Houston, we have a problem.
And for Singapore Airlines, that’s apparently not enough demand to operate its unique fifth freedom flights from Houston. The Singaporean carrier announced on Monday that it would suspend its service from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston to Manchester Airport (MAN) in England. That one-stop service had previously continued from Manchester to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN).
Even without the Houston connection, the airline will continue to serve Manchester with five weekly flights to Singapore. However, the airline will withdraw from Houston on April 1, 2025.
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Singapore said in a press release that the move was “in line with its capacity adjustments,” adding: “Singapore Airlines regularly reviews its network and routes to adjust its capacity to meet demand.”
The airline did not say whether this cut was permanent, but also did not mention if and when the route might resume in the future.
Singapore Airlines has been serving Houston since March 2008, according to Cirium Diio flight schedules. The airline originally flew from Houston to Moscow Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov Airport (DME) and then continued its flight to Singapore.
This service, which operated as a fifth-freedom flight, allowed Singapore to carry local passengers between Houston and Moscow, as well as passengers continuing from Houston to Singapore. In October 2016, the airline swapped the Moscow stopover for one in Manchester, and apart from a pandemic-related suspension in the early 2020s, the route has been served continuously since then.
Fifth freedom flights are nothing new for Singapore. The airline operates the world’s longest non-stop connection from New York to Singapore and also offers a daily connection from New York to Frankfurt with a connecting flight to Singapore. On the west coast, Singapore flies from Los Angeles to Singapore via Tokyo.
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However, it appears that of the airline’s three US flights subject to fifth freedom, the airline’s Houston-Manchester route is the weakest link. At the time, it seemed sensible to connect Houston to Moscow, given the oil industry between the two cities. However, when Moscow’s economy suffered, so did that route. As a result, the airline decided to fly to Manchester instead, which seemed somewhat arbitrary for the Star Alliance carrier at the time.
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While the airline could use United Airlines’ short-haul network from its Houston hub for additional connections, travelers flying to Singapore from locations near Houston could just as easily connect in Los Angeles or San Francisco to get to Singapore – often with shorter overall travel times than connecting in Houston and Manchester.
Of course, this cut also means bad news for those who have been looking for a unique opportunity to redeem miles with one of the world’s leading airlines on a special flight from the US to Europe.
Although Singapore is reducing its US network, the airline had plenty of exciting news to announce for its global routes, including increased frequencies and larger aircraft across Europe, more flights to Johannesburg and some other interesting additions announced on Monday.
Note that Singapore has not added any new routes or cancelled any existing routes, with the exception of the Houston-Manchester route.
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