest Operator Between New Zealand And Singapore

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The recent move from Singapore to add the 777-300ER instead of the A350 on its route to Auckland comes at a time when seasonal demand pushes the need for more flights to and from Singapore to NZ.

Air New Zealand is also cashing in on this with the increase to double daily services throughout this period (NZ and SQ are joint-venture partners). SQ will retain the highest capacity in its recent history between SIN and AKL, with this being the best premium offering since the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The 777-300ER will take to the skies multiple times a day to Auckland from October, alongside one A350 Long Haul configured flight, through to mid January, before one of the 777 flights is upgraded to the double-decker.