Singapore Airlines (SIA) has introduced an A350-900 medium haul wide-body aircraft on the Hyderabad to Singapore sector. The A350 services are available from Thursday to Sunday.
The airline will continue to operate its B737-8 narrow-body services through the remainder of the week. The inaugural service SQ 523 will depart from Hyderabad International Airport at 11.10 pm on October 30.
“The introduction of a wide-body aircraft on this sector also opens up a wider range of opportunities and capabilities for SIA Cargo,” Sy Yen Chen, General Manager India for Singapore Airlines, has said.
Addressing a press conference, he said that the airline made good progress in achieving pre-pandemic levels globally. It, however, faced the challenge of dirsuptions in traffic to North Asia.
“Over the past few months, GHIAL has witnessed significant growth in international passenger traffic. This is an indicator of a rebound in international travel post the pandemic,” Pradeep Panicker, CEO of GHIAL, said, commenting on the launch of the new service.
The A350-900 features higher ceilings, larger windows, an extra wide body delivering more space and comfort, and lighting designed to reduce jetlag.
The airline said it will restore 100 per cent of its pre-pandemic frequency from India, and will operate 96 flights weekly from eight cities across the country.