Silkair to CNS

[Fruitcake]

Silkair to start new Cairns flights from May | Australian Aviation

The airline will fly from Singapore to Cairns via Darwin on Mondays and Thursdays, with a non-stop flight on Saturdays.


The return from Cairns to Singapore will be non-stop on Mondays and Thursdays, while those heading to the city-state or beyond on Saturdays will travel via Darwin.


The airline said the route would be flown by Boeing 737-800 aircraft with business and economy class.

 

[markis10]

Be interesting to see how it goes, small direct may work.

 

[Limewood]

Many who live in CNS have been saying for years we need another direct Asian destination/airline and SIN was top of the bill, for far too long there was one choice direct on CX and the fares are usually very expensive, how about $6K in J or $1.5K in Y to HKG return.

Of course connections are many out of SIN so a big plus and VA will be more than happy to carry domestic pax to other OZ destinations. Possibly some will do a round trip, into CNS then to our cities, or vice versa.

I do not know anyone that spoke kindly of the JQ Darwin stop over to from Japan, so Silk Air is making the same mistake except for the direct Sat night flight.

If their J class is real and unlike the JQ "star class" with no bed seats (Y+) then they are on a winner.

The flight departure times once known will be interesting too.

 

[yohy?!]

Many who live in CNS have been saying for years we need another direct Asian destination/airline and SIN was top of the bill, for far too long there was one choice direct on CX and the fares are usually very expensive, how about $6K in J or $1.5K in Y to HKG return.

Of course connections are many out of SIN so a big plus and VA will be more than happy to carry domestic pax to other OZ destinations. Possibly some will do a round trip, into CNS then to our cities, or vice versa.

I do not know anyone that spoke kindly of the JQ Darwin stop over to from Japan, so Silk Air is making the same mistake except for the direct Sat night flight.

If their J class is real and unlike the JQ "star class" with no bed seats (Y+) then they are on a winner.

The flight departure times once known will be interesting too.

J is a short haul recliner config

 

[dajop]

I am surprised this isn't a Scoot service. It's a long way in a 737 in Y, and J class is only comparable to Jetstar J class.

As a side note I think this means the SQ group serve as many international ports as the QF group on Australia.

 

[Limewood]

Short haul non recliner not good.

What is the flight time?.

 

[Denali]

I was on J Silk Air in April. I believe they have ordered new planes but no idea if delivered yet

Mini hijack for seat info:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....lkair-a320-singapore-chengdu-china-59590.html
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....lkair-a320-chengdu-china-singapore-59596.html

 

[ksthommo]

Short haul non recliner not good.

What is the flight time?.

Silk Air Press Release with the flight timings.

0140 departure from Singapore

News Releases| SilkAir

 

[TomVexille]

Flight time appears to be 6:40

 

[albatross710]

It's got to be good news. Yes the Darwin stop will be annoying for a year or so until they see the number of through passengers from CNS.

In my limited experience with MI travelling into CEB they have used this multistop strategy to build their volume. When I was booking into J on CEB it was a case of managing the days so that I avoided the DVO direction to both arrive and depart on direct SIN-CEB-SIN flights.

Next week I'm on a MI J flight into PHN and really looking forward to it. I find that their cabin staff do make a difference (IME)

Alby

 

[lc_461]

Now daily ex DRW as well, that's good. That arrival time into SIN is also pretty good connection wise.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Many who live in CNS have been saying for years we need another direct Asian destination/airline and SIN was top of the bill, for far too long there was one choice direct on CX and the fares are usually very expensive, how about $6K in J or $1.5K in Y to HKG return.

Prior to acquiring an Alaskan frequent flyer membership I'm guessing?

Silkair and Singapore Airlines will operate to seven Australian destinations – Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney – once the new flights launch in May 2015.
The airline will fly from Singapore to Cairns via Darwin on Mondays and Thursdays, with a non-stop flight on Saturdays.
The return from Cairns to Singapore will be non-stop on Mondays and Thursdays, while those heading to the city-state or beyond on Saturdays will travel via Darwin.
The airline said the route would be flown by Boeing 737-800 aircraft with business and economy class.

http://australianaviation.com.au/2014/11/silkair-to-start-new-cairns-flights-from-may/

A couple of classic comments by readers in response to the above article.

Shades of the old QF61/62 CNS-DRW-SIN vv that was operated on alternate days by the 763 & 74L. I guess MI/VA are picking up where QF left off as they recognise the need for a full service carrier from mainland capital cities (apart from BNE/SYD/MEL).

I note that the service will be starting in April which is the beginning the of the dry season in the NT. A fully laden A320 will have a restricted payload in the wet season due to having to carry more fuel for holding and alternate requirements which already frequently sees passenger bags left behind so not sure a 738 will do much better.

We've already seen JQ abandon the A320 BNE/PER which is a longer distance than DRW/SIN as having to cap a 177 aircraft at 100 pax them farm the rest of the pax off to the mothership obviously wasn't sustainable.

 

[dajop]

I note that the service will be starting in April which is the beginning the of the dry season in the NT. A fully laden A320 will have a restricted payload in the wet season due to having to carry more fuel for holding and alternate requirements which already frequently sees passenger bags left behind so not sure a 738 will do much better.]

Don't forget that the 738 Silkair operates is already less than fully loaded. It carries 162 seats, 6 less than QF do (1 less row of economy) and 14 less than VA.

 

[djd]

Among my worst travel experiences: long 3 - 4 hour stop overs on JQ CNS DRW SIN in that god-awful DRW international departure lounge in the middle of the night. (It seemed like eternity!) I hope Silk Air can do better.

 

[ksthommo]

Flights haven't been loaded to the Silkair website yet, waiting to see what the fare costs are.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Among my worst travel experiences: long 3 - 4 hour stop overs on JQ CNS DRW SIN in that god-awful DRW international departure lounge in the middle of the night. (It seemed like eternity!) I hope Silk Air can do better.

Wouldn't that be the other direction inbound to Aust as the outbound was mid-arvo with a relatively short transit?

I'd go through DRW regularly to DIL on the ADF charter and it used to get interesting when QF123 operated SYD/DRW/BOM and there would be nearly 300 QF pax plus JQ57 pax crammed into the departure area at once.

 

[Wezza]

More international flights for CNS, meanwhile in TSV...... Sigh...

 

[Limewood]

Prior to acquiring an Alaskan frequent flyer membership I'm guessing?

and UDSM and AA now but hope to move to Gold coast so covered.

 

[ksthommo]

Flights are still not listed on the Silkair website, available on the Singapore Airlines website. AUD $1014.29.