The Singaporean girl dressed in traditional sarong kebaya is
easily the most recognized and iconic images associated with the branding of
this Asian airline. Excellence, it seems has been ingrained in the airlines’ DNA;
why else would an airline transform and provide its business class customers
service till now privileged to first class customers.
Though I have regularly traveled Mumbai - Singapore
with Singapore
airlines, this time around, I was shocked and thrilled to discover the new
seats(or should I refer to mini cabins) for Business class passengers. For a
moment, I thought that I had inadvertently stepped into the First Class section
of the airline and to my initial embarrassment I displayed my boarding card to
the stewardess(of course beautiful!) for confirmation. I was pleasantly
surprised to discover that the airline has upgraded its business class seating
arrangement. I heartily welcomed myself to the obscence luxury being meted out
to a poor traveler like moi!
The new seats are improvised versions of the existing first
class seats, thereby providing an additional 50% space to passengers. I now had
a small cabin for myself convertible into a 180 degree flat bed!. Though, I had experienced the 180
degree flat bed with Malaysian Airlines and thought that it was the best until
I encountered the Singaporean experience. Though technically the Malaysian
Airlines does provide passengers with a 180 degree bed, however the experience
is not an enjoyable one since the bed unfolds at an angle which I now find a ‘bit
unpleasant’.
The range and array of exceptional quality service makes it
my most preferred airline. Excellence as I mentioned is second skin and that
can be experienced in the variety and delectable cuisine on flight or the constant
flow of wine, champagne and liquor… with plenty of non-alcoholic options
thrown in for teetotallers.
The total journey of 04.30 hrs seems to pass sans the jet lag.
Passengers are pampered and spoilt for choice of
entertainment available in-flight. The latest collection of movies consists
of an array of latest Hollywood, Bollywood, Tamil, Arabic, Korean; Japanese…
hmm I have lost count of the languages leave alone the number of movies…The
in-flight entertainment is not merely restricted to movies but is extended to
include a whole host of entertainment programs, music, game etc. etc. etc.
Quality and Service par excellence in times of rising fuel
prices leading to increase in price and resultant shrinking air travel make me
ponder over all the text book cost accounting fundamentals for airline
companies that have been suggested by leading cost accountant. Singapore
Airlines does beat its competitors fairly and squarely in all aspects of air
travel; or is it a case of raising the bar to a level which would ultimately be
unachievable by competitors?
Though not equally spacious(obviously), the economy class
section of the airline is also exceptional in its seating, choice of cuisine
and beverages which include a judicious mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic
variant.
Asian airlines have been traditionally better in rendering
exceptional mix of service on-board as well as off-board as compared to their
European and American counterparts. Singapore Airlines would easily rank a top
notch above all the other airlines operating in the industry, be it in Asia
or otherwise. The up gradation of the business class has challenged the entire
aviation industry and I am sure very few would be able to match this giant in
its stride. On a lighter note, it would not be surprising if the airline
included a personal suite in its non-A380 airlines as well.
The array of high quality service provided by this airline signifies a
typical element of Singapore
- Obsession with quality in everything they do.
Cheers!
P.S. Please provide your valuable comments and do rate the review