It’s been a while since I’ve flown with Singapore. So here is a flight with Singapore.
Malayan Airways was established in 1937 through a collaboration between the Straits Steamship Company of Singapore and two British firms, the Ocean Steamship Company and Imperial Airways. The aim was to create a regional airline, which was formalised with the incorporation of Malayan Airways Limited on 21 October 1937. However, the airline faced a period of inactivity as its leadership recognized the challenges of competing with Wearne’s Air Service, which already dominated the local air routes between Singapore and British Malaya. The small market size and the looming threat of World War II further delayed operations. As a result, the airline’s leadership decided to conserve resources and postpone its launch until conditions became more favorable.
Following the disruptions of World War II and the cessation of Wearne’s Air Service, the aviation sector in Southeast Asia underwent a significant transition. The gap left by the discontinuation of Wearne’s Air Service provided an opportunity for the development of a new regional airline.
In response to this, Malayan Airways was launched on 1 May 1947. The airline’s inaugural flight, a chartered journey from the British Straits Settlement of Singapore to Kuala Lumpur on 2 April 1947, set the stage for regular weekly scheduled flights to destinations such as Ipoh and Penang starting from 1 May 1947, utilizing Airspeed Consul twin-engined aircraft.
Continuing its expansion throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Malayan Airways received technical assistance from other Commonwealth airlines, including BOAC and Qantas Empire Airways. Joining IATA further propelled its growth. By 1955, Malayan Airways boasted a fleet featuring a substantial number of Douglas DC-3, and the company went public in 1957. The first two decades saw the operation of various aircraft, including the Douglas Douglas DC-4 Skymaster, the Vickers Viscount, the Lockheed 1049 Super Constellation, the Bristol Britannia, the de Havilland Comet 4 and the Fokker F27. This period of dynamic development set the stage for the emergence of two prominent carriers, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines, with Malayan Airways laying the foundation for their future success.
When Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, the airline’s name was changed, from “Malayan Airways” to “Malaysian Airways”. MAL 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 routes, including the purchase of MSA’s first Boeing aircraft, the Boeing 707s, as well the completion of a new high-rise headquarters in Singapore. Boeing 737s were added to the fleet soon after. In 1970, the airline began what turned out to be very lengthy negotiations aimed at obtaining approval to operate services to the US.
MSA ceased operations in 1972, and both Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines System commenced operations in its place. The reason for this development was strategic: Singapore wanted to increase its international routes, but Malaysia wanted to develop its domestic network before moving on to international routes. Singapore Airlines kept all of MSA’s Boeing 707s and 737s, and retained the international routes out of Singapore as well as the existing corporate headquarters in the city, with J.Y. Pillay, former joint chief of MSA, as its first chairperson. Female flight attendants continued to wear the sarong kebaya uniform, which had been first introduced in 1968. A local start-up advertising company, Batey Ads was given the right to market the airline, eventually selecting the sarong and kebaya-clad air stewardesses as an icon for the airline and calling them Singapore Girls. Its new name, callsign SIA and blue-yellow livery was officiated 1 July 1972.
Singapore Airlines was the first to put the Airbus A380 the world’s largest passenger aircraft—as well as the Boeing 787-10 into service, and is the only operator of the ultra-long-range (ULR) version of the Airbus A350-900. It ranks amongst the top 15 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue passenger Kilometers and is ranked tenth in the world for international passengers carried. Singapore Airlines was voted as the Skytrax World’s Best Airline Cabin Crew 2019. The airline has also won the second and fourth positions as the World’s Best Airlines and World’s Cleanest Airlines respectively in 2019. In 2023, the airline for the fifth time took the prize of “Best Airline” as well as the “Best First Class Airline” by Skytrax.
Flight info
Aircraft: A350-900
Flight time: 11hr 30min
Route: WSSS - EKCH
(Singapore Changi - Copenhagen)
Server: Expert
Thanks for stopping by.
