Travel bubble: searches for Hong Kong-Singapore flights jump 400 per cent, as prices for advance tickets spike

The surge in consumer interest comes one day after the two destinations announced the creation of a quarantine-free travel bubble

Amid the soaring interest, a review of fares on offer in December showed prices have risen nearly 60 per cent in the last 24 hours

Reading Time:3 minutes

Visitors walk through Singapore’s Changi Airport earlier this month. Interest in travel between Hong Kong and the city state is soaring. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:30pm, 16 Oct 2020Updated: 1:02pm, 20 Oct 2020

Internet searches by travel-deprived Hongkongers for flights to Singapore jumped 400 per cent on the back of news the two cities planned to launch a quarantine-free travel bubble, with the rush of interest apparently prompting a spike in airfares.

Expedia said it saw the three-digit surge in customers seeking a getaway to the city state, while a Post review of fares for dates in December showed prices had shot up by at least 57 per cent in the last 24 hours, to HK$3,297 (US$425) for a round-trip ticket.

Hong Kong and Singapore on Thursday unveiled the landmark agreement to launch a bubble for general travel within “weeks” amid the havoc wreaked on the local economy – in particular the tourism industry – by the Covid-19 pandemic. The preliminary plan involves travellers showing negative test results for the coronavirus, with no restrictions on the purpose of travel and no controlled itineraries. But passengers will not be allowed to transit.

A passenger checks in at the Cathay Pacific counter at Hong Kong International Airport in August. Photo: Nora Tam

The in-principle agreement to establish the travel bubble between the two leading Asian air hubs was possibly the world’s first arrangement of its kind, according to Singapore’s transport chief.

Airlines are waiting to see whether they will add more flights – pending the official launch date and an early cap on passengers – to manage what is sure to be a huge interest in the resumption of near-normal travel.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x