Waitlists are one of the quirks of the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program. When no award seats are available on the flight you want, most airlines will simply tell you there is no availability. Singapore Airlines, on the other hand, allows KrisFlyer members to “waitlist” for flights that do not currently have award availability. If the airline later decides to open up more seats, your waitlist request will be cleared. But there is a risk that this will not occur. So, how is Singapore Airlines’ track record for clearing waitlist requests?
The likelihood of your Singapore Airlines waitlist clearing depends on a whole range of factors. Of course, it is more likely to clear if the flight is not full. But there is no hard and fast rule.
In our members’ experience, waitlists are most likely to clear either shortly after making the request, or a few days before the flight.
My experience is that it either comes through within a week or two (but haven’t had any like this recently), or at the last minute, or not at all. Can vary by route, time of year etc, many factors come into play. I’ve had <36 hrs notice with several coming through so when I say last minute … it really can be last minute.
Numerous AFF members have had their requests clear successfully:
I’ve only waitlisted once this year.SIN-LAX for 2 in F.It cleared in 3 days. Cancelling the J booking was a breeze and points back into account virtually instantly.
I have had a few wait lists clear for 2 people probably about 50% hit rate. These have been mostly PER-SIN or SIN to other Asian destinations though.
But not everyone has been so lucky…
Nope, even when we took off with empty seats in the cabin I was waitlisted for, I still didn’t get my waitlist cleared. The only reason I ended up with the eventual upgrade was because at checkin I was told SQ were running a promotion and that I could pay to upgrade or use points.
I’ve got a SYD-SIN-FRA-JFK itinerary, with SYD-SIN confirmed instantly but still waitlisted for SIN-FRA and FRA-JFK with the departure date within a week.
If your Singapore Airlines waitlist request is accepted, you will receive an email with instructions to complete the booking. This generally involves calling back Singapore Airlines within a specific timeframe.
Once your waitlist is approved, it’s entirely up to you whether to confirm the booking or not. You’ll only need to pay for the seat if you decide to call Singapore Airlines and confirm the booking. If you don’t call the airline back, you won’t get the seat – but there is no cost to you.
If you can’t find award availability with Singapore Airlines, or perhaps you’re stuck with a flight that isn’t exactly what you wanted, you can waitlist for multiple flights. There is no cost to you, so there’s nothing to lose! As they say; nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Share your Singapore Airlines waitlist experience HERE.
