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SQ and MI to charge for seat selection in Y

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  • SQ and MI to charge for seat selection in Y

    SQ competes with the ME airlines at the top end, and LCCs at the bottom.

    SIA and SilkAir to introduce new airfare pricing for economy class from Jan 2018; those in lite economy class will have to pay for advance seat selection
    Singapore Airlines and SilkAir will be introducing a new airfare pricing structure next month, with revisions to advance seat selection, frequent flyer programme mileage accrual rates, baggage allowance, and change and refund flexibility for some fare types, the airlines said in a joint statement on Friday (Dec 15). Three new fare types will be introduced for Economy Class bookings, named ‘Lite’, ‘Standard’ and ‘Flexi’.The new fare types will be introduced on Jan 20 for all tickets sold worldwide. Depending on the class of travel, customers will have up to three types of airfare to choose from when making a booking. Each will offer a combination of fare, feature and flexibility options, to provide clearer choices to customers to better fit different travel needs.

  • #2
    Singapore Airlines, SilkAir to introduce new fare types

    http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...s-2018-9500490

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    • #3
      http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg...us/fare-types/

      Seems like that the Miles accrual in the lowest booking class will be increased to 50%.

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      • #4
        Interesting that there's new earn rates as well.

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        • #5
          surprise SQ is following one of the major US carrier and now on seat selection is following LCC. Is this really the way for SIA to go?

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          • #6
            Aiyah, should book my flights after 20 Jan 2018... Never mind if cannot choose seat for free beyond 48hrs, but can earn 50% miles instead of 10% for cheapest fare...

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            • #7
              Originally posted by SQ025 View Post
              http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg...us/fare-types/

              Seems like that the Miles accrual in the lowest booking class will be increased to 50%.
              I noticed that too. May not be a bad thing. Also elite silver and up do not have to pay for seat selection. Airfare has really come down a lot for the cheapest buckets ($368 to PEK, $518 to MEL and $1178 for LAX?!) - something just has to give.

              Originally posted by flyguy View Post
              surprise SQ is following one of the major US carrier and now on seat selection is following LCC. Is this really the way for SIA to go?
              That said, it does leave a bitter taste for new customers who may be surprised at checkout. Feels cheap like BA and QF. Even UA does not charge for seat selection.

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              • #8
                This is unfortunate to hear. I hope this additional fare remains cheap and reasonable (not like $100 for advanced seat selection).

                Just one of those days when things that you take for granted becomes not...

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                • #9
                  Well, I don't read these new rules with any joy at all. SQ customers specifically like me seem to have been hurt the hardest in all of this which is hardly a great reward for such unwavering brand loyalty.

                  I always plan out my flights so that I can accrue 50k status miles per membership year in order to maintain KFEG status. That's a lot of flying when it's in Y being paid out of your own pocket (not by work). I have never selected the cheapest fares because of the low or non-existent mileage accrual. In the vast majority of bookings, I am flying Flexi Saver, booked 6-9 months in advance.

                  So what do I get in order to "better meet my travel needs"? All my mileage accruals cut to 75%. So to now maintain KFEG, either I need to fly an extra 33.3% compared to now (I already spend close to 120 hours in the air per year) or pay for full Flexi fares, which would cost me several $1000 more per year.

                  Instead, SQ chooses to give greater rewards to people who fly with the cheapest possible fares by multiplying their accrual 5-fold. I'm sure they'll stick by you 100% like I do. I'm sure they'll fly from Australia to the US via SIN.

                  Thanks for rewarding my devoted loyalty, SQ.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by SQ228 View Post
                    Well, I don't read these new rules with any joy at all. SQ customers specifically like me seem to have been hurt the hardest in all of this which is hardly a great reward for such unwavering brand loyalty.

                    I always plan out my flights so that I can accrue 50k status miles per membership year in order to maintain KFEG status. That's a lot of flying when it's in Y being paid out of your own pocket (not by work). I have never selected the cheapest fares because of the low or non-existent mileage accrual. In the vast majority of bookings, I am flying Flexi Saver, booked 6-9 months in advance.

                    So what do I get in order to "better meet my travel needs"? All my mileage accruals cut to 75%. So to now maintain KFEG, either I need to fly an extra 33.3% compared to now (I already spend close to 120 hours in the air per year) or pay for full Flexi fares, which would cost me several $1000 more per year.

                    Instead, SQ chooses to give greater rewards to people who fly with the cheapest possible fares by multiplying their accrual 5-fold. I'm sure they'll stick by you 100% like I do. I'm sure they'll fly from Australia to the US via SIN.

                    Thanks for rewarding my devoted loyalty, SQ.
                    My sentiments exactly. I do most of my flying in Y like you, and I have been KFEG for five years now, i know it doesn't mean much, but i enjoy the perks.

                    This new change will make it extremely dificult and expensive to renew my status. As you say, they are just rewarding people who have no loyalty whatsoever.

                    EDIT: just seen that you'll also only earn 100% for standard PEY, and you won't be able to upgrade to J with miles with a standard PEY fare. So in order to upgrade with miles, you'll be required to pay through the roof for flexi PEY!

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                    • #11
                      Just wondering, does anyone have the link with regards to the accrual rates and the corresponding fare class?

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by SQ228 View Post
                        Well, I don't read these new rules with any joy at all. SQ customers specifically like me seem to have been hurt the hardest in all of this which is hardly a great reward for such unwavering brand loyalty.

                        I always plan out my flights so that I can accrue 50k status miles per membership year in order to maintain KFEG status. That's a lot of flying when it's in Y being paid out of your own pocket (not by work). I have never selected the cheapest fares because of the low or non-existent mileage accrual. In the vast majority of bookings, I am flying Flexi Saver, booked 6-9 months in advance.

                        So what do I get in order to "better meet my travel needs"? All my mileage accruals cut to 75%. So to now maintain KFEG, either I need to fly an extra 33.3% compared to now (I already spend close to 120 hours in the air per year) or pay for full Flexi fares, which would cost me several $1000 more per year.

                        Instead, SQ chooses to give greater rewards to people who fly with the cheapest possible fares by multiplying their accrual 5-fold. I'm sure they'll stick by you 100% like I do. I'm sure they'll fly from Australia to the US via SIN.

                        Thanks for rewarding my devoted loyalty, SQ.
                        I am also worried about this. Need to see what exactly are the costs for these new fare buckets. For example, I'm curious if Flexi PY will be the same price as current PY (e.g. round trip to LHR PY is now around $3500) or if they will further jack it up. Reaction will depend quite a bit on how they tweak the corresponding prices for these new fare categories. So if Flexi PY costs the same as PY now, then it's fine since we get 125% miles accrual, but if they move the calibration the opposite way, then wow.

                        I'm not missing something here right. I don't seem to be able to see the actual fares for post-20 Jan 2018 new fares now on the website.

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                        • #13
                          for those who is qualifying KFEG by Y class will have plenty of downside than upside. In a way, it is a devaluation of fares-to-elite miles. I would need more than 10 trips of SIN-PVG-SIN in a year to qualify but with this change, 15 trips. take out the CNY, golden week and Xmas month (9 left), that would be 1 trip/month plus more 2 trips in every other month. Ridiculously lifeless to do so.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by SQ228 View Post
                            Thanks for rewarding my devoted loyalty, SQ.
                            Maybe this is the trigger to drop your loyalty. I'm lucky that my company pays for my business travel, much of it on SQ. But for my personal travel (of which there is quite a bit), I go for the cheapest convenient airline. List of airlines I flew over the last 12 months on personal travel (all on Y): QF, JQ, EK, TR, TG, SK, CI, UA (including 15 hours on UA38), AS, NH. I live in Singapore but it's been years since I paid out of my pocket for SQ tickets. Fly other airlines and use the savings for better hotels and meals. Savings are 4x greater for me as all my personal travel is with family.

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                            • #15
                              Unfortunately SIA is following the other airlines, such as KLM and Emirates, with their paid advance seat selection in the lowest fare class. Personally, I don't prefer to fly SIA anymore because the gap is increasingly narrowing. Well, they still have the metal cutlery and hot towels in Y class and the service is better than the average airline but I wish they would be more distinctive (I wouldn't have a problem to pay a bit more for that). Where is the romance they had in the earlier years? I recently had flights with Emirates and while the service wasn't close to that of SIA and Dubai Airport is horrible, the hard product is very good and so is the wine in Y. I also prefer the A380 over the A350. The A350 is not that silent.

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