Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) is Singapore’s national airline with main hub at Singapore Changi Airport. It is one of only six airlines awarded by Skytrax with a 5-star rating. SIA is also the Airline of the Year in the 2008 Skytrax World Airline Awards.
SIA has a strong presence in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in the Southeast, South and East Asia as well as in the Kangaroo route. Kangaroo route refers to the route between Australia and United Kingdom via the Eastern Hemisphere.
SIA’s subsidiary is SilkAir, a secondary airline that manages its regional routes. It also has 49% stake in Tiger Airways, a Singapore-based low cost airline.
SIA’s predecessor is the Malayan Airways formed in 1947. After mergers were formed, it was renamed Malaysian-Singapore Airlines (MSA) in 1966. The split between Malaysia and Singapore in 1972 resulted in the establishment of two airlines: Malaysian Airlines System and Singapore Airlines.
Singapore Airlines is now the world’s largest airline based on market capitalisation. It also figures in the top 15 in the world according to revenue passenger kilometres and international passengers carried. It is the first Asian airline to be accredited by IATA with IOSA (IATA Operations Safety Audit).
SIA’s slogan is “A Great Way to Fly.”
International Destinations
Singapore Airlines began its trans-Pacific flights from Singapore to Los Angeles and Newark in 2004, marking the longest scheduled commercial flight on record (Singapore to Newark).
Currently, SIA has flight operations to 65 destinations in 35 countries and has a fleet size of 101 aircraft. Its destinations include Cairo in Egypt; Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa; Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Nanjing and Shanghai in People’s Republic of China; Taipei; Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo in Japan; Seoul in Republic of Korea; Dhaka in Bangladesh; Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi in India; Male in Maldives; Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan; Colombo in Sri Lanka; Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei; Denpasar and Jakarta in Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia; Manila in the Philippines; Singapore; Bangkok in Thailand; Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam; Kuwait; Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in United Arab Emirates; Copenhagen in Denmark; Paris in France; Frankfurt in Germany; Athens in Greece; Milan and Rome in Italy; Amsterdam in Netherlands; Moscow in Russia; Barcelona in Spain; Zurich in Switzerland; Istanbul in Turkey; London and Manchester in United Kingdom; Vancouver in Canada; Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Newark and New York City in United States; Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand; and Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney in Australia.
KrisFlyer
This frequent flyer programme gives SIA loyal customers several benefits such as flight awards and class upgrades. Members can earn miles every time they fly with Singapore Airlines’ eligible flights and fares as well as with Star Alliance airlines, SilkAir and Virgin Atlantic. Miles can also be accrued for every goods and services purchased from partner hotels, car-hire, credit cards, telecommunications, lifestyle, shopping and other non-airline partners.
Kris Flyer has a three-tier membership: KrisFlyer, Krisflyer Silver and KrisFlyer Gold. Benefits include free travel awards, priority airport standby, increased check-in baggage allowance, priority airport check-in, priority boarding, priority baggage handling, priority reservation waitlist, tier bonus on actual miles flown, Star Alliance lounge access and other Star Alliance benefits depending on member status level.
Singapore Airlines is a Star Alliance member since 2000.
The PPS Club
PPS stands for Priority Passenger Service. Anybody who accumulated S$25,000 PPS Value within 12 consecutive months can be a PPS Club Member. This exclusive membership offers air and non-air privileges such as priority check-in, increased check-in baggage allowance, priority airport standby, priority baggage handling, priority boarding, priority reservation waitlist, guaranteed reservation in Economy Class if waitlisted in First or Business Class, special meal preference, preferred seating, extended use of SilverKris Lounges, access to Star Alliance Gold lounges, use of Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses, membership renewal gift, worldwide emergency assistance and other premium privileges.