Singapore Airlines to fly to Canberra

Direct overseas flights will operate in and out of Canberra from September.

Singapore Airlines on Wednesday announced it will fly between Singapore, Canberra and Wellington four times a week.

The 'Capital Express' route will operate a return service between the three centres.

Tickets for the new service will go on sale from next Monday with economy class return fares starting from $650 for Canberra to Singapore and $469 for Canberra to Wellington.

The airline will use a retrofitted Boeing 777-200 with 38 business class seats and 228 economy class seats.

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said the service reflected the close ties between Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss welcomed the announcement saying the capital-to-capital service opens up a "new dimension" of travel.

"This is a very special announcement for Canberra," he said.

Mr Truss also praised the Snow family who had taken the national capital's airport from almost an "embarrassment" to an international facility.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr described the announcement as a "game-changer" for the capital.

"The rest of the world is finally on our city's doorstep," he said.

"It connects two cool, little capitals (with Singapore)."