For those who fly Singapore Airlines, it’s no secret that this Southeast Asia based airline is a great way to travel. Increasingly, though, more and more people are hearing about the great service and amenities that are offered on this often luxurious airline. The US readers of Business Traveler magazine voted Singapore Airlines as the Best Airline in the World in its recent 2007 awards. On top of that award, the airline won for awards from Business Traveler for Best Economy-Class Service in the World, Airline with the Best Cuisine/Meals, and Best Airline for International Travel. Global Traveler magazine also voted the airline as its Best Airline in the World, as well as the Best Airline in Southeast Asia.
The first commercial flight of the Airbus A380, the largest commercial aircraft in the world, wore the Singapore Airlines colors when it flew on October 25 of last year. “This is an incredibly exciting time for travelers, with an unprecedented number of aircraft technology and in-flight comfort innovations taking place,” said Singapore Airlines spokesman James Boyd. “It’s a forward-looking time for aviation. And it’s all designed to create a better benefit in terms of comfort, connectivity and control for the passenger.”
While the airline offers great amenities, service has long been the factor that differentiates it from the rest of the crowd – and crowded skies. Ken Bright, the airline’s vice president of marketing for the U.S., points out that every Singapore Airlines cabin-staff member undergoes a four-month training program, learning everything from basic safety procedures to key phrases in a variety of foreign languages, and a working knowledge of fine-wine selection and service. “There’s no question that our cabin staff is world renowned for onboard service,” said Bright.
Business class customers now get amenities that would have been beyond first class in years past, as Singapore offers 34-inch-wide seats that can be converted to fully-flat beds, which have 15.4-inch LCD entertainment systems with USB ports and up to 1,000 channels of movies, music, and other programming. The KrisWorld entertainment system also includes computer software for working. “The overall business-class market has gone upscale in the last few years,” Bright said. “Today’s business class is as good as our first class was 10 years ago.”
Singapore Airlines operates the majority of its routes in Asia and Oceania, but also has flights to major cities all over the world. Some of its flight destinations in include London, Manchester, Milan, Moscow, New York, San Francisco and Vancouver.
