Singapore Airlines Will Not Be Swayed

Singapore Airlines is determined to push ahead with its campaign to fly between Australia and the United States despite the latest snub by the Federal Government in blocking its hopes to fly on the route.

Responding to the Federal Government's latest green paper on aviation, which has, in effect, again prevented the Singapore flag carrier from competing with Qantas on the trans-Pacific service, Singapore Airlines' chief executive, Chew Choon Seng, said the carrier was used to being "fobbed off" in its desire to fly on from its Australian destinations.

But Mr Chew said Singapore Airlines was prepared to be patient in its long-running battle, even though the Australian Government has given the go-ahead for a second Australian carrier, V Australia, to take on Qantas on the key Sydney-Los Angeles route.

The Australian airlines will be joined by a second US carrier, Delta Airlines. With the current US carrier, United Airlines,

that will make four airlines servicing the route between the two countries.

Speaking after Singapore Airlines launched its revamped A330 service to Brisbane yesterday, Mr Chew recognised that the Government had taken another step in expanding the trans-Pacific service but was nonetheless disappointed that Singapore had been prevented from joining the route.

He said the airline felt aggrieved that the Government's latest statements did not recognise the nature of freer bilateral arrangements, particularly given that Qantas was allowed to fly on to other international destinations out of Singapore.

"It is not a situation we believe is ideal," Mr Chew said.

But he recognised it was as much a question of geography and location as economic benefits and said that his airline would be prepared to bide its time and eventually secure rights to fly the route.

In the meantime he indicated the Australian travel market was proving to be more resilient than other regions in the world.

He was cautiously optimistic that the carrier's traffic between the two countries would hold up. But he accepted that revenue was soft, as shown by his company's last quarterly results, and that passengers were holding off booking trips until the economic situation improved.

from www.smh.com.au (Sydney Morning Herald)

Emirates Cuts A380 Flights to JFK, New Routes launched

New York is losing its flights on the Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial passenger aircraft. That comes as the global financial crisis continues to take its toll on the aviation industry.The Associated Pess rites "Dubai-based Emirates said Wednesday it will replace two double-decker Airbus A380s it uses on a daily Dubai-New York flight with smaller Boeing 777s starting June 1. A second daily roundtrip already using the same type of Boeing plane remains unchanged."

Emirates officials tell AP that swapping to the smaller 777 means the airline will have 132 fewer seats to try to sell each day between New York and Dubai. With the change, Los Angeles will now be the only U.S. city to have A380 service (via Qantas). As for New York, AP notes "the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, anticipating that a number of other carriers will launch additional A380 service in the coming years, has spent $179 million to prepare JFK airport to accommodate the wider, heavier aircraft."

Reuters says Emirates will "redeploy the two A380s it uses for two daily flights to New York onto routes between (Dubai) and Toronto and Bangkok." Reuters adds "the A380s would fly twice daily to Bangkok and three times a week to Toronto under the revised plan." Flightglobal.com writes Emirates "says the economic downturn has resulted in the need to rethink the positioning and use of the 489-seat aircraft." An unnamed Emirates official is quoted by Reuters as saying: "As the global economy has affected international air travel, this aircraft redeployment was based solely on a change in capacity demands in these three markets."

"The A380 will allow Emirates to address some of the unmet need in Toronto while on Bangkok, the A380 will help support the Thai government's new tourism initiatives," Emirates President Tim Clark says in a statement. In Toronto, The National Post notes that Emirates flights are "capped at three a week … under Ottawa's bilateral agreement with United Arab Emirates." Upgrading to A380 service on the Toronto-Dubai route is -– obviously -– a way for Emirates to boost capacity on the route while staying within the restrictions spelled out in the bilateral agreement. The Globe and Mail of Toronto writes "Emirates has been lobbying Ottawa for permission to increase its Toronto-Dubai service to daily flights."

- From www.usatoday.com

The New Regional Business Class

Singapore Airlines has announced Regional Business Class on the new Airbus A330-300 used on routes between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Tokyo, Perth, Brisbane and Osaka.

The A330-300 will replace ageing Boeing 777-200's. These aircraft are leased and will be replaced by the Boeing 787-8's and Airbus A350's in 2011.

Free Upgrades on the World's Most Awarded Airline

Singapore Airlines has announced special upgrade vouchers between April and November 2009:
To Earn Upgrade Vouchers (from Singapore Airlines):

How many Special Upgrade Points are earned per flight ?

Special Upgrade Points earned will be numerically equivalent to the KrisFlyer miles earned in Economy Class, Business Class, First Class and Singapore Airlines Suites respectively, excluding tier bonuses. They are based on the distance travelled and class of travel as indicated by the Accrual Calculator. For example:

A mileage-accruable flight from Singapore to Sydney (one-way)
Class of Travel	Economy Class	Business Class	First Class	Singapore Airlines Suites
Special Upgrade Points Earned	3,912	4,890	5,868	6,260

Converting your Special Upgrade Points to Special Upgrade Vouchers after Jun 2009

Earning Special Upgrade Voucher
Special Upgrade Points	At least 25,000 Points	At least 30,000 Points	At least 35,000 Points	At least 40,000 Points	At least 45,000 Points
Special Upgrade Voucher Earned	UG1	UG2	UG3	UG4	UG5

If you have more than 50,000 Special Upgrade Points, you will have a choice of multiple Special Upgrade Vouchers with total value in Special Upgrade Points not exceeding the Special Upgrade Points you have earned.

Using Special Upgrade Vouchers:

How far can I go with my Special Upgrade Voucher(s) ?

From Singapore
Special Upgrade Voucher Earned	UG1 (at least 25,000 points)	UG2 (at least 30,000 points)	UG4 (at least 40,000 points)
How Far Can You Go?	Asia Australia & New Zealand Africa Turkey	Asia Australia & New Zealand Africa Europe	Anywhere in the Singapore Airlines network
Examples (round-trips)	1. Singapore to Beijing 2. Singapore to Tokyo 3. Singapore to Sydney 4. Singapore to Johannesburg	1. Singapore to Beijing 2. Singapore to Tokyo 3. Singapore to Sydney 4. Singapore to Johannesburg 5. Singapore to Milan 6. Singapore to London	1. Singapore to Beijing 2. Singapore to Tokyo 3. Singapore to Sydney 4. Singapore to Johannesburg 5. Singapore to Milan 6. Singapore to London 7. Singapore to New York

From Asia (except Singapore), Australia & New Zealand, Africa, Turkey
Special Upgrade Voucher Earned	UG1 (at least 25,000 points)	UG2 (at least 30,000 points)	UG3 (at least 35,000 points)	UG5 (at least 45,000 points)
How Far Can You Go?	Singapore Others1*	Singapore Others1* Others2*	Asia Australia & New Zealand Africa Turkey Others1* Others2*	Anywhere in the Singapore Airlines network
Examples (round-trips)	1. Tokyo to Singapore 2. Sydney to Singapore 3. Johannesburg to Singapore 4. Turkey to Singapore	1. Tokyo to Singapore 2. Sydney to Singapore 3. Johannesburg to Singapore 4. Turkey to Singapore	1. Tokyo to Singapore 2. Sydney to Singapore 3. Johannesburg to Singapore 4. Turkey to Singapore 5. Sydney to Tokyo	1. Tokyo to Singapore 2. Sydney to Singapore 3. Johannesburg to Singapore 4. Turkey to Singapore 5. Sydney to Tokyo 6. Sydney to Los Angeles

1*Between a) Bangkok and Tokyo, b) Dubai and Istanbul, c) Dubai and Moscow
2*Between a) Hong Kong and San Francisco, b) Seoul and San Francisco, c) Tokyo and Los Angeles

From Europe
Special Upgrade Voucher Earned	UG1 (at least 25,000 points)	UG2 (at least 30,000 points)	UG5 (at least 45,000 points)
How Far Can You Go?	Moscow to Dubai	Singapore Moscow to Dubai Moscow to Houston Frankfurt to New York	Anywhere in the Singapore Airlines network
Examples (round-trips)	1. Moscow to Dubai	1. Moscow to Dubai 2. Moscow to Houston 3. Frankfurt to New York 4. Barcelona to Singapore 5. London to Singapore	1. Moscow to Dubai 2. Moscow to Houston 3. Frankfurt to New York 4. Barcelona to Singapore 5. London to Singapore 6. London to Sydney

From North America
Special Upgrade Voucher Earned	UG2 (at least 30,000 points)	UG4 (at least 40,000 points)	UG5 (at least 45,000 points)
How Far Can You Go?	Houston to Moscow New York to Frankfurt San Francisco to Hong Kong San Francisco to Seoul Los Angeles to Tokyo	Singapore Houston to Moscow New York to Frankfurt San Francisco to Hong Kong San Francisco to Seoul Los Angeles to Tokyo	Anywhere in the Singapore Airlines network
Examples (round-trips)	1. Houston to Moscow 2. New York to Frankfurt 3. San Francisco to Hong Kong/ Seoul 4. Los Angeles to Tokyo	1. Houston to Moscow 2. New York to Frankfurt 3. San Francisco to Hong Kong/ Seoul 4. Los Angeles to Tokyo 5. Los Angeles to Singapore	1. Houston to Moscow 2. New York to Frankfurt 3. San Francisco to Hong Kong/ Seoul 4. Los Angeles to Tokyo 5. Los Angeles to Singapore 6. Los Angeles to Sydney

SQ News-KrisFlyer's Redemptions Promotions

Singapore Airlines is rewarding its KrisFlyer members with 50% off selected flights between March and 30th September 2009. KrisFlyer members will also be rewarded with 25% off all online redemption bookings booked through www.krisflyer.com.in all classes in the Standard, Saver and Full Awards. During this period, Singapore Airlines is offering all PPS Members 35% off upgrades in this same period.

My Flight MLE-SIN SQ451

This one is about my trip to the Maldives in December 2008.

Route: Male (MLE) – Singapore (SIN)

Flight: SQ451

Aircraft: B777-212ER

9V-SRL

Seat: 12H

Class: Business Class

ETD: 2315 Actual: 2318 (takeoff)

ETA: 0700 Actual: 0652 (landing)

After a week-long trip to the beautiful islands of the Maldives, I set-off for my return flight from the capital of the Maldives, Male. Here are some photos of the beautiful islands of the Maldives.

On The Ground

Check-in at Male Airport was fast and efficient and the ground staff was helpful. I checked-in at the Business Class/ PPS Club/ Star Alliance Gold Lounge check-in counters and the total time taken was under 10 minutes. I was given a lounge invitation to the Finifenmaa Lounge and was there within 30 minutes. The lounge is used by SQ, MH, EK and a few other airlines.

The lounge has basic amenities such as food and other beverages. The best benefit of the lounge is the complimentary Internet access. Overall the lounge is ok but cannot be even compared with SQ’s Business Lounge in T2 in Changi. It has reasonably good views of the tarmac.

Boarding was average with long lines for passengers in Y. Business Class and Star Gold passengers had priority boarding which was great. Male Airport does not have aerobridges so we had to walk to the tarmac which was a nice change.

The Aircraft

Singapore Airlines has the largest fleet of Boeing 777’s in the world with a total of 31 B777-200’s, 15 B777-200ER’s, 12 Boeing 777-300’s and 18 Boeing 777-300ER’s, with a total of 76 B777 aircraft. They are used on the short-hop to Kuala Lumpur as well as on 22-hour flights to Houston via Moscow. The new B777-300ER’s are fitted with the new First, Business and Economy Class products as on the A380 and the A345. The older -200’s are being replaced by the A330-300’s, fitted with the new regional Business Class product, on routes to Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Perth, Brisbane and Tokyo. These are an interim solution as SIA waits for the Boeing 787’s and Airbus A350’s due in 2011.

The aircraft I flew on, 9V-SKL, is fitted in SQ’s Regional configuration with 30 Business Class (2-3-2) seats 293 Economy Class seats (3-3-3).

Onboard

I was warmly greeted at the door by one of the Singapore Girls, the Leading Stewardess. She showed me to my seat, 12H and offered me a selection of newspapers and magazines. She also offered me a drink before takeoff. There was a light load in Business Class today with only about 20% of the seats filled. The aircraft was fitted with SIA’s Video-On-Demand (VOD) system, KrisWorld. The doors were closed promptly at 2313 and pushback occurred at 2315. The Cabin Crew were polite, helpful and friendly in typical SIA fashion. After taxiing onto the runway, the B777 raced down the runway for about 40 seconds before the nose pointed towards the heavens powered by the powerful Trent 884 engines. The cabin lights were dimmed and the cabin crew gave out eyeshades and socks. For the price you pay for an SQ ticket, you would expect at least an amenity kit. However, I cannot fault SQ’s service which was impeccable for the entire duration of the red-eye flight.

Business Class

The seat had good recline and was fine for a 4+ hour flight, but here’s a tip- row 16 in Business Class does not recline as much as the other rows. I chose not to have any meals so as to extend my sleep time.

Top:Business Class fully-reclined

Middle:Seats 16 D,E,G

Bottom: The Cabin

Arriving

The elegant Boeing 777’s undercarriage gently touched-down on runway 02L in the morning sunrise and taxied to the gate F50, ready for a morning departure to Jakarta as SQ956. Terminal 2 was crowded as many passengers were departing to many destinations around Southeast Asia during the peak year-end travel season.

With priority baggage for Business Class passengers I collected my bag and was past customs 14 minutes from the time the aircraft arrived at the gate.

Ratings

Aircraft 7/10

Seat 8/10

Service 9/10

Lounge 6/10

Boarding 8/10

Overall 7.6

Regards,

Joel