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Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviated SIA, Chinese: 新加坡航空公司, Pinyin: Xīnjīapō Hngkōng Gōngsī, abbreviated: 新航) is the national airline of Singapore. One of Asia's most influencial and successful airlines, it has a major presence in most parts of Asia and Oceania, as well as having major operations in Europe and North America. Flights to secondary cities and less profitable routes to Southeast Asia, as well as cities in China and India are handled by a regional subsidiary, Silkair, while cargo operations are handled by Singapore Airlines Cargo. The combined entity is the world's second largest carrier by market capitalisation, only trailing behind Southwest Airlines of USA and ranked amongst the global top 15 in terms of Revenue Passenger Kilometres according to Air Transport World. Code Data - IATA Code: SQ
- ICAO Code: SIA
- Callsign: Singapore
Subsidiaries and Alliances The Singapore Airlines Group consists of over 50 subsidiaries and associates, including: Subsidiaries Associates Joint ventures Operational alliances Singapore Airlines owns a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways, the transaction being completed on 30 March 2000. The airline also owns a 49% stake in Tiger Airways, a low-cost carrier flying from Singapore. It previously owned 25% of Air New Zealand (diluted to 4.5% after the government of New Zealand bought into the airline to rescue it from bankruptcy) and is a prominent member of the worldwide Star Alliance, which it joined in April 2000. Code Shares The airline has code-share agreements with the following airlines: History Early History Singapore Airlines began as "Malayan Airways Limited" in 1946, mounting its first flight on the 1st of May, 1947. It started off flying an Airspeed Consul twin engined airplane between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, and Penang (two cities and an island in West Malaysia). The remainder of the 1940s was a growth period for Malayan Airlines, as was the 1950s. World War II had just finished and people around the world wanted to travel, a privilege that they had sometimes been denied because of the situation worldwide during previous years, and residents of Singapore and Malaysia were no exception. By 1955, Malayan Airlines' fleet had grown to include a large number of Douglas DC-3s. In 1963, the creation of the Federation of Malaysia brought a change of name, to "Malaysian Airways". In 1966, the name was changed again, this time to "Malaysia-Singapore Airlines" (MSA), following Singapore's departure from the Federation of Malaysia the previous year. MSA ceased operations in 1972, when political disagreements between Singapore and Malaysia resulted in the formation of two new airlines: Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines. Singapore's airline company had 10 aircraft at that time. However, Singapore Airlines' hostesses continued to wear the sarong kebaya dress, which had previously been used by MSA. While airlines in Western countries shied away from recruiting young women, Singapore Airlines promoted the image of the 'Singapore Girl' in its advertising. Modern History Singapore Airlines saw rapid growth. during the 1970s, adding many cities in the Indian subcontinent and Asia to the 22 city network it already served, and acquiring Boeing 747 airplanes. During the 1980s, the United States, Canada, and many European cities joined Singapore Airlines' route map. During this time, Madrid became the first and only Hispanic city to be served by Singapore Airlines. In the 1990s, Singapore Airlines began flights to Johannesburg in South Africa, the first African destination for the airline, with the cities of Cape Town and Durban being added. During the 1990s, Singapore Airlines licensed model aeroplane companies like Schabak, Wooster plastic aeroplanes, Herpa Wings and many others, to manufacture promotional plane models for them. Their Boeing 747's became known as the Megatops, and they ordered Boeing 777 and Airbus equipment to complement the Megatops. In 2004, Singapore Airlines began direct flights from Singapore to Los Angeles International Airport in California and Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. This marked the first ever non-stop air service between Singapore and the United States of America, using their A340-500 aircraft. Currently, with a total flight time of 18 hours, the flight between Singapore and Newark is also the longest passenger air service offered by any airline in the world. Incidents and Accidents On 26 March, 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117, piloted by Captain Stanley Lim on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, was hijacked in mid-flight by four Pakistanis, led by Zahid Hussain Soomro, demanding that the plane be flown to Sydney. The crisis ended at Singapore Changi Airport, where all four were killed by SAF Commandos, with none of the 123 passengers and crew suffering injury or death. On 19 December, 1997, SilkAir Flight 185, piloted by Captain Tsu Way Ming, plunged into the Musi River in Sumatra during a routine flight from Jakarta to Singapore killing 104 people on board. On 31 October, 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 6, flying on a Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore-Chiang Kai Shek International Airport,Taipei, Taiwan-Los Angeles International Airport,Los Angeles, California route, crashed during takeoff from Taipei for its second leg, killing 79 passengers and 3 crew members. Fleet Main article: Singapore Airlines fleet Singapore Airlines operates one of the youngest fleets in Asia. Its streamlined fleet features aircraft from just 3 aircraft families, including the Boeing 747, the Boeing 777, and the Airbus A340. The airline has a history of dubbing 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. 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. It is the launch customer for the Airbus A380-800, and will be the first airline in the world to operate it when it comes into service in the second quarter of 2006. It has 10 of these aircraft on order and options on a further 15 aircraft. It plans to introduce it on its Kangaroo route services from Sydney to London via its base at Changi Airport (ref: Airliner World, March 2005). Notes - Note 1: Excludes 3 of the Boeing 747-400s which has been withdrawn from regular operation and are now in storage pending removal from the fleet. Eventually, all will be phased out, to be replaced by the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 airliners.
- Note 2: These Boeing 777 planes on order/option can be for any model in the aircraft family type, as part of a 77-plane order which included firm orders and options. The US$12.7 order, made in November 1995, was than the largest single widebody-jetliner purchase in aviation history. This deal is seperate from the Boeing 777-300ER order, which was made in August 2004)
Flight Numbers Main article: Singapore Airlines flight numbers In general, the flight numbers are allocated according to geographical regions as follows: Services Main article: Singapore Airlines destinations Events in 2005 In 2005, the airline increase codeshare flights to New Zealand with Air New Zealand, and increased the frequency of flights to destinations in India, Australia and others. Beijing was upped to thrice daily. External Links
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