Singapore Airlines One of Singapore’s most recognized brands, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is one of the most admired and profitable airlines in the world. It chalked up record net profits of $1.2 billion on group revenues of $13.3 billion for the financial year 2005/06. With an operating fleet of more than 90 aircraft and at least another 30 on its order books at the end of 2005, SIA flies to over 90 destinations in 39 countries.
The airline’s history can be traced back to a thrice- weekly schedule that started on 1 May 1947, when an Airspeed Consul touched down at Kallang Airport under the banner of Malayan Airways. Over the next two decades, it expanded its flights and its fleet, with the addition of Douglas DC- 4 Skymaster, Vickers Viscount, Lockheed Super Constellation, De Havilland Comet and Fokker aircraft. In 1966, a year after Singapore gained independence, the company was renamed Malaysia- Singapore Airlines (MSA), and saw revenues cross the $100 million mark in 1968. The first transcontinental flight between Singapore and London was launched in 1971, but the following year, MSA became two separate entities: Malaysia Airline System (now Malaysia Airlines) and Singapore Airlines.
With the change came SIA’s first Boeing aircraft, the B707. The form- fitting sarong kebaya uniform of the Singapore Girl was designed by Pierre Balmain. SIA soon began to build a reputation for its in- flight service, with its motto ‘A Great Way To Fly’. It was the first airline to offer free drinks and complimentary headsets. The following decade saw the build- up of its fleet, reputed to be one of the youngest in the world, with the addition of the A300 Superbus, A310- 200, B757, B747- 300 Big Top and the B747- 400 Megatop.
In the 1990s, SIA revolutionized in- flight communications through the KrisFone, the first global sky telephone service. In 2000, SIA placed a US$8.6 billion order for 25 units of the world’s largest commercial plane, the A380, and will be the first airline to fly it. Other firsts have included the world’s longest non- stop commercial flight— between Singapore and New York in 2004, on an Airbus 340- 500. This broke the previous record, also held by SIA, for its non- stop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles, launched earlier that same year.
SIA also operates regional airline SilkAir, has a 49 per cent stake in the budget carrier Tiger Airways (see low- cost carriers), and owns 49 per cent of Virgin Atlantic Airways. Its other subsidiaries include: publicly listed SIA Engineering, which handles aircraft maintenance for more than 80 international air carriers; SIA Cargo, which serves more than 68 global destinations; and the publicly listed SATS, which provides ground handling, baggage and airline catering services. Another subsidiary, Tradewinds Tours and Travel, offers travel packages to regional destinations. SIA also has a 20 per cent stake in The Ritz- Carlton, Millenia Singapore.