JOIN USEnhanced service awaits Singapore Airlines passengers
The Airlines wants to add depth to its current 48 weekly flight schedule from six Indian cities. Its recently introduced “Enhanced Cabin Experience” for business class passengers is one such initiative, all set to be extended for the six cities by the year-end, top airline officials said.
Seats convertible to 180 degree beds, individual TVs with a hundred channels, culinary experience drawn from a veritable medley of international cuisines, the cabin experience couldn’t have been more luxurious. The medium-haul Boeing 777-200 aircraft interiors had a complete upgrade to create this experience. Currently, the facility is available to passengers from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.
Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President for West Asia and Africa, Philip Goh had a reason to justify this vigorous attention to India. “The Indian market has bounced back very quickly this year, across all the metros. The annual two-way traffic to and from Singapore has gone up to six lakh visitors,” he told Indian reporters on a visit to Singapore recently. The introduction of flights by SilkAir, a sister concern of Singapore Airlines, to Bangalore in May and Chennai in June, is in line with this thinking.
In 2008, Singapore Airlines had introduced its latest Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the Mumbai and Delhi night flights. These offered a luxurious First Class and a very spacious Business Class bed. Incidentally, the Airlines operates 10 Airbus 380s, serving Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Paris and Zurich.
“Recently, we got delivery of the 11th aircraft of this class. We had ordered for 19 of these. We intend to use A380s to enhance capacities on our popular routes,” Goh explained the strategy.
Of all the services, it is the “Enhanced Cabin Experience” that has caught the passengers’ fancy. Business class passengers can literally stretch out and unwind, with adjustable headsets and lumbar support besides a 15.4’-inch widescreen LCD a remote away. Economy Class passengers are offered 4-way adjustable headrests and a height adjustable footrest.
The in-flight meals are specially designed by members of the International Culinary Panel (ICP), a collective of award-winning chefs. During a tour of the Airlines’ catering facility in Singapore, Hermanna Freidanck explained how the flight catering had become dynamic over the years.
“For instance, in the past Indian cuisine used to be in the background. Now it has come to the fore because of the growing Indian traveller base.” Celebrity Indian chef, Sanjeev Kapoor is a prominent part of the Culinary Panel.