Singapore Airlines Sweetens Ticket Refunds with Added Value

Singapore Airlines is looking beyond the value of its airline tickets. As airlines around the world reckon with a tsunami of return ticket requests for flights cancelled in the wake of the global pandemic, Singapore Airlines is telling its customers “we want you back.”

With that in mind the luxury airline is enhancing its global travel waiver policy to offer even more flexibility that passengers will appreciate they, once again, are ready to book their travel.

Customers who purchased a ticket on Singapore Airlines or on SilkAir on or before March 15, 2020, for travel through May 2020, can retain the full value of the unused portion of their tickets as flight credits.

These can be used to book new flights through June 30, 2021. The extension gives customers the flexibility to plan, book and travel from now until then. The airline also waives no-show and rebooking fees, enhancing the full value of their flight credits.

Naturally, flyers who had their flight plans cancelled by the airline in response to the Coronavirus pandemic may want their refund executed as a cash transaction and the airline is honoring those requests in a complete and timely manner.

However, Singapore Airlines is happy to award bonus flight credits to all customers who choose to retain their tickets as flight credits. The measure is the airline’s way of thanking its customers for their support during this challenging period. Based on the original cabin class of travel, they will receive the following bonus flight credits* when making a new booking with us:

Economy Class: SGD75 ($53)

Premium Economy Class: SGD100 ($70)

Business Class: SGD200 ($141)

Suites / First Class: SGD500 ($353)

Customers who opted to keep their tickets open due to the Covid-19 outbreak will also retain the value of the unused portion of their ticket as flight credits. They will also automatically qualify for the bonus flight credits.

Similarly, customers whose flights were cancelled by SIA or SilkAir will retain the full value of the unused portion of their tickets as flight credits. They will also be awarded the bonus flight credits when rebooking their travel.

Customers who meet the above conditions, but do not wish to keep the value of their tickets as flight credits, will be offered the option of a refund. Cancellation fees and no-show fees will be waived. Customers who used miles to redeem their flight tickets will have both their miles and taxes refunded. Those who purchased their tickets using a combination of miles and cash will receive a refund as well. They will not be eligible for any flight credits.

“Besides offering cash refunds, Singapore Airlines will provide the opportunity for customers to retain their ticket value together with the added value of a bonus credit, which they can use for future travel on us,” said Joey Seow, Regional VP – Americas for Singapore Airlines. We know customers have varying needs and we believe offering different user-friendly options will help address those requirements.”

Customers who booked directly with the airline should use the online assistance request form to cancel their booking and retain its value as flight credits.

Customers who meet the criteria for the airline’s global travel waiver policy will receive a confirmation email. Other customers should allow up to two weeks for the airline to review the request. Customers booking through travel agencies should contact their agents for assistance to either retain the value of their tickets in the form of flight credits or to request for a refund.

Customers should note that if a request is submitted before the original travel date, all no-show fees will be waived.

*If the customer’s eligible ticket contains a combination of cabin classes, the bonus flight credits will be based on the higher cabin class. Customers holding partially flown tickets will only have the remaining value of their tickets retained as flight credits. They will not be eligible for any bonus flight credits.

Singapore Airlines joins a small, but growing list of airlines offering something extra to flyers who choose to receive a voucher that will allow them to rebook with the airline at a later date.

They include Qatar Airways, which is adding a 10 percent to the original fare on the face of the voucher issued. Air Lingus is also offering that deal to its now grounded passengers. Finnair is also offering the 10 percent bonus and Lufthansa is offering a 50 EUR discount to passengers who take a voucher instead of cash refund. Customers who choose to take the voucher option, however, need to be aware of the expiration policies and destination flexibilities on those vouchers.