• 
• 

Published on October 25, 2007

The flight is a reminder of the airline's grip on the premium air-travel market.

The aircraft, which is capable of carrying as many as 850 passengers, will leave Changi Airport packed with media and business types and those who paid US$1.26 million (Bt43 million) for seats on the first flight in a charity auction.

One of reasons for Singapore Airlines' success lies in its close ties with the Singaporean government. The airline will benefit greatly from the new Terminal Three at Changi Airport despite Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's insistence that it has become an international powerhouse "without any financial subsidy or preferential treatment" from the government.

Terminal Three, costing 1.75 billion Singaporean dollars (Bt40.91 billion) and the first to be ready for the giant A380 along with its luxury JetQuay terminal, will benefit from the growing number of wealthy travellers. Singaporean Transport Minister Raymond Lim says their numbers have been rising 9 per cent annually since 2000.

This may explain why the airline has put so much effort in laying out its A380s. It took two years and 120 different configurations to ensure that the airline's business-class clientele - who are mostly on company expense accounts - enjoy the greatest comfort. Singapore's new "suite" class, for instance, offers 14 enclosed cabins that include a double-bed option.

"From my experience, most business people I know choose to fly business and first class with Singapore Airlines," said Somchat Visitchaichan, executive director of strategic planning and research for ad agency Far East DDB.

Somchat said that without a strong national identity, the airline had been forced to innovate through novel products and services.

The airline's brand success rests very much on its Singapore Girl icon of hospitality, created 35 years ago by ad agency Batey, Somchat said. With such a carefully crafted image, Singapore Airlines was able to break through the cultural vacuum and project a modern international image. The move to replace Batey with New York-based TBWA to oversee its S$50-million global advertising account has many pundits guessing the airline is planning to market more aggressively in the digital realm.

But all of this would not work without Changi's new Terminal Three and its capacity to cater for 22 million additional passengers, allowing Singapore Airlines to strengthen its domination over routes Down Under - hence, the first commercial flight to Sydney.

Bey Soo Khiang, the airline's senior executive vice president for operations and services, said because the passenger-handling capacity of many airports was at maximum, the future of the "open skies" era would be fought according to volume.

Singapore Airlines has 19 A380s on order, to fulfil the company's goal of growing in volume and capacity. The second aeroplane will be delivered early next year. Thai Airways International and the Thai government could well learn a few aviation tricks from our near neighbour.

 Ki Nan Tsui

 The Nation