Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) is the national airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Singapore Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets. The company also operates trans-Pacific flights, including two of the world's longest non-stop commercial flights from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey and Los Angeles, California on the Airbus A340-500. Singapore Airlines is the launch customer of the "superjumbo" Airbus A380.
SIA has diversified into airline-related businesses such as aircraft handling and engineering. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, SilkAir, manages regional flights to secondary cities with smaller capacity requirements. Subsidiary Singapore Airlines Cargo operates SIA's dedicated freighter fleet, and manages the cargo-hold capacity in SIA's passenger aircraft. SIA has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Atlantic and has also responded to the threats posed by the low-cost sector by investing a 49% stake in Tiger Airways. Singapore Airlines Limited is the world's largest carrier by market capitalisation. It ranks amongst the top 15 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue passenger kilometres, is the 8th largest airline in Asia and ranked 6th in the world for international passengers carried.
Singapore Airlines was ranked 17th in Fortune's World’s Most Admired Companies rankings in 2007 and has built up a strong brand name as a trendsetter in the aviation industry, particularly in terms of innovation, safety and service excellence,] coupled with consistent profitability. It has won numerous awards and is an industry bellwether for aircraft purchases. The airline was Asia's first and the world's third airline to be accredited by IATA with the IOSA (IATA Operations Safety Audit).

History

Origins
Singapore Airlines began with the incorporation of Malayan Airways Limited (MAL) on 12 October 1947, by the Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool, the Straits Steamship Company of Singapore and Imperial Airways. The airline's first flight was a chartered flight from the British Straits Settlement of Singapore to Kuala Lumpur on 2 April 1947 using an Airspeed Consul twin-engined airplane. Regular weekly scheduled flights quickly followed from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang from 1 May 1947 with the same aircraft type. The airline continued to expand during the rest of the 1940s and 1950s, as other British Commonwealth airlines (such as BOAC and Qantas Empire Airways) provided technical assistance, as well as assistance in joining IATA. By 1955, Malayan Airways' fleet had grown to include a large number of Douglas DC-3s, and went public in 1957. Other aircraft operated in the first two decades included the Douglas DC-4 Skymaster, the Vickers Viscount, the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, the Bristol Britannia, the de Havilland Comet 4 and the Fokker F27.
When Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, the airline's name was 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 aircraft, the Boeing 707s, as well the completion of a new high-rise headquarters in Singapore. Boeing 737s were added to the fleet soon after.

Incorporation and growth
MSA ceased operations in 1972, when political disagreements between Singapore and Malaysia resulted in the formation of two entities: Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines System. Singapore Airlines kept all 10 of MSA's Boeing 707s and 737s, retained the international routes out of Singapore as well as the existing corporate headquarters in the city, with J.Y. Pillay, former joint chief of MSA as its first chairperson. Female flight attendants continued to wear the sarong kebaya uniform, which had been first introduced in 1968. A local start up advertising company, Batey Ads was given the right to market the airline, eventually selecting the sarong and kebaya-clad air stewardesses as an icon for the airline and calling them Singapore Girls.
SIA saw rapid growth during the 1970s, adding cities in the Indian subcontinent and Asia, and adding Boeing 747s to its fleet. The 1980s saw the new services to United States, Canada, and European cities with Madrid becoming the first Hispanic city to be served by SIA.
Boeing 747-400s were introduced into the SIA fleet in 1989 and named Megatops. They were later complemented by Boeing 777s, Airbus A310s and Airbus A340s. Services were extended to southern Africa in the 1990s, when the airline began flights to Johannesburg in South Africa. The cities of Cape Town and Durban were subsequently introduced to the route network.

Modern history
In 2004, SIA began non-stop trans-Pacific flights from Singapore to Los Angeles and Newark, utilising the Airbus A340-500. These flights marked the first non-stop air services between Singapore and the USA. The Singapore to Newark flight is the record for the longest scheduled commercial flight, with a flying time of over 18 hours each way. Beginning in May 2008 Singapore Airlines will begin converting the five Airbus A340-500 to a business class model only for its routes to Newark and Los Angeles.
At a Cabinet meeting on 22 February 2006, the Government of Australia 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. The move was seen as a measure taken to protect Qantas from increased competition. SIA had encountered such protectionist measures in the past when SIA was shut out from the Toronto market after complaints from Air Canada, and was forced to stop flying Boeing 747-400s into Jakarta in the wake of protests from Garuda Indonesia when it could not use similar equipment to compete.

A380
On September 29, 2000, SIA announced an order for 25 Airbus A3XX (as the A380 was known at the time). The US$8.6 billion order comprised a firm order of 10 aircraft, with options on another 15 airframes. The order was confirmed by Singapore Airlines on July 12, 2001. In January 2005, the airline unveiled the slogan "First to Fly the A380 - Experience the Difference in 2006", to promote itself as the first airline to take delivery of the A380-800, which was expected to take place in the second quarter of 2006. In June 2005, Airbus confirmed that due to unforeseen technical problems, initial deliveries of the Airbus A380 would be delayed by up to six months, with the first delivery now slated for November 2006. The announcement was met with fury by SIA's chief executive officer, Chew Choon Seng, who threatened to sue Airbus, saying:
“
Airbus took some time to acknowledge the delay in the timetable for the A380's entry into service…I would have expected more sincerity.
”
He further stated that SIA will be turning its attention to Boeing instead, since it would be receiving the Boeing 777-300ER before the A380. Nevertheless, SIA has indicated that this would not affect its promotional campaign.
In February 2006, the first A380 in full Singapore Airlines livery was flown to Singapore, where it was displayed at Asian Aerospace 2006. 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.
A third delay was announced on 3 October 2006, pushing the initial delivery of the first A380 to October 2007.
On 25 October 2007, the first commercial A380 service, flight number SQ 380, flew 455 passengers from Singapore to Sydney, touching down in Sydney Airport at 5:24 pm local time, where it received significant attention from the media. The airline donated all revenue generated from the flight to three charities in a ceremony the next day in Sydney. SIA began regular services with the A380 on 28 October 2007.

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