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Singapore has announced changes to its fare bundles, which come into effect as of January 20, 2018. The new changes see Singapore introducing new types of fares for different classes of travel as well as tinker with baggage allowances, seat allocations, and mileage earning.
New Fare Types
There will be three new types of fares: Lite, Standard, and Flexi. However not all ticket classes will have all three. For instance, Economy class below will have all three:
Premium Economy tickets will only have a Standard and Flexi type of fares:
In Business Class, the three types of fares are again offered:
Finally, First and Suite class tickets will only have one type of fare:
Seat Selection
The most significant change in seat selection is that the least expensive Economy fares will have to pay to select a seat, while other Economy travelers can choose when booking. It is worth noting that for extra legroom, seats in Economy are excluded from complimentary seat selection. Selection of these seats is available to all fare types and starts from $25.
Changes To Earning
Surprisingly, the earning on some of the cheaper fares has gone up, while the earning rates on some of the more expensive Economy fares have gone down. When comparing earning of the new fare types to current Singapore earning chart, the following earning rates will apply:
- The cheapest coach fares earn 50% of flown miles, up from the current 10%
- The cheapest Premium Economy fares go from earning 110% down to 100%
When it comes to more expensive fares, things are looking a little better:
- More expensive Premium Economy fares will now earn 125% which is an increase from the current 110%
- High-end Business class tickets will now earn 150%, as opposed to the current 125% earning rate
- First and Suite class fares will now earn 200% instead of 150%
Award Changes
Singapore is also introducing several changes to its awards. First, they will be renaming their awards:
- Standard awards will now be renamed Advantage awards
- Saver awards will keep their name
While both awards will still retain their free seat selection, only Advantage awards will have the option of selecting seats within the “forward zone of the aircraft”. In addition, on non-US flights Advantage awards will still have their checked bag allowance increased to 35kg from 30kg.
Upgrades are also set to change; currently, only the most expensive Economy fares are upgradable, but going forward from January 20, 2018 both Flexi and Standard Economy fares will be upgradable. However, Singapore has also increased the cost of its upgrades. The same concept will also apply to upgrades from Premium Economy and Business class, with the cheapest fares now being ineligible for an upgrade.
Our Take
While the changes are relatively minor, the winners are people that care about mileage earning on most fares. At the same time if you regularly fly on more expensive Economy fares or even Business or First class tickets, then the changes are somewhat more positive with greater mileage earning and a couple of other perks.
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