Capital Express Route

The Capital Express Route was an air route operated by Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Wellington via Canberra. It linked the capitals of three countries – Singapore, Australia and New Zealand – hence the name.[1] The route was launched on 21 September 2016 using the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, and the carrier became the first airline with flights between Canberra and Wellington.[2][3][4][5]

Map of the Capital Express Route

A report by Australia's Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed that the average load factor for the sector between Singapore and Canberra was about 83% in the early months of the service.[6]

On 24 January 2018, the carrier announced a restructuring of the route which saw the sector between Canberra and Wellington being delinked. From 1 May 2018, Canberra was served via Sydney operating on a Singapore-Sydney-Canberra-Singapore routing. From 3 May 2018, Wellington was served via Melbourne on a Singapore-Melbourne-Wellington-Melbourne-Singapore routing.[7][8][9] Since 1 November 2019 till its suspension, flights to Wellington were operated with the Airbus A350.[10][11]

On 14 September 2020, it was announced that both cities would be suspended from regular service due to a drop in demand arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

References
  1. "'Capital Express' Service To Connect Singapore, Canberra And Wellington". Singapore Airlines. 20 January 2016.
  2. "Singapore Airlines Launches 'Capital Express' Service To Canberra And Wellington". Singapore Airlines. 21 September 2016.
  3. "SINGAPORE AIRLINES TO MAKE HISTORY WITH NEW 'CAPITAL EXPRESS'" (PDF). Canberra Airport. 20 January 2016.
  4. McIlroy, Tom (20 January 2016). "Canberra international flights: Singapore Airlines launches Capital Express route". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  5. "Singapore Airlines to review 'capital express' route". ABC News. 21 March 2017.
  6. "SINGAPORE SERVICE A SMASHING SUCCESS" (PDF) (Press release). Canberra Airport. 16 January 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  7. "SIA To Launch Melbourne-Wellington Services And Daily Flights To Canberra". Singapore Airlines. 24 January 2018.
  8. Chamberlin, Chris (24 January 2018). "Singapore Airlines brings first class to Canberra on daily flights". Australian Business Traveller.
  9. Burgess, Katie (24 January 2018). "Singapore Airlines is making some big changes to its Canberra flights". Canberra Times.
  10. "Discover the A350, departing from Wellington on 01 November". Singapore Airlines.
  11. "SINGAPORE AIRLINES' A350-900 FLIES INTO THE CAPITAL FOR THE FIRST TIME". Wellington Airport. 1 November 2019.
  12. Chamberlin, Chris. "Singapore Airlines drops flights to Canberra, Wellington". Executive Traveller. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
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