Effective March 31 next year, Singapore Airlines will add three weekly flights between Johannesburg and Singapore, bringing its total flights on the route to 10 per week.

The airline’s daily flights will continue as usual, operating Singapore-Johannesburg-Cape Town-Johannesburg-Singapore.

Initially, the carrier introduced three supplementary flights a week during July and August this year and Market Development Manager, Sally George, said the strong loads during this period had motivated the airline to permanently increase capacity.

“Since the supplementary flights stopped operating in August our existing loads have been extremely busy. It is clear that additional capacity is needed on the route.”

George added that Africa was a strong growth focal point for Singapore Airlines from both an inbound and outbound perspective. She was also positive about the time slots for the new flights, explaining that the later 22h30 departure was a less congested boarding time at OR Tambo International Airport and that the onward connections from Singapore were excellent at that time.

"We have listened to our customers and travel trade partners’ feedback to increase capacity on this route," said Kian Hwa Chua, GM Central and Southern Africa for Singapore Airlines.

Andrew Stark, MD of Flight Centre Travel Group, said any increase in capacity was good news for the South African consumer as it offered them more choice and would stimulate the economy. He said capacity increases on the route were also strategically important for South Africa’s long-term relationships with the east.

The three additional flights (SQ481) will depart from OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 22h30 and arrive in Singapore the following day at 14h55. The return flights from Singapore (SQ482) will depart at 16h35 and arrive in Johannesburg at 21h10 on the same day.