Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines Limited (Abbreviation: SIA; Malay: Syarikat Penerbangan Singapura, Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் ஏர்லைன்ஸ், Chinese: 新加坡航空公司; pinyin: Xīnjīapō Hángkōng Gōngsī; abbreviated 新航) SGX: S55 is the national airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Singapore Changi Airport and has a presence in the airline markets of Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and the competitive "kangaroo route" between Europe and Oceania. The company also operates transpacific flights, including two of the world's longest non-stop commercial flights from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey and Los Angeles, California.^[1][2]

Singapore Airlines has built up a strong brand name^[3] as a trendsetter^[4] in industry and especially in the aviation industry, particularly in terms of service excellence, innovation, safety,^[5] and paired with consistent profitability.^[6] It has received many awards as a result, and has a 'five-star' rating by Skytrax.^[7][8] An industry bellwether for aircraft purchases, it has a reputation for being a very demanding and meticulous buyer, with its purchases closely monitored by plane makers as an endorsement of their aircraft, and by other airlines for potentially reliable and cost-effective purchases.^[9] The airline was Asia's first and the world's third airline to be accredited by IATA with the IOSA (IATA Operations Safety Audit).^[10]

The airline has diversified into various markets including ground handling, aviation engineering, air catering, and travel tour marketing. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Silkair, manages regional flights to secondary cities with smaller capacity requirements, particularly those in Southeast Asia, China and India. Strong growth potential in air freight operations prompted the setting up of a separate subsidiary, Singapore Airlines Cargo, which leased the entire freighter fleet from SIA and manages the cargo holds in all existing SIA aircraft. The airline also responded to the threats posed by the low-cost sector by taking a 49% stake in Tiger Airways. Collectively, the Singapore Airlines Group (including SilkAir and Singapore Airlines Cargo) is the world's largest carrier by market capitalization, having overtaken Southwest Airlines in 2006/7,^[11] and ranks amongst the top 15 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue passenger kilometres.^[12] In addition, it is the largest airline in Asia and ranked fourth in the world in terms of international passengers carried.^[12]

History

Early history

Singapore Airlines began with the incorporation of Malayan Airways Limited (MAL) on 12 October 1937, by the Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool, the Straits Steamship Company of Singapore and Imperial Airways(BOAC/BA). The airline's first flight was between Kuala Lumpur and the British Straits Settlement of Singapore on 2 April 1947 using an Airspeed Consul twin-engined airplane.

MAL continued to grow during the rest of the 1940s and 1950s, as other British Commonwealth airlines (such as BOAC/BA, Qantas) provided technical assistance, as well as assistance in joining the IATA. By 1955, Malayan Airways' fleet had grown to include a large number of Douglas DC-3s, and went public in 1957.

When Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, the airline's name was similarly changed, from "Malayan Airways" to "Malaysian Airlines" (though still abbreviated to MAS). MAS also took over Borneo Airways.

In 1966, following Singapore's separation from the federation, the airline's name was changed again, to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA). The next year saw a rapid expansion in the airline's fleet and route, including the purchase of MSA's first Boeing 707s, as well the completion of a new high-rise headquarters in Singapore.

MSA ceased operations in 1972, when political disagreements between Singapore and Malaysia resulted in the formation of two entities: Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airline System.^[13][14][15] Singapore Airlines kept all 10 of MSA's Boeing 737s and 707s, and retained the international routes out of Singapore as well as the corporate headquarters in Singapore. Air hostesses continued to wear the sarong kebaya dress, which had previously been used by MSA.

Singapore Airlines actively cultivates and promotes the image of the 'Singapore Girl' in its advertising, and marketing communications, and aggressively recruits young women who fit the image, though they do not have to be Singaporean citizens.

Modern history

Singapore Airlines saw rapid growth during the 1970s, adding many cities in the Indian subcontinent and Asia to its 22-city network, and adding Boeing 747s to its fleet. The 1980s saw the addition of the United States, Canada, and many European cities to the airline's route map, with Madrid becoming the first Hispanic city to be served by Singapore Airlines. Services were extended to Africa in the 1990s, when the airline began flights to Johannesburg in South Africa. The network would eventually be expanded to include the cities of Cape Town and Durban.

During the 1990s, Singapore Airlines licenced model aeroplane companies like Schabak, Wooster, Herpa Wings and many others, to manufacture promotional plane models for them. Their Boeing 747s became known as Megatop, and were complemented by Boeing 777s and various Airbus aircraft.

In 2004, Singapore Airlines began non-stop long haul flights from Singapore to Los Angeles International Airport in California and Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. This marked the first ever non-stop air service between Singapore and the United States of America, using Airbus A340-500 aircraft named "Leadership". The Singapore to Newark flight holds the record as the longest scheduled commercial flight, with a flying time of approximately 18 hours between Singapore and Newark and 20 hours on the way back.

In 2005, the airline unveiled the slogan "First to fly the A380 - experience the difference in 2006", to promote itself as the world's first airline to take delivery of the A380-800 double-decker super jumbo, then expected to take place in the 2nd quarter of 2006. In early 2006, the first A380 was painted in full Singapore Airlines livery for an appearance at the Asian Aerospace Show 2006. However Airbus admitted in late 2005 that, due to unforeseen technical problems, it would delay delivery of the aircraft by up to six months, with the first delivery in Nov 2006 after the peak northern hemisphere summer travel season.^[16]

The announcement was met with fury by SIA's CEO, Chew Choon Seng, who threatened to sue Airbus. He further claimed that SIA will be receiving the Boeing 777-300ER before the A380. Nevertheless, SIA has indicated that this would not affect its promotional campaign. The first few aircraft will be used on the Singapore to Sydney route, followed by Singapore to London, creating the first A380 service on the 'Kangaroo Route' (UK to Australia). On June 14, 2006, Singapore Airlines placed an initial order for the Boeing 787 as part of its future aircraft expansion. The order consisted of 20 787-9s and rights for 20 more. This order came one day after Airbus announced that the A380 superjumbo would be delayed by another 6 months. In August 2006, the airline began to publish details on its first A380 flight, which will be launched from Singapore to Sydney, before returning to Singapore and onwards to London and back, with the aircraft seating less than 480.^[17]

Then, on 3 October, 2006, upon completion of a review of the A380 program, the new CEO of Airbus, Christian Streiff, announced a third delay for delivery of the first A380 to Singapore Airlines.^[18] The largest delay yet, it pushed the first delivery of a single A380 aircraft to Singapore Airlines in October 2007.

At a Cabinet meeting on February 22, 2006, the Australian government decided not to grant fifth freedom rights to Singapore Airlines on flights from Australia to the United States. Singapore Airlines had argued that transpacific flights from Australia suffered from under-capacity, leading to limited competition and relatively high air fares.

On April 20, 2006, the media broke the news on the airline's possible investment of up to 20% in China Eastern Airlines. SIA confirmed that negotiations were underway.^[19] On 6 February 2007, news broke that the airline may also be considering a stake in Aeroméxico.^[20]

Incidents and accidents

See also: List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners - Singapore Airlines

• On 26 March 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, was hijacked in mid-flight by four Pakistanis who demanded that the plane be flown to Sydney. The crisis ended at Singapore Changi Airport, where all four were killed by members of the Singapore Special Operations Force.

• On December 19, 1997, a SilkAir 737-300 crashed near Palembang, Indonesia, as SilkAir Flight 185. 185Fatal Events Since 1972 for Singapore Airlines and SilkAir

• On 31 October 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006, a Boeing 747-400 flying on a Singapore to Los Angeles via Taipei route rammed into construction equipment while attempting to take off from a closed runway at Chiang Kai Shek International Airport, caught fire and was destroyed, killing 79 passengers and 3 crew members. The accident prompted the airline to change the flight number of this route from 006 to 030 and to remove the "Tropical Megatop" livery on the accident aircraft's sister ship. Two of the 123 passengers and crew suffered injuries. Dozens of survivors and relatives of those killed have filed lawsuits against the airline and Taiwanese authorities.^[21]

• On 3 April,2003, Singapore Airlines flight SQ286 taxied to runway 05L at Auckland International Airport and was cleared for takeoff. When the aeroplane rotated for lift-off the tail struck the runway and scraped for 490 metres until the aeroplane became airborne. The tail strike occurred because the rotation speed was 33 knots less than the 163 knots required for the aeroplane weight. The rotation speed had been mistakenly calculated for an aeroplane weighing 100 tonnes less than the actual weight.

• On 19 April, 2005, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ER stopped 194 meters (640 feet) beyond a painted stop line at Bangkok International Airport. Its left wing tip was clipped by a Thai Airways International Airbus A330-300 taxiing for take-off.^[22]

• On 24 January, 2007, Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 (9V-SQH) made a successful emergency landing at Beijing airport after an engine caught fire. The aircraft, bound for Singapore, took off from Beijing at 0845 local time. No one was injured.^[23]

Corporate management

Singapore Airlines is majority-owned by Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Government of Singapore, and which accounts for 56.19% of its publicly-listed shares. The Singapore government has regularly stressed its non-involvement in the management of the company, a point emphasized by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew when he declared that the aviation hub status of Singapore Changi Airport will be defended, even at the cost of SIA. However, he was personally involved in defusing tensions between the company and its pilots,^[24] warned the airline to cut costs,^[25] and made public his advice to the airline to divest from its subsidiary companies.^[26] Still, independent research typically rates the airline as practicing sound corporate governance policies in accordance with national regulations.^[27]

Structure

The Singapore Airlines Group has over 50 subsidiaries and associates, including:

• International Engine Component Overhaul (IECO) (43.3%)
• SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) (86.6%)
• SilkAir (100%)
• Singapore Aero Engine Services Private Limited (SAESL) (43.3%)
• Singapore Airlines Cargo (100%)
• Singapore Airport Terminal Services (86.5%)
• Singapore Flying College (100%)

Partnerships and alliances

Singapore Airlines purchased 25% of Air New Zealand in 2000. However following the near collapse of Air New Zealand the New Zealand government bought into the airline to rescue it from bankruptcy, reducing Singapore Airlines' stake to 4.5%. This was subsequently sold in October 2004.

On 30 March 2000 Singapore Airlines bought a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways. Singapore Airlines also owns a 49% stake in Tiger Airways, a low-cost carrier flying from Singapore which it founded in September 2004 together with Indigo Partners LLC, the investment firm founded by Bill Franke, (24%); Irelandia Investments Limited, the private investment arm of Tony Ryan and his family, (16%); and Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd (11%).

In April 2000, the airline became a member of Star Alliance.

Services

Singapore Airlines has built up a strong brand name in the aviation industry since its formation in 1972, and has a reputation for being a trend-setter and industrial benchmark in service quality. It is the world's most awarded airline and is one of only four airlines to receive a 'five-star' rating by Skytrax. The other airlines holding this award are Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways.

Service innovation

Main article: Singapore Airlines awards and accolades

SIA's in-flight entertainment system, KrisWorld, was introduced in 1977 and is now offered to passengers in all classes with over 600 entertainment options. Utilizing the Wisemen 3000 hardware and Dolby Digital Personal Cinema Headphones for economy class, and active noise cancelling headphones for Raffles and First Class, they include the latest stock of at least 100 movies, 80 TV Shows, Nintendo games, 200 CDs, audio channels, flight camera's, flight statistics, destination info and traveller guides, and live TV channels. Since 2001, all entertainment options are available on demand to all classes with options to pause, forward, and rewind them at will.

In 2005, it was one of the earliest to introduce high-speed, in-flight internet service in March by installing the Connexion by Boeing system, and became the first airline in the world to offer live international television broadcasts using the same system from June.^[28] In the same month, free language lessons became available, with 22 languages offered.^[29] In December 2005, the airline offered free live news feeds it called "Live Text News" via its KrisWorld entertainment system^[30]

Uniform and branding

Main article: Singapore Girl

The Singapore Airlines branding and publicity efforts has revolved primarily around its flight crew,^[31] in contrast to most other airlines who tend to emphasize on aircraft or services in general. In particular, the nurturing of the female air stewardesses as the Singapore Girl has been widely successful, and is a common feature in most of the airline's advertisements and publications. The branding strategy aims to build a sense of mythical aura around the Singapore Girl, and portray her as representative of Asian hospitality and grace.

As part of efforts to build up the Singapore Girl icon, the airline runs one of the most comprehensive and rigorous training programs for cabin and flight crew in the industry to ensure the SIA brand experience is fully and consistently delivered. The airline's strong repute, and the resulting glamour and prestige of the job has allowed it to be highly selective during its recruitment process as it receives numerous applicants locally and around the region.

Dressed in a version of the Malay Sarong Kebaya designed by Pierre Balmain in 1968,^[32] the uniform of the Singapore Girl has remained largely unchanged till this day. The male steward, in contrast, wears relatively sober light blue business jackets and grey pants. In April 2001, the shoes were replaced by Pierre Balmain-designed safety shoes, in light of safety reviews after the Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crash where stewardesses complained of missing sandals.

Although a successful marketing image for the airline, it has also invoked criticisms for its sexist portrayal of women as subservient to male customers. Most feminist groups also contend that its reference is passé and outdated, which sparks debates that most Singaporean women today are modern and independent.^[33] On 9 January 2007, the airline announced its intentions to tender out its existing advertising contract with Batey Ads, the Singaporean company, headed by founder Ian Batey, who is responsible for building up the Singapore Girl brand name and its partner since 1972.^[34] The image of the Singapore Girl will still remain, although SIA will now focus on advertising and promoting its modern fleet and technology instead.

Frequent flyer programme

Main article: KrisFlyer

KrisFlyer is the frequent flyer programme of Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary Silkair. It has three levels/tiers of membership (KrisFlyer, KrisFlyer Elite Silver and KrisFlyer Elite Gold) and another three levels in the PPS Club (PPS Club, Solitaire PPS and Lifetime Solitaire PPS).

Cabins

Singapore Airlines announced a major upgrade to its cabin and inflight service on 17 October 2006,^[35] its first major overhaul in a decade and costing the airline about S$570 million.^[36] Initially planned for its Airbus A380-800's introduction into service in 2006, and subsequently on the Boeing 777-300ER, the postponement of the first A380-800 delivery meant it had to be introduced with the launch of the first Boeing 777-300ER with the airline on 5 December 2006 between Singapore and Paris.^[37] There are currently no plans to introduce the service to the existing SIA fleet.

Presently, six Boeing 777-300ERs being operated by the airline offer the upgraded cabin services to Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Barcelona, Seoul, San Francisco and Zurich but passengers have to pay a slightly higher fare. New services include Givenchy-designed bedding amenities in all classes. New tableware and linen designed by Givenchy are also part of the new product. Some other new features include:

First class^[38]

• At least 35-inch seat width
• 23-inch LCD screen for IFE
• Amenity kit from Salvatore Ferragamo

Raffles (Business) Class^[39]

• 30-inch seat width
• 15.4-inch LCD monitor

Economy Class^[40]

• 19-inch seat width and
• 10.6-inch widescreen personal TV and USB Port

New KrisWorld^[41]
Singapore Airlines announced that Panasonic Avionics Corporation has been selected to create the new KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines' IFE system, using the new ex2 system.^[42]

• Large widescreen LCD TV with 1280 X 768 resolution
• A range of Movies, TV, music, games, and interactive programs
• Built-in office software, based on Sun Microsystems StarOffice Productivity Suite for use with USB Port
• In-seat AC power port

Destinations

Main article: Singapore Airlines destinations

Singapore Airlines currently flies to 64 destinations in 35 countries on five continents from its primary hub in Singapore. It has a particularly strong presence in the Southeast Asian region, which together with its subsidiary SilkAir, connects Singapore with more international destinations in the region than any other Southeast Asian airline.

Beyond the immediate region, the airline has a key role in the important Kangaroo Route. It flew 11.0% of all international traffic into and out of Australia in the year ended June 2006, second only to Qantas, for a total of 2,324,530 passengers and accounting for 65% of the market on that segment.^[43] The majority of these passengers make onward connections to the airline's 13 destinations in Europe, more so than any of its rivals.

While the airline does not maintain sizeable hubs elsewhere, it has taken advantage of liberal bilateral aviation agreements between Singapore and Thailand, and with the United Arab Emirates, to offer more onward connections from Bangkok and Dubai respectively. On 1 September 2005, for example, it launched six-times weekly flights between Bangkok and Tokyo. China and India are major markets for the airline and has fueled much of its growth in recent years, with flights to Beijing were increased to 3 times daily from 1 June 2005, along with the addition of flights to Mumbai to twice daily. It discontinued flying to Pakistan due to "security problems" in Karachi since 10 May 2002, but after a recent visit by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz to Singapore, the airline reopened the route with a three times weekly service to Karachi and Lahore from 1 February 2006.

The airline's strengths have also invited protectionist measures to keep it out of key foreign markets. In particular, it has been unsuccessful in gaining access on the transatlantic routes between London-Heathrow and the United States, and on the transpacific routes from Australia to the United States. The airline protested when Cathay Pacific was allowed on the transatlantic route in 2003.^[44] The Australian authorities deferred decisions to allow the airline on the route to the United States from Australia.^[45]

Codeshare agreements

The Singapore Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines to the following destinations:

In 2005, the airline increased codeshare flights to New Zealand with Air New Zealand, and increased the frequency of flights to destinations in India and Australia. EgyptAir announced codesharing with Singapore Airlines on SIA's thrice weekly Cairo-Dubai-Singapore-Sydney route.

On August 152005, Virgin Atlantic, which flies the Kangaroo route between Australia and the United Kingdom via Hong Kong, denied it was in talks with part owner Singapore Airlines about extending its code sharing arrangements from Singapore to Sydney. Virgin Atlantic, 49% owned by Singapore Airlines, began flying between Sydney and the United Kingdom via Hong Kong in December. The London-Heathrow to Hong Kong route is generally doing well but not the Hong Kong-Sydney sector, Virgin Atlantic claims that the Sydney route is now making a profit, and are looking at increasing their frequency from 7 to 14 flights per week in 12 to 18 months.

On November 17, 2006, Singapore Airlines announced that it will be expanding its codeshare arrangement with Virgin Atlantic Airways to include Virgin's London-Heathrow-LAX, San Francisco, and Dubai routes, as well as Singapore Airline's Singapore-Sydney routes.^[46]

Flight numbers

Generally, flight numbers are allocated according to geographical regions, and are reviewed occasionally to accommodate regional changes in the system network. The last major review was implemented on 29 October 2006. Flights to South Asia, which used to share the flight numbers in the SQ400-SQ499 band with Southwest Asia and Africa-bound flights, now utilise the SQ500-SQ599 band. Similarly, flights to Japan and Korea began using the SQ600-SQ699 range of flight numbers after having shared numbers in the SQ800-SQ999 range with flights to Greater China.^[47] This reflects major growths in flights to the two key Asian markets of China and India for the airline.

From 25 March 2007, a second round of flight number reshuffling will see some Southeast Asian destinations, namely Manila and Denpasar, being moved into the SQ900-SQ999 slot. Other regional destinations may progressively follow.

Fleet

Main article: Singapore Airlines fleet

Singapore Airlines operates one of the youngest fleets in the world with an average of 6.3 years as of 31 March 2006. Its fleet features three aircraft families: the Boeing 747, the Boeing 777, and the Airbus A340, although more aircraft types are expected to appear as the fleet undergoes a renewal programme. Singapore Airlines is the world's largest operator of the Boeing 777, with 65 in its fleet as of 3 March, 2007.^[48]

The airline has a history of naming its fleet according to plane makes. The Boeing 747-400s are dubbed "Megatop", while the Boeing 777s are called "Jubilee". The Airbus A340-500s were named "Leadership", but that has since been dropped. Names for airliners previously flown by the airline includes "Superbus" for the 8 Airbus A300, "3TEN" for the 23 Airbus A310-300, "Celestar" for the 17 Airbus A340-300,"Super B" for the 23 Boeing 747-200B, "Big Top" for the 14 Boeing 747-300.

Singapore Airlines flew, for a short period of time, a Concorde that it shared with British Airways. The plane had Singapore Airlines' livery on one side, and British Airways' logo on the other.

It is the launch customer for the Airbus A380-800, and will be the first airline to operate it when it comes into service in October 2007. It has 19 of these aircraft on order, options on a further 6 aircraft and plans to introduce it on its Kangaroo route services from Sydney to London via its base at Changi Airport (ref: Airliner World, March 2005), though, after a new 6 month delay that was announced by Airbus, seems to have put off the entry into service date to late 2007.^[49]

The airline's new Boeing 777-300ERs entered commercial service on 5 December 2006, on the Singapore-Paris route. This aircraft, of which Singapore Airlines ordered 19, introduced Singapore Airline's new First Class, Business Class, and Economy Class products. Similar cabins will be used through out Singapore Airlines' future aircraft, including the A380, B787-9, and the A350-900. ^[48]

The Singapore Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:

References