Singapore Airlines Considers “Flights to Nowhere” to Encourage Bookings
Joe Cortez September 15, 2020
To get flyers back on aircraft without worrying about international regulations from the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore Airlines is reportedly considering offering a “flight to nowhere.” Passengers would be ferried on a flight departing and arriving at Singapore Changi Airport, potentially paid for in part with tourism credits.
Singapore Airlines is potentially considering a plan to offer “flights to nowhere” in order to get paying passengers on aircraft once more. The Straits Times reports the luxury carrier is planning flights that would depart from and land at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), starting in late October 2020.
Three Hour Flights Would Launch for Domestic Passengers
According to the newspaper, the idea was first launched by Singapore Air Charter, who approached Singapore Airlines about partnering on the airplane rides. Each flight would be expected to take around three hours, suggested on the airline’s Airbus A350. The talks have since lost momentum, but Singapore Airlines could be moving forward in a new partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board.
Although Singapore Airlines has operated “flights to nowhere” in the past, this latest initiative is fueled by public demand to travel. A survey conducted by Singapore Air Charter found 75 percent of flyers would be willing to pay for such a flight, at prices of around $211 for an economy seat and $432 for a business class seat.
The original plan called for “staycation” bundles for the nowhere-bound flyers, complete with airport shopping vouchers, limousine transfers and hotel packages. But a partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board could open up the use of public travel credits to pay for flights, reducing the price of the airplane ride for domestic tourists.
A spokesperson for the airline declined to comment specifically about the plans, rather saying that they are considering a number of ideas.
“Singapore Airlines is considering several initiatives that would allow us to continue engaging both our customers and members of the public,” the airline said in a statement to the Straits Times. “We will make an announcement at the appropriate time if we go ahead with these plans.”
“Flights to Nowhere” Gain Popularity During COVID-19 Pandemic
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has closed down borders and forced travelers to stay “safer at home,” “flights to nowhere” have picked up popularity. In August 2020, Taiwanese carrier EVA Air offered one aboard their famous “Hello Kitty” aircraft, while All Nippon Airways offered a 90-minute sightseeing flight aboard one of their Airbus A380 “Flying Honu” aircraft.
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Stupidest idea ever.
I enjoy flying. But I enjoy flying TO somewhere (and it's a lot less enjoyable to fly home LOL), not flying just for the sake of flying. Heck, at this point, I'm almost willing to put up with flying somewhere like Japan, Thailand or Sing and put up with 14 days of quarantine just to get the heck out of here (here being California) and leave all of the political madness behind.
I note the comment about letting vouchers to be used to " obtain tickets to places they really want or need to go." Well that's sort of difficult at the moment, as there's a lot of places that won't let Singaporeans in, and in any event to most places there is a $2000 fee for quarantining in a hotel when returning home. The flights to nowhere don't have this same problem. As an aside Qantas just launched a 7 hour "flight to nowhere" out of Sydney and it sold out in just 10 minutes!
So... I get the "joy" of passing through immigration, checking in, passing through airport security, queuing up in the waiting room to board, just so I can ride around in an economy seat for 3 hours, to land, wait to deplane, then pass through immigration again? Wow! And to think I used to think that this was a royal pain in the arse when I did it one or two times a week. Yes, Changi is a fabulous airport. They ought to let folks in to shop. But fly? Why not give me a super cheap fare to where I want to go? You don't eliminate your losses but you cut them. Or, if the government is going to subsidize something, how about subsidizing me to go fly instead of giving it to the airlines?
Well, it’s one way to extract money from a government just to keep some employees employed, a few people entertained, and share values to stay up. But consider instead giving people travel vouchers with the same value, allowing them to obtain tickets to places they really want or need to go. Then it becomes a bottom-up infusion of cash that spreads further into the economy than simply a gift to the airline to offer joy-rides that have no collateral benefit.