Singapore Airlines CBR direct flights are go

When people start their sentences with ‘I’m not a racist, but….’ you don’t need to hear the rest of the sentence because it will simply prove the point that they are a racist.

Similarly, when people say ‘I’m not being negative, but….’ you can put the house on them being overly negative about change. The hallmark of conservatives everywhere is to reflexively oppose change without giving it any consideration. The current example is all of the old buggers handing out anti tram propaganda at shopping centres (if I ever see one under 60 years old, I might listen to his argument, and it is ALWAYS a ‘he’).

Ryoma said :

I am very happy to hear that this is going ahead, and I agree with other comments that many people will be happy to avoid Sydney Airport. And having Singapore Airlines doing the link will mean that Canberra gets promoted in countries currently unware of it.

Something else that I don’t think the general public has picked up on (beyond the tourism aspect) is that all of the planes SQ will be fliying have cargo holds. As a result, it will be possible for local exporters to air freight goods for export. This could be especially useful to any products needing freshness such as food, fresh flowers, or the like. And of course the reverse is true too, from both Singapore and NZ. In any case, it should help to promote trade on a broader scale in both directions.

I can’t think of any locally produced foods that could be exported and our supermarkets are already awash with “fresh” flowers from Singapore.
NZ exports an increasing amount of fruit and veg to Australia so I don’t see any opportunity to export there either.
No, I am not being negative, simply realistic.

I am very happy to hear that this is going ahead, and I agree with other comments that many people will be happy to avoid Sydney Airport. And having Singapore Airlines doing the link will mean that Canberra gets promoted in countries currently unware of it.

Something else that I don’t think the general public has picked up on (beyond the tourism aspect) is that all of the planes SQ will be fliying have cargo holds. As a result, it will be possible for local exporters to air freight goods for export. This could be especially useful to any products needing freshness such as food, fresh flowers, or the like. And of course the reverse is true too, from both Singapore and NZ. In any case, it should help to promote trade on a broader scale in both directions.

Ahh, they have changed the free tour since my wife did it. You do now clear customs but I still think there is not much foot action

If your transit stop in Singapore is 6 hours or over, you can do the free Singapore city tour, courtesy of the airport. Tour takes 2.5 hours but you are not allowed to get off the bus anywhere as you don’t actually clear Immigration and CUstoms

JC said :

dungfungus said :

A four hour wait at Changi is a big turn-off for economy class travellers who are travelling beyond Singapore.

Exactly my point, there is one reason people MAY choose other carriers. But as mentioned there could be worse places to be. For any long waits in Changi, I just walk the terminals for some exercise. I can walk T3-T1-T2 in about 45-60 minutes.

I would prefer a four hour wait in Changi compared to a transfer the international terminal in Sydney then a massive queue at immigration and then another stopover somewhere else on the way to London for instance. I also like to have a bit of a gap between flights to allow for the late arrival of our first flight and to be able to get off the plane for a while and stretch out before continuing. We have spent many hours at Changhi with our young kids and we have never had any trouble passing the time. You can access playgrounds, a butterfly house, cinema, good food, shopping etc. Last time we even had little fish eat our feet at the spa and they loved it!

I think being able to avoid Sydney airport for international departures will be a major drawcard for these flights and not just with Canberrans, but many in the region.

JC said :

dungfungus said :

JC said :

dungfungus said :

A four hour wait at Changi is a big turn-off for economy class travellers who are travelling beyond Singapore.

Exactly my point, there is one reason people MAY choose other carriers. But as mentioned there could be worse places to be. For any long waits in Changi, I just walk the terminals for some exercise. I can walk T3-T1-T2 in about 45-60 minutes.

Would I be correct in saying that if one decided to fly from Canberra to Singapore and then catch a British Airways (my favourite) on to London they would have to exist the transit lounge, claim their baggage and queue up with the other BA passengers to board again?
I arrived in Frankfurt once without my luggage which was off-loaded at Vienna but not transferred to another airline despite the travel agent and airport personnel assuring me it would be.
I didn’t get the lost luggage for another two days and totally missed the conference (it was boring anyway I was told) and as compensation I was flown home first class (still have my monogrammed pyjamas).

By rights if both flights are on the same booking then SQ will transfer your bags to BA. If on separate bookings the accepting airline is within their rights to carry your bags as far as your transit point, SIN in this case. Though many will interline for you. Qantas however will only interline bags to other OneWorld carriers, and certain partner airlines, but not SQ (except if on the same booking)

So assuming your SQ and BA flights are on the same booking (or SQ interline to BA if separate) all you would need to do is get off the SQ flight (which will arrive at either terminal 2 or 3) then make your way to terminal 1 where BA leaves from (they use the pier closer to T3) go through security, which in SIN is at the gate then board. Luckily in Singapore all the terminals are connected so you can walk it, or get the transit train to speed things up.

That said in the example you gave you will have a long wait. The SQ CBR-SIN flight is due to arrive around 6am, and both BA flights to London, BA12 and BA16 don’t leave until around 11pm. Yes BA has two flights a day and both leave within half an hour of each other. So if BA is your fav, your probably better off flying to Sydney and get BA16 all the way from SYD-LHR via SIN. Or plan to do something in Singapore for the day.

Thanks for that JC.
Looks like I will stick to BA16 and transit from Canberra via Murrays Coaches.
Most grand announcements the current government make have a Mickey Mouse user outcome once they are analysed.

Mess said :

British Airways and Singapore Airlines are two different alliances (Oneworld & Star Alliance) so they wouldn’t thru-check your luggage. If you went from say Singapore Airlines to Lufthansa, Swiss Air or another Star Alliance carrier then your bags would probably be checked through.

It is a bit more complex than that.

As mentioned above if your flights are all on the same booking, then the carrier accepting baggage is obliged to transfer your bags to your next carrier, regardless of alliance. The accepting airline is also the one responsible for getting your bag to your destination if it goes missing.

There are some get out for airlines, mostly relating to times between ‘connecting’ flights, think 24 hours is considered the maximum, and of course in countries like Australia when connecting from international to domestic, you must collect your baggage so that breaks the link anyway. Though many airlines will still through tag to domestic locations if on the same booking. But the accepting airline is not responsible for the bag after the break.

The accepting airline also needs to charge excess baggage charges if applicable and pass money onto subsequent airlines, hence the voucher system, though there are rules around which airlines baggage allowance is used.

Then of course some airlines despite not being in the same alliance have interline agreements. I am pretty certain Singapore and Qantas have one, but Thai and Qantas don’t for example. But if on the same booking it is not an issue anyway.

dungfungus said :

JC said :

dungfungus said :

A four hour wait at Changi is a big turn-off for economy class travellers who are travelling beyond Singapore.

Exactly my point, there is one reason people MAY choose other carriers. But as mentioned there could be worse places to be. For any long waits in Changi, I just walk the terminals for some exercise. I can walk T3-T1-T2 in about 45-60 minutes.

Would I be correct in saying that if one decided to fly from Canberra to Singapore and then catch a British Airways (my favourite) on to London they would have to exist the transit lounge, claim their baggage and queue up with the other BA passengers to board again?
I arrived in Frankfurt once without my luggage which was off-loaded at Vienna but not transferred to another airline despite the travel agent and airport personnel assuring me it would be.
I didn’t get the lost luggage for another two days and totally missed the conference (it was boring anyway I was told) and as compensation I was flown home first class (still have my monogrammed pyjamas).

By rights if both flights are on the same booking then SQ will transfer your bags to BA. If on separate bookings the accepting airline is within their rights to carry your bags as far as your transit point, SIN in this case. Though many will interline for you. Qantas however will only interline bags to other OneWorld carriers, and certain partner airlines, but not SQ (except if on the same booking)

So assuming your SQ and BA flights are on the same booking (or SQ interline to BA if separate) all you would need to do is get off the SQ flight (which will arrive at either terminal 2 or 3) then make your way to terminal 1 where BA leaves from (they use the pier closer to T3) go through security, which in SIN is at the gate then board. Luckily in Singapore all the terminals are connected so you can walk it, or get the transit train to speed things up.

That said in the example you gave you will have a long wait. The SQ CBR-SIN flight is due to arrive around 6am, and both BA flights to London, BA12 and BA16 don’t leave until around 11pm. Yes BA has two flights a day and both leave within half an hour of each other. So if BA is your fav, your probably better off flying to Sydney and get BA16 all the way from SYD-LHR via SIN. Or plan to do something in Singapore for the day.

dungfungus said :

JC said :

dungfungus said :

A four hour wait at Changi is a big turn-off for economy class travellers who are travelling beyond Singapore.

Exactly my point, there is one reason people MAY choose other carriers. But as mentioned there could be worse places to be. For any long waits in Changi, I just walk the terminals for some exercise. I can walk T3-T1-T2 in about 45-60 minutes.

Would I be correct in saying that if one decided to fly from Canberra to Singapore and then catch a British Airways (my favourite) on to London they would have to exist the transit lounge, claim their baggage and queue up with the other BA passengers to board again?
I arrived in Frankfurt once without my luggage which was off-loaded at Vienna but not transferred to another airline despite the travel agent and airport personnel assuring me it would be.
I didn’t get the lost luggage for another two days and totally missed the conference (it was boring anyway I was told) and as compensation I was flown home first class (still have my monogrammed pyjamas).

British Airways and Singapore Airlines are two different alliances (Oneworld & Star Alliance) so they wouldn’t thru-check your luggage. If you went from say Singapore Airlines to Lufthansa, Swiss Air or another Star Alliance carrier then your bags would probably be checked through.

JC said :

dungfungus said :

A four hour wait at Changi is a big turn-off for economy class travellers who are travelling beyond Singapore.

Exactly my point, there is one reason people MAY choose other carriers. But as mentioned there could be worse places to be. For any long waits in Changi, I just walk the terminals for some exercise. I can walk T3-T1-T2 in about 45-60 minutes.

Would I be correct in saying that if one decided to fly from Canberra to Singapore and then catch a British Airways (my favourite) on to London they would have to exist the transit lounge, claim their baggage and queue up with the other BA passengers to board again?
I arrived in Frankfurt once without my luggage which was off-loaded at Vienna but not transferred to another airline despite the travel agent and airport personnel assuring me it would be.
I didn’t get the lost luggage for another two days and totally missed the conference (it was boring anyway I was told) and as compensation I was flown home first class (still have my monogrammed pyjamas).

JC said :

What I find with SQ is they are a well oiled machine, but when something slips they get lost easily. Silly little things mostly, but shows to me their service is mechanical.

My flight the other day on SQ, again a silly little thing. Flying business, guy next to me orders a hot chocolate, gets served in a mug. I order a cup of coffee and ask for it to be in a mug, as their cup size is so small so always need two. Nope just threw them. Hostie had to go to the front, saw her talking to the boss and came back answer was no, coffee gets served in cup, but we will refill it for your sir.

Well oiled, but please do not vary from the script. (though points for asking)

dungfungus said :

A four hour wait at Changi is a big turn-off for economy class travellers who are travelling beyond Singapore.

Exactly my point, there is one reason people MAY choose other carriers. But as mentioned there could be worse places to be. For any long waits in Changi, I just walk the terminals for some exercise. I can walk T3-T1-T2 in about 45-60 minutes.

JC said :

spades said :

Apart from being obsessed with Qantas Frequent Flyer, name one reason why anyone would fly to Asia or Europe via Qantas from Canberra.

Frequent flyer is a very good reason actually. I am a lifetime Gold with Qantas, which has it’s own perks, some advertised some not. Lounge access is good, I also often find when flying in economy I have no one sitting next to me as Qantas have blocked the seat (this is meant to be a platinum perk, but seems is extended to lifetime gold). Also I have a good record at upgrades too, one route I fly regularly I pay economy both ways and the points are generally enough to upgrade one of those legs.

As for why you would choose SIA over Qantas, would do that if flying to somewhere Qantas didn’t fly to directly out of Sydney. But wouldn’t for example fly to Bangkok, or anywhere in China/Hong Kong/Japan via Singapore as the extra routing would make it not worth it.

Also personal opinion here but I actually find the Qantas service far better than SQ, based on my experiance of many flights on both carriers. What I find with SQ is they are a well oiled machine, but when something slips they get lost easily. Silly little things mostly, but shows to me their service is mechanical. Whereas Qantas sees to be a lot more genuine and personal. Could tell some tales of great Qantas customer service, again silly little things, but they make all the difference.

To London it is about even stevens I reckon. Yes Qantas is an extra stop and it is via Dubai (yuk dislike that airport), but with SQ and the Canberra flight the first connecting London flight means a 4 hour wait in Singapore. Yeah could be worse places, but still that is 4 hours, so means total travel time is much the same as going via Sydney or Melbourne.

The return is much the same, latest London flight arrives 7pm, so 4.5 hour wait, so again nullifies the extra flight on Qantas.

Then of course SIA will only be 4 times a week.

So really this is good news and I wish SIA the best. It doesn’t mean however that it is the solution to all International travel needs to Asia or Europe. People will still have reason and desire to fly on other carriers.

Anyway must go, I am in Asia at the moment and have a flight to catch. Oddly it is on SQ, an A330 to SIN for a few days then home. Wish for the direct flight now!

A four hour wait at Changi is a big turn-off for economy class travellers who are travelling beyond Singapore.

JC said :

Frequent flyer is a very good reason actually. I am a lifetime Gold with Qantas, which has it’s own perks, some advertised some not. Lounge access is good, I also often find when flying in economy I have no one sitting next to me as Qantas have blocked the seat (this is meant to be a platinum perk, but seems is extended to lifetime gold). Also I have a good record at upgrades too, one route I fly regularly I pay economy both ways and the points are generally enough to upgrade one of those legs.

Hardly a reason to choose QF over SIA.

As for why you would choose SIA over Qantas, would do that if flying to somewhere Qantas didn’t fly to directly out of Sydney. But wouldn’t for example fly to Bangkok, or anywhere in China/Hong Kong/Japan via Singapore as the extra routing would make it not worth it.

You didn’t explain why. Why wouldn’t it be worth it? I would rather transit in Singapore than Sydney to go to Bangkok. If I transited in Sydney I’d still need to bother with immigration and customs. If I transited in Singapore I’ll literally just wait in the transit area then board the next flight. The Sydney option is far more inconvenient.

Also personal opinion here but I actually find the Qantas service far better than SQ, based on my experiance of many flights on both carriers. What I find with SQ is they are a well oiled machine, but when something slips they get lost easily. Silly little things mostly, but shows to me their service is mechanical. Whereas Qantas sees to be a lot more genuine and personal. Could tell some tales of great Qantas customer service, again silly little things, but they make all the difference.

Disagree, and I have flown more Qantas flights than SIA.

To London it is about even stevens I reckon. Yes Qantas is an extra stop and it is via Dubai (yuk dislike that airport), but with SQ and the Canberra flight the first connecting London flight means a 4 hour wait in Singapore. Yeah could be worse places, but still that is 4 hours, so means total travel time is much the same as going via Sydney or Melbourne.

Can you re-read your response again? You actually have not explained why you would prefer QF over SIA to LHR. You still have an extra stop whereas I only have 1 in SIN. Let’s say travel time is the same, why on earth would it be more convenient having 2 stops over 1? And stops in Sydney and Dubai versus one in Singapore. You must be joking.

Then of course SIA will only be 4 times a week.

SIA flights to SIN depart in the evening. It allows business travelers to complete one full business day before flying out. One can argue that you would make a late evening flight out of Sydney if you flew early enough, but (as someone who has traveled internationally for work), I would much rather knock off from work at 5 or 6pm, have dinner with workmates and head to the CBR airport late at night for my flight to SIN. I don’t want to be stressing out trying to catch my 6pm CBR-SYD flight and hope to god I get enough time to get through immigration for my SYD-wherever flight.

It doesn’t mean however that it is the solution to all International travel needs to Asia or Europe. People will still have reason and desire to fly on other carriers.

Yes but you haven’t told me why. You said with QF you can fly to LHR in about the same time with more stops at worst stopovers. You mention you prefer stopping by Sydney rather than Singapore to go to Bangkok (again, why? you need to go through customs/immi in Syd both ways which makes it more hectic and undesirable).

spades said :

Apart from being obsessed with Qantas Frequent Flyer, name one reason why anyone would fly to Asia or Europe via Qantas from Canberra.

Frequent flyer is a very good reason actually. I am a lifetime Gold with Qantas, which has it’s own perks, some advertised some not. Lounge access is good, I also often find when flying in economy I have no one sitting next to me as Qantas have blocked the seat (this is meant to be a platinum perk, but seems is extended to lifetime gold). Also I have a good record at upgrades too, one route I fly regularly I pay economy both ways and the points are generally enough to upgrade one of those legs.

As for why you would choose SIA over Qantas, would do that if flying to somewhere Qantas didn’t fly to directly out of Sydney. But wouldn’t for example fly to Bangkok, or anywhere in China/Hong Kong/Japan via Singapore as the extra routing would make it not worth it.

Also personal opinion here but I actually find the Qantas service far better than SQ, based on my experiance of many flights on both carriers. What I find with SQ is they are a well oiled machine, but when something slips they get lost easily. Silly little things mostly, but shows to me their service is mechanical. Whereas Qantas sees to be a lot more genuine and personal. Could tell some tales of great Qantas customer service, again silly little things, but they make all the difference.

To London it is about even stevens I reckon. Yes Qantas is an extra stop and it is via Dubai (yuk dislike that airport), but with SQ and the Canberra flight the first connecting London flight means a 4 hour wait in Singapore. Yeah could be worse places, but still that is 4 hours, so means total travel time is much the same as going via Sydney or Melbourne.

The return is much the same, latest London flight arrives 7pm, so 4.5 hour wait, so again nullifies the extra flight on Qantas.

Then of course SIA will only be 4 times a week.

So really this is good news and I wish SIA the best. It doesn’t mean however that it is the solution to all International travel needs to Asia or Europe. People will still have reason and desire to fly on other carriers.

Anyway must go, I am in Asia at the moment and have a flight to catch. Oddly it is on SQ, an A330 to SIN for a few days then home. Wish for the direct flight now!

JC said :

dungfungus said :

henryans said :

Lets see how long this lasts, any predictions?
Remember Tiger airways?

Impulse?
Rex?
I think the then ACT Liberal government shelled out many millions of dollars for a huge mechanical turbulence device at the southern end of the main runway to “assist” one of these airlines.
It would be interesting to learn what financial incentives (if any) the current government is giving away to get the latest photo opportunity.

The government assisted impulse in building the maintenance hanger that is closest to the terminal. Though before they moved in Qantas purchased them, maintenance of the 717’s stayed in Newcastle and Impulse became the core of Jetstar.

The federal government helped fund an extension to the runway to allow a longer take off space which allows for offset departures, this required a blast fence at the southern end. Sure your not mixing the two?

JC, why do you always “look for the fifth leg on the cat” whenever I post anything?.
You obviously read what I said as you have confirmed it but then you branch off looking for a conspiracy.

henryans said :

Lets see how long this lasts, any predictions?
Remember Tiger airways?

Definitely not the same. Half of the reason why this is awesome is that it is Singapore Airlines, not any other airline. It makes all the difference. As I’ve mentioned SIA gives passengers a world-class hub and airline (don’t take my word for it, read up on SIA and SIN airport reviews and ratings).

Tiger doesn’t really offer true transits to other destinations. As we have repeatedly said, SIA will allow us to fly to a quite a few destinations in Europe and Asia. It is not a secret that airlines make a lot of money from business travelers. SIA has the potential to woo foreign diplomats who regularly travel because of shorter travel times and cheaper fares – SIA is generally cheaper than QF overall. Always have been. A lot of these diplomats also fly business class, something that Tiger don’t really offer.

Apart from being obsessed with Qantas Frequent Flyer, name one reason why anyone would fly to Asia or Europe via Qantas from Canberra.

Kim F said :

Spades has it wrong as far as current transfers through Sydney to an international flight. There is no need to collect baggage as your airline takes care of that via check-in in Canberra.

That my be true. I’ve only done this once and am not 100% certain of this. HOWEVER, I know for sure that on the way back I was required to take my bags from the carousel to go through customs. So while it’s possible that they check through bags from Canberra, it’s definitely not the case coming back.

Kim F said :

Spades has it wrong as far as current transfers through Sydney to an international flight. There is no need to collect baggage as your airline takes care of that via check-in in Canberra!

Not always. Qantas will only transfer your bags if your international leg is on a OneWorld carrier, partner airlines OR your domestic and international flights are on the same booking. If not then you need to collect and make your own way to international. Been this way for about 4 or 5 years.

Virgin Australia does much the same.

dungfungus said :

henryans said :

Lets see how long this lasts, any predictions?
Remember Tiger airways?

Impulse?
Rex?
I think the then ACT Liberal government shelled out many millions of dollars for a huge mechanical turbulence device at the southern end of the main runway to “assist” one of these airlines.
It would be interesting to learn what financial incentives (if any) the current government is giving away to get the latest photo opportunity.

The government assisted impulse in building the maintenance hanger that is closest to the terminal. Though before they moved in Qantas purchased them, maintenance of the 717’s stayed in Newcastle and Impulse became the core of Jetstar.

The federal government helped fund an extension to the runway to allow a longer take off space which allows for offset departures, this required a blast fence at the southern end. Sure your not mixing the two?

Spades has it wrong as far as current transfers through Sydney to an international flight. There is no need to collect baggage as your airline takes care of that via check-in in Canberra.

I think this is a great start but I do feel a bit sorry for those who do the whole Singapore-Wellington bit as the transit stop in Canberra won’t feature any shops to browse as they will need to remain in a quarantined part of airport. A small price to pay !

henryans said :

Lets see how long this lasts, any predictions?
Remember Tiger airways?

Tiger Airways is hardly a comparable case – under its previous incarnation, it simply was a broader failure. The only reason we don’t have Jetstar or Tiger flying into Canberra now domestically is the fact that the big two know Canberra is a safe market to exert their duopoly power together with their full service, rather than

I think the new Singapore service will actually do quite well, as long as the prices on average remain comparable with what one can pay flying via Sydney and Melbourne (no doubt the average economy fare will be a reasonable amount above the $650 return talked about yesterday).

Like Spades, the prospect of only one change in Singapore to get anywhere in Europe, Asia, or a lot of other destinations (although potentially with some relatively long connections in Singapore – which may frustrate some) is going to be pretty tempting, as long as the price is reasonable.

After recently going through Changi Airport (which is such a pleasant airport to visit) and also that dump known as Sydney Airport, I know I’ll certainly use the service if the price is right on my next trip.

spades said :

As a mainly international traveler, this is excellent news.

Canberra has a healthy jet setting community due to the diplomat, overseas student and growing migrant communities. Does Qantas/Virgin think travelers to Europe or Asia would prefer to transit via Sydney?

Think about it.

A LHR flight is now just 1 stop away.

There are so many more flight options from SIN. I can now fly to more destinations to Asia/Europe with just 1 hop (as opposed to 2 if going via SYD). France/Italy/Spain with just one stopover…whuuuutttt!!!! 🙂

The number of hops is one thing, stopping over at SYD is another. SYD Domestic to International terminal transfers give us Canberrans the worse experience…..

Annoyance 1: The terminals are physically in 2 different locations which makes it an inferior experience.

Annoyance 2: As you need to go through immigration/customs in SYD T1, you need to take your bags from the domestic carousel and go through the lengthy check-in process in T1.

Now I’d only have to go through the check-in process once in Canberra. I’d transit in SIN airport but I’ll remain in the transit area. No mucking around with bags and immigration when I get to SIN. I suspect immi/customs will be much more pleasant in CBR airport due to only having one intl flight.

Button line is Qantas has got nothing on SIA for Canberra travelers due to the crappy transit process in SYD. I’ve always hated it that’s why I normally take the bus up to SYD when going overseas.

Re Qantas and Virgin I have no doubt in the would they would want a bit of the action but as you have worked out the main benifit to these flights are the connections in Singapore.

Without those connections you only are flying point to point passengers which to Singapore is not that significant. The vast majority of people who pass through Changi are in direct transit or are using Singapore as a stopover to somewhere else.

So for Qantas if they flew to Singapore ex Canberra like sq are doing then who are they going to connect to? BA who’s flights to LHR leave in the evening, think Finair to Helsinki, Emirates to Dubai, Sri Lankan to Colombo l, that’s about it. Compared to SQ with 60+ destinations not to mention Star Alliance carriers too.

Interestingly Qantas wanted to setup a regional full service carrier in Singapore and who shot down in flames for it, here is a perfect case in point why it would have been a great plan. It would have given them someone to connect to.

As for Virgin being part owned by Singapore Airlines and Air NZ maybe it would have made sense for them to fly the route, feeding into SQ in Singapore. But for them they don’t have a sufficiently large enough wide body fleet and also think Asian travellers inbound would prefer SQ over virgin Aus, even though imo Virgin Aus wide body product is far better. Would also think Virgin not being a Star Alliance carrier would hurt them too, so SQ is the logical choice.

Next maybe Cathay Pacific for northern Asia. Some have mentioned Emirates but problem with them is Canberra needs a smaller aircraft and they don’t have any small enough which could do it non stop. Plus Asia is where most of the connecting action is.

henryans said :

Lets see how long this lasts, any predictions?
Remember Tiger airways?

Impulse?
Rex?
I think the then ACT Liberal government shelled out many millions of dollars for a huge mechanical turbulence device at the southern end of the main runway to “assist” one of these airlines.
It would be interesting to learn what financial incentives (if any) the current government is giving away to get the latest photo opportunity.

Postalgeek said :

Only over nighters to/ from Singapore :-/. Fine for ompaloompas who can stretch out and sleep, but I dont sleep well I n planes. Would rather fly during the day and enjoy a comfortable bed at the end. But that’s just me…

I guess the Wellington link has something to do with it.

Wellington has a bit to do with it, but the main reason for the overnight timings is the arrival in Singapore. It is prime time for connections to Asia and beyond. Likewise the departure is times to pickup inbound Asian connections. Also works out nicely for the Wellington leg too.

Without these connections, plus the addition of Wellington passengers the flights are not viable. Not that many people fly to Singapore as a destination. Most are going somewhere else or stopping in Singapore on their way to somewhere else.

As a mainly international traveler, this is excellent news.

Canberra has a healthy jet setting community due to the diplomat, overseas student and growing migrant communities. Does Qantas/Virgin think travelers to Europe or Asia would prefer to transit via Sydney?

Think about it.

A LHR flight is now just 1 stop away.

There are so many more flight options from SIN. I can now fly to more destinations to Asia/Europe with just 1 hop (as opposed to 2 if going via SYD). France/Italy/Spain with just one stopover…whuuuutttt!!!! 🙂

The number of hops is one thing, stopping over at SYD is another. SYD Domestic to International terminal transfers give us Canberrans the worse experience…..

Annoyance 1: The terminals are physically in 2 different locations which makes it an inferior experience.

Annoyance 2: As you need to go through immigration/customs in SYD T1, you need to take your bags from the domestic carousel and go through the lengthy check-in process in T1.

Now I’d only have to go through the check-in process once in Canberra. I’d transit in SIN airport but I’ll remain in the transit area. No mucking around with bags and immigration when I get to SIN. I suspect immi/customs will be much more pleasant in CBR airport due to only having one intl flight.

Button line is Qantas has got nothing on SIA for Canberra travelers due to the crappy transit process in SYD. I’ve always hated it that’s why I normally take the bus up to SYD when going overseas.

Lets see how long this lasts, any predictions?
Remember Tiger airways?

Looks like a decent schedule also. The Wellington schedule means its easy to have a 4 day weekend in Wellington. Same for kiwis looking to visit Canberra for a weekend away.

Only over nighters to/ from Singapore :-/. Fine for ompaloompas who can stretch out and sleep, but I dont sleep well I n planes. Would rather fly during the day and enjoy a comfortable bed at the end. But that’s just me…

I guess the Wellington link has something to do with it.