Singapore Airlines now offers direct service from Hong Kong to Las Vegas.

Courtesy Singapore Air

It is a remarkable achievement for a country as small as Singapore to have a national flagship airline regarded by many as the world’s best.

And just as notable: The airline has never in its history suffered a financial loss.

Long-term corporate vision and a spirit of innovation that have kept Singapore Airlines (SIA) traveling in a class almost without peer in the airline industry. The airline has won a long list of industry awards, including being voted “Asia’s Best Companies 2002 – Singapore” by FinanceAsia for best managed company, best investor relations, strongest commitment to enhancing shareholder value and best financial management.

Singapore Airlines is benefiting from increasing traffic from within Asia and to the U.S. SIA currently operates 45 flights weekly to five U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and recently inaugurated service to Las Vegas, NV. Routes are via the Pacific and intermediate stops in Europe.

Michael Tan, Senior Executive Vice President for Singapore Airlines, who was on the first Singapore-Hong Kong-Las Vegas flight, says the airline hopes to make Las Vegas airport a convenient transfer point for Asian travelers to all points in the U.S. The airport, Mr. Tan says, is very well managed and the flight schedules are convenient for catching connections.

Of course, some passengers may simply be going to Las Vegas. On the inaugural flight, at least, the plane was filled with people from India, Thailand and Hong Kong who were on their way to Las Vegas for family reunions in the U.S. Even Australians may find it more convenient to fly through Singapore than leave from Sydney and change planes in Los Angeles, he says.

“Ever since the ‘open skies’ agreement was signed between the United States and Singapore, SIA and U.S. carriers can fly to and from any point in the U.S.,” says Tan. “It’s a reciprocal agreement. Currently, flights to the U.S. have to have an intermediate point because the aircraft doesn’t have the range to fly non-stop. So to Las Vegas we have to fly via Hong Kong.”

But in the future, says Tan, when SIA receives delivery of the new Airbus 340-500 aircraft toward the end of 2003, the airline will be able to offer non-stop service between Singapore and the U.S.

In addition, Singapore Airlines has on order the new Airbus 380 jumbo aircraft that seats 500 plus passengers (the Boeing 747 seats about 400). SIA is conducting a passenger survey with its frequent flyers to help them determine how best to design the new plane’s interior.

Within Asia, the demand for passenger seats has shifted. “The Chinese are starting to travel in a big way,” says Mr. Tan. “They now rank number one in arrivals in Singapore. Indonesia or Japan used to be number one.”

“I would say 80 to 85 percent of the Chinese coming to Singapore are leisure travelers,” he adds.

The SIA formula for success is simple enough: Offer passengers what they want. To keep the flying experience fresh, passenger aircraft are replaced with new ones more frequently than most other carriers. SIA offers a wide choice of meals in economy class and it was the first major airline to offer free alcoholic beverages and headsets in economy. SIA has the best wine selection in the industry. Each year, a panel of wine experts meets to select the vintages for the enjoyment of SIA passengers.

In all seats, a new in-flight entertainment system, called System 3000, is available that features the latest movies on demand and even allows younger passengers to play video games with each other no matter where they are seated on the plane. SIA flights also offer SMS communications so that text messages and emails can be received and transmitted in flight.

And there are those roomier seats. One enthusiastic British passenger writes on an airline review web site: “The seating spaces and leg room (on SIA) are probably the highest of all the airlines for economy class.”

Another Internet critique, writing about her experience as an SIA economy passenger, says: “You don’t have to fly first class to be treated like a VIP.”

Singapore Airlines, well known in the U.S. for its now 30-year-old “Singapore Girl” advertising theme, has played a major role in making Singapore’s Changi International Airport into a regional aviation hub.

The airline was founded in October 1972 when the former Malaysia-Singapore Airlines split into Malaysia Airlines System and Singapore Airlines. At its launch, SIA had only 10 aircraft serving a network of 22 cities in 18 countries. With farsighted management and government support the little airline from the small island state in Asia grew strong. As of August 2002, SIA operates 94 passenger aircraft with 36 more on order and another 52 on option. The average age of its passenger fleet is five years and eight months.

Michael Tan has worked for Singapore Airlines since before its beginnings. Looking back, he now says, it was good for the airline that it had to face open competition and not government protection.

“The only way to compete was to offer something special,” he says. “So we had to carve out something special for our customer and concentrate on service.”

Two years ago, SIA launched a program called “Futureworks” aimed at inculcating a service and innovation culture to its employees throughout the company. “Whatever they do,” says Tan, “there must be a better way of doing things.”

“The reason we invest so much in our airline is to create a particular advantage for Singapore Airlines so that our service - our product - is different from most other airlines. Other airlines use the same aircraft, the same routes. So what is so unique? The people and the things you offer in your aircraft,” he says.

For more information on Singapore Airlines please visit www.singaporeair.com.sg.