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Singapore Airlines (SIA)

IATA ICAO Call sign SQ SIA SINGAPORE
Founded	1947 (as Malayan Airways)
Hubs	Singapore Changi Airport
Secondary hubs	Dubai International Airport Suvarnabhumi International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	KrisFlyer PPS Club
Alliance	Star Alliance
Subsidiaries	Silkair Singapore Airlines Cargo
Fleet size	106 (+89 orders, 59 options)
Destinations	65
Parent company	Singapore Airlines Limited
Headquarters	Singapore
Key people	Chew Choon Seng (CEO)
Website	http://www.singaporeair.com

Singapore Airlines Limited (Abbreviation: SIA; Chinese: 新加坡航空公司; pinyin: Xīnjīapō Hángkōng Gōngsī, abbreviated 新航; Template:Lang-ms; Template:Lang-ta) (SGX: S55 ) is the national airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Singapore Changi Airport and has a presence in the airline markets of Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and the competitive "kangaroo route" between Europe and Oceania. 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.

Singapore Airlines has built up a strong brand name as a trendsetter in industry and especially in the aviation industry, particularly in terms of service excellence, innovation, safety, paired with consistent profitability. It has received many awards. The company 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).

The airline has diversified into various markets including ground handling, aviation engineering, air catering, and travel tour marketing. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Silkair, manages regional flights to secondary cities with smaller capacity requirements, particularly those in Southeast Asia, China and India. Strong growth potential in air freight operations prompted the setting up of a separate subsidiary, Singapore Airlines Cargo, which leased the entire freighter fleet from SIA and manages the cargo holds in all existing SIA aircraft. The airline also responded to the threats posed by the low-cost sector by taking a 49% stake in Tiger Airways. Collectively, the Singapore Airlines Group (including SilkAir and Singapore Airlines Cargo) is the world's largest carrier by market capitalization, having overtaken Southwest Airlines in 2006/7, and ranks amongst the top 15 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue passenger kilometres. In addition, it is the 8th largest airline in Asia and ranked 6th in the world in terms of international passengers carried.

History

Early history

Singapore Airlines began with the incorporation of Malayan Airways Limited (MAL) on 12 October 1937, by the Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool, the Straits Steamship Company of Singapore and Imperial Airways(BOAC/BA). The airline's first flight was between Kuala Lumpur and the British Straits Settlement of Singapore on 2 April 1947 using an Airspeed Consul twin-engined airplane.

MAL continued to grow during the rest of the 1940s and 1950s, as other British Commonwealth airlines (such as BOAC/BA, Qantas) 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.

When Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, the airline's name was similarly 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 707s, as well the completion of a new high-rise headquarters in Singapore.

MSA ceased operations in 1972, when political disagreements between Singapore and Malaysia resulted in the formation of two entities: Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airline System. Singapore Airlines kept all 10 of MSA's Boeing 737s and 707s, and retained the international routes out of Singapore as well as the corporate headquarters in Singapore. Female flight attendants continued to wear the sarong kebaya dress, which had previously been used by MSA.

Singapore Airlines actively cultivates and promotes the image of the 'Singapore Girl' in its advertising, and marketing communications, and aggressively recruits young women who fit the image, though they do not have to be Singaporean citizens.

Modern history

Singapore Airlines saw rapid growth during the 1970s, adding many cities in the Indian subcontinent and Asia to its 22-city network, and adding Boeing 747s to its fleet. The 1980s saw the addition of the United States, Canada, and many European cities to the airline's route map, with Madrid becoming the first Hispanic city to be served by Singapore Airlines.

The Boeing 747-400s were introduced into the Singapore Airlines fleet in 1989 with the monicker Megatop, and 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 South African network would eventually be expanded to include the cities of Cape Town and Durban.

In 2004, Singapore Airlines began non-stop trans-Pacific flights from Singapore to Los Angeles and Newark, utilising the Airbus A340-500 (dubbed Leadership by the airline). These flights marked the first non-stop air services between Singapore and the USA. The Singapore to Newark flight set a record, which it still holds, as the longest scheduled commercial flight, with a flying time of approximately 18 hours between Singapore and Newark and 20 hours on the reverse route.

On September 29 2000, Singapore Airlines announced an order for 25 Airbus A3XX (as the A380 was known at the time). The US$8.6 billion order comprised of a firm order of 10 aircraft, which options on another 15 airframes. The order was confirmed by Singapore Airlines on July 12 2001. In April 2004, the airline announced that the airline will launch A380 service on flights between Singapore and Sydney, and Singapore to London, thereby creating the first A380 service on the Kangaroo Route.

In January 2005, the airline unveiled the slogan "First to fly the A380 - experience the difference in 2006", to promote itself as the world's first airline to take delivery of the A380-800 double-decker super jumbo, then expected to take place in the 2nd 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, well after the peak northern hemisphere summer travel season. The announcement was met with fury by SIA's CEO, Chew Choon Seng, who threatened to sue Airbus. He further claimed that SIA will 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.

Upon completion of a review of the A380 program on 3 October 2006, the new CEO of Airbus, Christian Streiff, announced a third delay for delivery of the first A380 to Singapore Airlines. The largest delay yet, it pushed the first delivery of a single A380 aircraft to Singapore Airlines in October 2007.

At a Cabinet meeting on February 22, 2006, the Australian government 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.

On April 20, 2006, the media broke the news on the airline's possible investment of up to 20% in China Eastern Airlines. SIA confirmed that negotiations were underway. News of a possible stake in Aeroméxico also surfaced on 6 February 2007. On 10 May 2007, the China Securities Journal reported that the airline is in final talks to take a stake in China Eastern of up to 20%, resulting in a surge in the later's stock prices. However, a Singapore Airlines spokesman came forward to dispel these rumours and confirmed that while talks are in progress, they are as yet non conclusive.

Awards and accolades

Singapore Airlines have received numerous awards and accolades over the years. The airline have won Airline of the Year 2007 title in the World Airline Awards by Skytrax.

Incidents and accidents

See also: List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners - Singapore Airlines

There has been one accident involving passenger fatalities on Singapore Airlines.

• On 31 October 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006, a Boeing 747-400 flying from Singapore to Los Angeles via Taipei had an accidental collision with runway equipment at Chiang Kai Shek International Airport, killing 83 out of 179 people on board.

Other non-fatal incidents

• On 26 March 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, was hijacked in mid-flight.

Corporate management

Singapore Airlines is majority-owned by Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Government of Singapore, and which accounts for 55.46% of its publicly-listed shares. The Singapore government has regularly stressed its non-involvement in the management of the company, a point emphasized by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew when he declared that the aviation hub status of Singapore Changi Airport will be defended, even at the cost of SIA. However, he was personally involved in defusing tensions between the company and its pilots, warned the airline to cut costs, and made public his advice to the airline to divest from its subsidiary companies. Still, independent research typically rates the airline as practicing sound corporate governance policies in accordance with national regulations.

Structure

The Singapore Airlines Group has over 50 subsidiaries and associates, including:

• International Engine Component Overhaul (IECO) (43.3%)
• SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) (86.6%)
• SilkAir (100%)
• Singapore Aero Engine Services Private Limited (SAESL) (43.3%)
• Singapore Airlines Cargo (100%)
• Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) (86.5%)
• Singapore Flying College (100%)

Singapore Airlines Limited has a 49% ownership stake in low cost carrier Tiger Airways Pte Ltd, which operates Tiger Airways and owns 100% of Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd. However, Tiger Airways is technically not part of the Singapore Airlines Group.

On 15 December 2006, Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, which the airline held a 35.5% share, was wholly sold to the Bank of China for US$980m. Suggestions to divest from its two biggest subsidiaries, SIA Engineering Company and Singapore Airport Terminal Services, has stretched back several years, in particular when Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew voiced his opinion that the airline should divest from the two listed companies to focus on its core business in December 2005. The company has yet to react in kind, however, although it did evaluate this possibility.

Partnerships and alliances

Singapore Airlines purchased 25% of Air New Zealand in 2000. However following the near collapse of Air New Zealand the New Zealand government bought into the airline to rescue it from bankruptcy, reducing Singapore Airlines' stake to 4.5%. This was subsequently sold in October 2004.

On 30 March 2000 Singapore Airlines bought a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways. There have been reports that this stake may be sold. Singapore Airlines also owns a 49% stake in Tiger Airways, a low-cost carrier flying from Singapore which it founded in September 2004 together with Indigo Partners LLC, the investment firm founded by Bill Franke, (24%); Irelandia Investments Limited, the private investment arm of Tony Ryan and his family, (16%); and Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd (11%).

In April 2000, the airline became a member of Star Alliance.

Services

Singapore Airlines has built up a strong brand name in the aviation industry since its formation in 1972, and has a reputation for being a trend-setter and industrial benchmark in service quality.

Service innovation

SIA's in-flight entertainment system, KrisWorld, was introduced in 1977 and is now offered to passengers in all classes with over 600 entertainment options. Using the Wisemen 3000 hardware and Dolby digital personal cinema headphones for economy class, and active noise cancelling headphones for Raffles and first class, they include the latest stock of at least 100 movies, 80 TV shows, Nintendo games, 200 CDs, audio channels, flight cameras, flight statistics, destination info and traveller guides, and live TV channels. Since 2001, all entertainment options are available on demand to all classes with options to pause, forward, and rewind them at will.

In 2005, SIA was one of the earliest to introduce high-speed, in-flight Internet service in March by installing the Connexion by Boeing system and became the first airline in the world to offer live international television broadcasts using the same system in June. In the same month, free language lessons became available, with 22 languages offered. In December 2005, the airline offered free live news feeds it called "Live Text News" via its KrisWorld entertainment system.

First and business class passengers on some flights are offered the "Book the Cook" service where more extensive meal choices may be selected.

Uniform and branding

The Singapore Airlines branding and publicity efforts has revolved primarily around its flight crew, in contrast to most other airlines who tend to emphasize on aircraft or services in general. In particular, the nurturing of the female air stewardesses as the Singapore Girl has been widely successful, and is a common feature in most of the airline's advertisements and publications. The branding strategy aims to build a sense of mythical aura around the Singapore Girl, and portray her as representative of Asian hospitality and grace.

As part of efforts to build up the Singapore Girl icon, the airline runs one of the most comprehensive and rigorous training programs for cabin and flight crew in the industry to ensure the SIA brand experience is fully and consistently delivered. The airline's strong repute, and the resulting glamour and prestige of the job has allowed it to be highly selective during its recruitment process as it receives numerous applicants locally and around the region.

Dressed in a version of the Malay Sarong Kebaya designed by Pierre Balmain in 1968, the uniform of the Singapore Girl has remained largely unchanged till this day. The male steward, in contrast, wears relatively sober light blue business jackets and grey trousers. In April 2001, the shoes were replaced by Pierre Balmain-designed safety shoes, in light of safety reviews after the Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crash where stewardesses complained of missing sandals.

Although a successful marketing image for the airline, it has also invoked criticisms for its sexist portrayal of women as subservient to male customers. Most feminist groups also contend that its reference is passé and outdated, which sparks debates that most Singaporean women today are modern and independent. On 9 January 2007, the airline announced its intentions to tender out its existing advertising contract with Batey Ads, the Singaporean company, headed by founder Ian Batey, who is responsible for building up the Singapore Girl brand name and its partner since 1972. The image of the Singapore Girl will still remain, although SIA will now focus on advertising and promoting its modern fleet and technology instead. On 16 April 2007, the airline appointed New York-based advertising agent TBWA\ to handle its advertising for the airline, beating two other shortlisted candidates, namely DDB and Publicis. This contract is worth S$50 million per year over the following five years, making it the agent's largest win since it started operations in Asia in the late 1990s. SIA called the bid a spirited and competitive one. The company provided no details about the three firms' bids, though its spokesperson Stephen Forshaw said they will start the new branding campaign "as early as there is a practicable opportunity". This change in advertising agency will not affect SIA's buying media agency, which is presently MEC.

Frequent flyer programme

KrisFlyer is the frequent flyer programme of Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary SilkAir, with benefits extending to partner airlines including other Star Alliance members and Virgin Atlantic. It has six levels of membership, consisting of three KrisFlyer levels (KrisFlyer, KrisFlyer Elite Silver, KrisFlyer Elite Gold) and three PPS Club levels (PPS Club, Solitaire PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club Life).

Cabins

Singapore Airlines announced a major upgrade to its cabin and inflight service on 17 October 2006, its first major overhaul in a decade and costing the airline about S$570 million. Initially planned for its Airbus A380-800's introduction into service in 2006, and subsequently on the Boeing 777-300ER, the postponement of the first A380-800 delivery meant it had to be introduced with the launch of the first Boeing 777-300ER with the airline on 5 December 2006 between Singapore and Paris. There are currently no plans to introduce the service to the existing SIA fleet.

Presently, nine Boeing 777-300ERs being operated by the airline offer the upgraded cabin services to Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Barcelona, Seoul, San Francisco, Zurich, Frankfurt, Taipei and Los Angeles but passengers have to pay a slightly higher fare. New services include Givenchy-designed bedding amenities in all classes. New tableware and linen designed by Givenchy are also part of the new product.

First class

There are three variations of the first class cabin. The oldest version is available on selected Boeing 777-200 and all Boeing 777-300 aircraft in the fleet which only feature lie-flat seats and has a small PTV. These first class seats have a configuration of 2-2-2 and are used mainly on regional flights. On all Boeing 747-400s, the first class product is known as the SkySuite and the seat is upholstered with leather and is trimmed with Burrwood. The seat can be fully reclined and is a lie flat seat. Bed linens and duvets are given on all flights with a pyjama suit designed by Givenchy. In-seat power supply is available on every First Class seat. The new first class was unveiled on 17 October 2006 with a 35 inch wide seat, upholstered with leather and a Mahogany wood finishing. The seat has a 23 inch LCD screen for KrisWorld. There is a stowage space with a standard cabin bag stowed in seat as well as a mirror and a drawer. The amenity kit is from Salvatore Ferragamo and a turn down seat service is available on all long haul flights, where the cabin crew will transform the seat into a bed, with bedlinen prepared for the passenger. Passengers pay a higher price for the new first class seats and can only redeem miles for full first class tickets and not for the saver fare.

Business class

Formerly known as Raffles Class, there are three variations of business class cabin. Traditional business class seats known as "Ultimo Plus", which don't convert into beds, are offered on all Boeing 777-200 (excluding the 777-200ER), and 777-300 aircraft in a 2-3-2 configuration.

Spacebed seats are available on Airbus 340-500 services, Boeing 777-200ER services, and Boeing 747 services between Singapore, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and the United States. The Spacebed converts to an angled flat bed. Spacebed seats are twenty-seven inches (68.5 centimetres) wide and seventy-two inches (183 centimetres) long. The seats have a retractable 10.4 inch (26.4 centimetre) personal television and a Dolby headphone with surround sound. They also have adjustable headrests. The airline claims the Spacebed is the largest in its class, although Virgin Atlantic, an airline of which SIA owns 49%, makes the same claim.

On new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, a fully-flat bed is offered as part of new cabin refurbishments in a 1-2-1 configuration. The same product will be offered on the Airbus A380 when it begins services in October, 2007. The new seat features a 15.4 inch personal television offering over 1000 entertainment options on demand and built-in office software. The new seats are leather and include an in-seat laptop power supply and personal stowage space. A height-adjustable table, a mirror, and a coat hook are also available for business class passengers.

Executive economy class

Executive economy is only offered on Airbus A340-500 aircraft and replaces the standard economy class cabins. This seats are available only on non-stop flights to Newark and Los Angeles and on selected flights to Jakarta. The seat has a seat pitch of 37 inches and a width of 20 inches as well as a 150 degree seat recline. Like standard economy class seats, adjustable headrests and footrests is available on every seat. There is a 9 inch screen for inflight entertainment and in-seat power supply at selected seats. A minibar is located at the back of the aircraft where light snacks and drinks are offered during the flight.

Economy class

All economy class seats have PTVs on every seat offering KrisWorld, the airline's inflight entertainment system. All seats have footrests, an adjustable headrest, side-flap "ears" with a reclining seat to a certain angle. Bassinets are available in the front section in the cabin. Economy class passengers receive a pair of socks and a dental kit on all night flights and long haul flights. The new Economy class seats on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft have a 19 inch wide seat as well as more knee room and legroom with an improved adjustable headrest. The new seats offers a personal reading light, a coat hook, a spectacle compartment, mirror, and an inflight handset. In-seat laptop supply is provided on every seat and a 10.6 inch PTV for inflight entertainment is offered.

In-flight entertainment

Singapore Airlines announced that Panasonic Avionics Corporation has been selected to create the new KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines' IFE system, using the new ex2 system.

• Large widescreen LCD TV with 1280 X 768 resolution
• A range of Movies, TV, music, games, and interactive programs
• Built-in office software, based on Sun Microsystems StarOffice Productivity Suite for use with USB Port
• In-seat AC power port

Destinations

Singapore Airlines currently flies to 64 destinations in 35 countries on five continents from its primary hub in Singapore. It has a particularly strong presence in the Southeast Asian region, which together with its subsidiary SilkAir, connects Singapore with more international destinations in the region than any other Southeast Asian airline.

Beyond the immediate region, the airline has a key role in the important Kangaroo Route. It flew 11.0% of all international traffic into and out of Australia in the year ended June 2006, second only to Qantas, for a total of 2,324,530 passengers and accounting for 65% of the market on that segment. The majority of these passengers make onward connections to the airline's 13 destinations in Europe, more so than any of its rivals.

While the airline does not maintain sizeable hubs elsewhere, it has taken advantage of liberal bilateral aviation agreements between Singapore and Thailand, and with the United Arab Emirates, to offer more onward connections from Bangkok and Dubai respectively. On 1 September 2005, for example, it launched six-times weekly flights between Bangkok and Tokyo. China and India are major markets for the airline and has fueled much of its growth in recent years, with flights to Beijing were increased to 3 times daily from 1 June 2005, and flights to Bangalore increased to daily. Singapore Airlines is the leading carrier between India & California.

It discontinued flying to Pakistan due to "security problems" in Karachi since 10 May 2002, but after a recent visit by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz to Singapore, the airline reopened the route with a three times weekly service to Karachi and Lahore from 1 February 2006.

The airline's strengths have also invited protectionist measures to keep it out of key foreign markets. In particular, it has been unsuccessful in gaining access on the transatlantic routes between London-Heathrow and the United States, and on the transpacific routes from Australia to the United States. The airline protested when Cathay Pacific was allowed on the transatlantic route in 2003. The Australian authorities deferred decisions to allow the airline on the route to the United States from Australia Singapore Airlines has stated that it wants to dramatically expand service to Canada and establish a North America hub in Vancouver, but has complained about being shut out by Canada's protectionist policies.

Codeshare agreements

The Singapore Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines to the following destinations:

In 2005, the airline increased codeshare flights to New Zealand with Air New Zealand, and increased the frequency of flights to destinations in India and Australia. EgyptAir announced codesharing with Singapore Airlines on SIA's thrice weekly Cairo-Dubai-Singapore-Sydney route.

On August 152005, Virgin Atlantic, which flies the Kangaroo route between Australia and the United Kingdom via Hong Kong, denied it was in talks with part owner Singapore Airlines about extending its code sharing arrangements from Singapore to Sydney. Virgin Atlantic, 49% owned by Singapore Airlines, began flying between Sydney and the United Kingdom via Hong Kong in December. The London-Heathrow to Hong Kong route is generally doing well but not the Hong Kong-Sydney sector, Virgin Atlantic claims that the Sydney route is now making a profit, and are looking at increasing their frequency from 7 to 14 flights per week in 12 to 18 months.

On November 17, 2006, Singapore Airlines announced that it will be expanding its codeshare arrangement with Virgin Atlantic Airways to include Virgin's London-Heathrow-LAX, San Francisco, and Dubai routes, as well as Singapore Airline's Singapore-Sydney routes.

Flight numbers

Generally, flight numbers are allocated according to geographical regions, and are reviewed occasionally to accommodate regional changes in the system network. The last major review was implemented on 29 October 2006. Flights to South Asia, which used to share the flight numbers in the SQ400-SQ499 band with Southwest Asia and Africa-bound flights, now utilise the SQ500-SQ599 band. Similarly, flights to Japan and Korea began using the SQ600-SQ699 range of flight numbers after having shared numbers in the SQ800-SQ999 range with flights to Greater China. This reflects major growths in flights to the two key Asian markets of China and India for the airline.

From 25 March 2007, a second round of flight number reshuffling will see some Southeast Asian destinations, namely Manila and Denpasar, being moved into the SQ900-SQ999 slot. Other regional destinations may progressively follow.

Fleet

Singapore Airlines operates one of the youngest fleets in the world with an average of 6.3 years as of 31 March 2006. Its fleet features three aircraft families: the Boeing 747, the Boeing 777, and the Airbus A340, although more aircraft types are expected to appear as the fleet undergoes a renewal programme. Singapore Airlines is the world's largest operator of the Boeing 777, with 65 in its fleet as of 3 March, 2007.

The airline has a history of naming its fleet according to plane makes. The Boeing 747-400s are dubbed "Megatop", while the Boeing 777s are called "Jubilee". The Airbus A340-500s were named "Leadership", but that has since been dropped. Names for airliners previously flown by the airline includes "Superbus" for the 8 Airbus A300, "3TEN" for the 23 Airbus A310-300, "Celestar" for the 17 Airbus A340-300,"Super B" for the 23 Boeing 747-200B, "Big Top" for the 14 Boeing 747-300. The first 777s were ordered as a replacement for Singapore Airlines' Airbus A340-300 with Boeing taking the A340s as part of the deal, which was seen as a setback for Airbus, which had started delivery of the aircraft only a few years earlier. In fact, two of the 17 A340-300s ordered never flew in revene service for Singapore Airlines and were handed over to Boeing Aircraft Holding Company for resale within months of delivery to Singapore Airlines. Interestingly, the A340-300 had been a replacement for a cancelled McDonnell Douglas MD-11 order, which could not meet long range requirements as far as distance was concerned. Subsequently, Singapore Airlines has taken delivery of the Airbus A340-500, a long range version of the A340, bringing the A340 back into their fleet.

Singapore Airlines flew, for a short period of time, a Concorde that it shared with British Airways. The plane had Singapore Airlines' livery on one side, and British Airways' logo on the other.

As a launch customer of the Airbus A380-800, it will be the first airline to operate the aircraft, when it is expected to belatedly enter into service in October 2007. It has 19 A380 on order and options on a further 6, with plans to introduce it on its 'kangaroo route' services from Sydney to London, via Singapore. Singapore Airlines have announced that the first flight should be in October 2007 and will be a return trip from Singapore to Sydney. To promote the aircraft and mark the moment in aviation history, SIA will be auctioning all the tickets in a special agreement with eBay and donating all proceeds to charity.

The airline's new Boeing 777-300ERs entered commercial service on 5 December 2006, on the Singapore-Paris route. This aircraft, of which Singapore Airlines ordered 19, introduced Singapore Airline's new First Class, Business Class, and Economy Class products. Similar cabins will be used through out Singapore Airlines' future aircraft, including the A380, B787-9, and the A350-900.

The Airbus A380 will come into service in 2007. Pilots have since demanded a pay increase for flying A380s. Singapore Airlines refuses to provide a raise on the argument that flying A380 is relatively similar to other modern aircraft. The pilots argue that they deserve a pay increase since they have a greater responsibility of flying the A380 since there are significantly more passengers. This case was brought into court in the early 2007.

The Singapore Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft from August 2007:

†Singapore Airlines is considering converting these aircraft to all business class considering the ultra-long haul flights and the mainly business customers that use the service

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48. "Singapore Airlines Unveils The World's Best Flying Experience". Singapore Airlines. 17 October 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
49. Karamjit Kaur (1 January 2007). "SIA promises more luxury with new aircraft". The Straits Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
50. "World's Best Flying Experience Begins Tomorrow". Singapore Airlines. 4 December 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
51. First Class Cabin Seat, Singapore Airlines, Retrieved on 2007-05-06
52. Singapore Airlines Redesigned First Class, Singapore Airlines, Retrieved on 2006-10-17
53. , Singapore Airlines]
54. Virgin Atlantic - Upper Class
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59. "Singapore Airlines New IFE System From Panasonic" (Press release). Singapore Airlines. September 23 2006. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
60. Singapore Airlines Redesigned KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines, 17 October 2006
61. "Annual International Airline Activity 2005-06" (PDF). Australian Government Department of Transport and Regional Services. November 2006.
62. "Singapore Airlines to protest decision to allow Cathay Pacific to fly transatlantic route". Airline Industry Information. 3 December 2003. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
63. "Australia rules out opening up Qantas' trans-Pacific route to rivals". Channel NewsAsia. 8 January 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
64. Airlines’ The sky that is limited, The Vancouver Sun, retrieved 7 April 2007
65. "Singapore Airlines Expands Codesharing Agreement With Virgin Atlantic Airways". Singapore Airlines. 17 November 2006.
66. http://www.sqtimetable.com/SQTimetable.pdf Singapore Airlines Timetable
67. "Flight Re-numbering". Singapore Airlines.
68. ^ "Singapore Airlines Takes Delivery Of Boeing 777-300ER Aircraft". Singapore Airlines. 2006-11-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
69. http://www.iht.com/articles/1991/08/03/air_.php
70. "Airbus announces new A380 delivery delays; EIS put off until 2007". ATW Daily News. 2006-06-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
71. Airliner World, March 2005
72. "Singapore Airlines Fleet"
73. "Airbus considers converting A340-500s" Flight Global 07/08/07

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