Fly enjoying luxury and comfort
Leslie Thng, General Manager of Singapore Airlines, explains the philosophy of the exclusive airline company
Leslie Thng, General Manager of Singapore Airlines, explains to Luxgallery the new strategies and philosophy of one of the world most exclusive airline companies.
Under which forms the concept of exclusivity is supposed to take shape according to the view of an airline company, on the ground and in the air?
For us exclusivity means to provide the best ground and air products and services. For instance, we currently make use of the best available aircraft, like Airbus A380, on which we added a new type of class that we called Suite that stands above First Class and is at present one of the top world air companies. Moreover, on board of our aircraft it is possible to enjoy, in all classes, the best inflight entertainment, thanks to the high technology system called KrisWorld, as well as high standard food & beverage services. Our ground services provide personalized assistance, ensuring the best accomodation in case of flight delays or cancellations, and even in case of relatives’ illnesses. We also try to personalize the ticketing service in order to differentiate the type of services we provide from those offered by our competitors.
To what extent do business customers matter to you?
A lot. In fact, our Business Class enjoys exclusive services. Our Business Class is the biggest ever presented by an airline company and the world’s most awarded, with seats that become full-flat beds. Business passengers, like those of other classes, enjoy à la carte menus created by the International Culinary Panel of Singapore Airlines, a team of 7 chefs among the most credited in the world; the meals are accompanied by the best wines, carefully selected by three oenologists. Rest time is made even more comfortable with the pyjamas, duvets and blankets designed by Givenchy, Occitane cosmetics and perfumes and after-shaves by Ferragamo. All in all, luxury and care are provided at 360 degrees, to offer the best premium products to our customers, of any class.
The concept of Emerging Markets is more and more debated: to what extent did Singapore Airlines interpret the new necessities of the market?
Throughout the years we focused more and more on emerging markets, like China and India, and as of today we have a number of daily flights to these destinations. These are very important markets to us, both because we take there passengers from all over the world, and overall, because we take passengers belonging to those markets to Singapore.
Did the world economic crisis modify the business strategies of your company? If yes, how?
Yes, it did. We foresee 2009 to be a difficult year for us, as for anyone else. We already announced that the fiscal year, starting in April 2009 till March 2010, will experience capacity cuts by around 11%, that is a very significant cut for us. We will have to decommission 17 crafts for the whole year. This is because demand has generally fallen, so much as to lead us to thinking of decreasing the number of flights to a few destinations and of cancelling flights to a couple.
Could you reveal a pearl that will surprise those that will fly with you during the coming months?
One of the things that passengers most expect is a decrease in ticket prices. Thus, we thought of offering ad hoc promotions, for instance from Italy to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. Our Head Office will also promote initiatives aimed at stimulating travel demands, initiatives that will be announced once the details are available.
Davide Passoni
CAPTIONS
1_Leslie Thng – General Manager ITALY: Leslie Thng, General Manager of Singapore Airlines
2_A345c: Singapore Airlines boasts one of the most sophisticated inflight entertainment systems
3_A330_Biz_class3: The Business Class of Singapore Airlines on board of the Airbus A330.
4_Suites_001: In the Suite on board aircrafts you can feel as comfortable as in your own living room
5_A380_take_off: The Airbus A380, flagship of the Singapore Airlines’ air fleet
6_KFL3: Luxury and Comfort for Singapore Airlines’ ground services
Aviation, Travel And Holidays,
Tags: Australia, China, Ferragamo, Givenchy, India, Malaysia, Occitane, Singapore, Singapore Airlines, Thailand, Thng
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