Singapore Airlines to launch flights to Shenzhen and Increases capacity on select routes

From 16 January 2004, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is to add a new destination to its network - Shenzhen. The thrice-weekly service to this southern Chinese city is part of the Airline's northern winter schedule that runs from the end of October 2003 to the end of March 2004. The schedule also reflects a restoration of many of the flights suspended earlier in the year.

Shenzhen will be SIA's second new destination in the current financial year. A three-times weekly direct service to Bangalore was launched on 28 August 2003.

SIA has been progressively reinstating services across its route network since June. By the end of September, SIA will have restored all frequencies to China to pre-SARS levels, with Beijing being served twice daily, Shanghai three times daily, Hong Kong five times daily, and Guangzhou five times weekly.

With the addition of Shenzhen, SIA be offering a total of 43 weekly flights to three cities in the Pearl River Delta, the other two being Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Customers travelling on SIA services to the Pear River Delta will be allowed the flexibility to return to Singapore from any of these cities; for example, they could travel on the outbound flight to Hong Kong and return from Shenzhen.

Other cities that will see more frequencies per week from the Northern Winter season include Mumbai and Auckland (both from 7 times weekly to 10), Tokyo (from 14 to 20), Osaka (from 14 to 17), Denpasar-Bali (from 18 to 28), and Jakarta (from 42 to 49).

Capacity offered in the northern winter schedule will be back to nearly the same level as a year ago.