SilkAir becomes 'Singapore Airlines'

CraigAnderson · Thu May 17, 2018 11:53 pm

SilkAir will drop its identity and assume that of parent Singapore Airlines, as well as take over some regional SQ routes and install business class flat beds in its Boeing 737s, in a major shake-up announced this morning from Singapore

https://www.ausbt.com.au/silkair-adopts ... ness-class

NZ321 · Fri May 18, 2018 12:00 am

Wow I didn't see this one coming.

Coal · Fri May 18, 2018 12:04 am

Huge news! It will be the first time in many decades that SQ has narrow body planes in its livery, including on a 737.

Good to see some harmonization of the product, including flat beds in J and PTVs in Y.

maortega15 · Fri May 18, 2018 12:20 am

Official Press Release:

https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/m ... 718-180518

CBBW · Fri May 18, 2018 12:22 am

I’ll be very interested to see which seat they choose for their lie flat business class. It’s going to be cool to see a narrow body in SQ’s livery. I assume the last time they operated a narrow body was the 757?

Antarius · Fri May 18, 2018 12:37 am

CBBW wrote:
I’ll be very interested to see which seat they choose for their lie flat business class. It’s going to be cool to see a narrow body in SQ’s livery. I assume the last time they operated a narrow body was the 757?

Yup. 1990 I believe was when it was retired.

So nearly 3 decades later an NB returns.

NeBaNi · Fri May 18, 2018 1:18 am

The 737 MAX is going to look fantastic in the SQ livery! :hyper:

I wonder if SQ will repaint some of the A320s too, or will all of them be out of the fleet by 2020?

smi0006 · Fri May 18, 2018 1:24 am

Wow - exciting. Makes sense to leverage off the one brand, and synergies cost savings. I wonder if Scott and Tiger would merge?

Looking forward to seeing the onboard product and livery. Hope the added brand awareness and improved premium product allows to maintain all their current regional routes and maybe add some. Nothing worse than adding costs and having to leave markets.

log0008 · Fri May 18, 2018 1:24 am

Big news but smart, Singapore Airlines has a much bigger brand image than Silkair and more importantly it will enable them to better react to demand by moving narrow body flights to wide body (such as A330) during periods of strong demand.

BestWestern · Fri May 18, 2018 1:31 am

Makes sense. The SQ group has gone from 4 brands to two in 18 months.

hayzel777 · Fri May 18, 2018 1:45 am

smi0006 wrote:
I wonder if Scott and Tiger would merge?

They've already merged. They fly under the Scoot brand but using TR flight numbers. Crew use Scoot uniform. Aircraft have already begun repainting.

zakuivcustom · Fri May 18, 2018 1:53 am

Didn't see it coming either, although it does make some sense to streamline the business.

Like many already said, would love to see SQ's livery on narrowbodies.

smi0006 wrote:
Wow - exciting. Makes sense to leverage off the one brand, and synergies cost savings. I wonder if Scott and Tiger would merge?

Not sure what you mean, when Tigerair and Scoot already merged last year :scratchchin:

. Tigerair's name survived in form of Tigerair Australia and Tigerair Taiwan, but the original "Tigerair" no longer exist, even though it's Tigerair's AOC that was used by the merged Scoot.

juliuswong · Fri May 18, 2018 3:23 am

Am I the only one here who will be sad that SilkAir branding will be gone? It has build up its name and loyalty over the decades as a leisure driven airline and their new cabin and product offering that comes with B737NG introduction was a breath of fresh air. MI's crew seems, to me IMO, much more friendlier and lively compared to those in SQ. Please don't get me wrong, SQ crew is excellent, but somehow you get a feeling that many of them are being 'friendly' just because the SOP said so.

As for A320, I don't think it will see SQ livery, they are down to last 11, all should be gone by 2020 or left with one or two when time approaches.

Good for public with distinctive product differentiation: Singapore Airlines for mainline full fare, Scoot for budget, low cost market. However sad to see MI brand goes, won't miss Tigerair brand too much though.

smi0006 · Fri May 18, 2018 3:28 am

zakuivcustom wrote:
Didn't see it coming either, although it does make some sense to streamline the business.

Like many already said, would love to see SQ's livery on narrowbodies.

smi0006 wrote:
Wow - exciting. Makes sense to leverage off the one brand, and synergies cost savings. I wonder if Scott and Tiger would merge?

Not sure what you mean, when Tigerair and Scoot already merged last year . Tigerair's name survived in form of Tigerair Australia and Tigerair Taiwan, but the original "Tigerair" no longer exist, even though it's Tigerair's AOC that was used by the merged Scoot.

Haha - no I’m just slow and out of the loop, good to hear.

DexSwart · Fri May 18, 2018 3:34 am

Just wishful thinking but does this mean we’re gonna see PTV’s in the MAXs?

I can’t wait to see Singapore Airlines in Darwin and Cairns!

Stitch · Fri May 18, 2018 3:35 am

DexSwart wrote:
Just wishful thinking but does this mean we’re gonna see PTV’s in the MAXs?

Yes in both Premium and Economy Class per the article.

c933103 · Fri May 18, 2018 3:48 am

DexSwart wrote:
Just wishful thinking but does this mean we’re gonna see PTV’s in the MAXs?

I can’t wait to see Singapore Airlines in Darwin and Cairns!

Probably, the press release say, "investment of more than $100 million to upgrade the wholly owned subsidiary’s cabins with new lie-flat seats in Business Class, and the installation of seat-back in-flight entertainment systems in both Business Class and Economy Class."

c933103 · Fri May 18, 2018 3:50 am

Actually it seems like the merge won't be coming too soon. Cabin config will only start to be updated from year 2020, and only after that will the brand be ultimately merged into SIA. Probably at least a few more years before it happen.

Antarius · Fri May 18, 2018 3:52 am

juliuswong wrote:
Am I the only one here who will be sad that SilkAir branding will be gone? It has build up its name and loyalty over the decades as a leisure driven airline and their new cabin and product offering that comes with B737NG introduction was a breath of fresh air. MI's crew seems, to me IMO, much more friendlier and lively compared to those in SQ. Please don't get me wrong, SQ crew is excellent, but somehow you get a feeling that many of them are being 'friendly' just because the SOP said so.

As for A320, I don't think it will see SQ livery, they are down to last 11, all should be gone by 2020 or left with one or two when time approaches.

Good for public with distinctive product differentiation: Singapore Airlines for mainline full fare, Scoot for budget, low cost market. However sad to see MI brand goes, won't miss Tigerair brand too much though.

IMO SilkAir was synonymous with paying SQ prices for Air Asia. (Yes some hyperbole). Expensive and not worth it was my association.

I think the SQ merger brings the premium back. If I was going to fly Silk Air, I'd rather fly Lion Air for 1/10 the price.

usflyer msp · Fri May 18, 2018 4:06 am

This means SilkAir will be in A* - I always found it odd that SQ was in Star but SilkAir was not...

PolarRoute · Fri May 18, 2018 4:28 am

Wow now that's a news.

I have mixed feelings about this though. While I'm excited to see NB fleet in SQ's livery, the other side of me has a feeling that I'm going to be reminiscent of all-WB fleet of SIA. I thought it was a unique characteristic.

seabosdca · Fri May 18, 2018 4:39 am

Good luck to them. I'm not especially optimistic that an all-premium-heavy business model will work anywhere in the world in the future, but if anyone can pull it off, it will be SQ or the legacy Japanese airlines.

infinit · Fri May 18, 2018 4:47 am

I knew it was a matter of time. Travellers want seemless connections. MI already codeshared with SQ on all its routes from 2015- and yes, it took SQ that long to realise the value of leveraging on its MI network.

However despite SQ's extensive efforts to prop up the SilkAir brand as a full-service regional arm, it just didnt work. Lots of people I've met from transcontinental connections felt that they were being shortchanged when they find an MI flight in their itinerary.

Looking forward to seeing the Keris logo on the tails of those 737s!
Maybe something like the 757s in terms of proportions:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... 0_Rees.jpg

Sayan777 · Fri May 18, 2018 5:06 am

so will the new 737 max delivered come in the SQ livery.

berari · Fri May 18, 2018 5:09 am

Here's a parallel to what Emirates has done or is doing with FlyDubai. Clearly the trend for these premium heavy airlines is to have closer ties to airlines that can give them the feed, with SQ taking an extra step and integrating Silk into its own brand.

Max Q · Fri May 18, 2018 5:15 am

infinit wrote:
I knew it was a matter of time. Travellers want seemless connections. MI already codeshared with SQ on all its routes from 2015- and yes, it took SQ that long to realise the value of leveraging on its MI network.

However despite SQ's extensive efforts to prop up the SilkAir brand as a full-service regional arm, it just didnt work. Lots of people I've met from transcontinental connections felt that they were being shortchanged when they find an MI flight in their itinerary.

Looking forward to seeing the Keris logo on the tails of those 737s!
Maybe something like the 757s in terms of proportions:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... 0_Rees.jpg

The 757 looked particularly good in the SQ
livery

ikolkyo · Fri May 18, 2018 5:17 am

Wow, this is really unexpected but it makes total sense.

carlokiii · Fri May 18, 2018 5:17 am

Sayan777 wrote:
so will the new 737 max delivered come in the SQ livery.

From the article and press release, the upgraded cabins must be quite prevalent before actually changing Silkair's branding to SQ's. Which is a smart play for brand and product consistency.

The new cabin products will be installed on 2020, so I assume it will take a while, probably not within five years, before seeing a 737 with a Silver Kris.

Lufthansa · Fri May 18, 2018 5:22 am

smi0006 wrote:
Wow - exciting. Makes sense to leverage off the one brand, and synergies cost savings. I wonder if Scott and Tiger would merge?

Looking forward to seeing the onboard product and livery. Hope the added brand awareness and improved premium product allows to maintain all their current regional routes and maybe add some. Nothing worse than adding costs and having to leave markets.

Tiger and Scoot already have! Only tiger left in Australia and Taiwan now.

Channex757 · Fri May 18, 2018 5:28 am

This will be everything about cost control. SQ's profit statement the other day showed Silk as being the negative spot in group earnings due to their rising costs and falling yield.

If they can bring the Silk unit into the parent then any overlap can be cut, as well as any unnecessary back office functions. Silk is still profitable so it won't be like trying to turn a hugely lossmaking unit round. It just needs better control of costs as well as the benefit of a global brand.

jubguy3 · Fri May 18, 2018 5:35 am

juliuswong wrote:
Am I the only one here who will be sad that SilkAir branding will be gone? It has build up its name and loyalty over the decades as a leisure driven airline and their new cabin and product offering that comes with B737NG introduction was a breath of fresh air. MI's crew seems, to me IMO, much more friendlier and lively compared to those in SQ. Please don't get me wrong, SQ crew is excellent, but somehow you get a feeling that many of them are being 'friendly' just because the SOP said so.

As for A320, I don't think it will see SQ livery, they are down to last 11, all should be gone by 2020 or left with one or two when time approaches.

Good for public with distinctive product differentiation: Singapore Airlines for mainline full fare, Scoot for budget, low cost market. However sad to see MI brand goes, won't miss Tigerair brand too much though.

Silkair is an amazing airline - i flew from SIN to PNH and back from REP in an open jaw, and couldn't be more pleased. But they have the identity of a glass of tap water. Silkair is about as close as you can get to "stock photo airline"

conaly · Fri May 18, 2018 6:12 am

I remember some time ago in another forum, where a guy booked some Singapore Airlines flights to some East Asian country (don't know anymore which exactly, could be Indonesia or Philippines). Shortly after he posted in that forum, that he was booked by Singapore Airlines on an unknown Asian airline – Silk Air – and he wants to know whether they are good and much more if they are safe. Only after a few guys told him, that it was in fact a good airline and actually a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, he was relieved and happy.

That was a good example of Silk Air's reputation. It seems that very few people (at least in Europe) know the airline at all and much less know, that it is a SQ-subsidiary, despite being a very good full-service-carrier. To be honest, I didn't know of that airline, too, until I was booked on them for a business trip to PEN via SIN. So merging MI to SQ is a logical consequence, SQ is the much bigger name and has still the reputation of being one of the best airlines in the world.

abrelosojos · Fri May 18, 2018 6:45 am

What took it so long!

Saludos,
Alex

N14AZ · Fri May 18, 2018 7:32 am

zakuivcustom wrote:
Didn't see it coming either, although it does make some sense to streamline the business.

smi0006 wrote:
Wow - exciting.

PolarRoute wrote:
Wow now that's a news.

ikolkyo wrote:
Wow, this is really unexpected but it makes total sense.

smi0006 wrote:
Wow - exciting.

log0008 wrote:
Big news but smart

zakuivcustom wrote:
Didn't see it coming either

smi0006 wrote:
Wow - exciting.

NZ321 wrote:
Wow I didn't see this one coming.

Coal wrote:
Huge news!

Well THAT's news in deed! Finally, we have some real news to discuss!

Coal wrote:
It will be the first time in many decades that SQ has narrow body planes in its livery, including on a 737.

It's like back to the roots:

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shanair/8463615799

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... reen-1.jpg

SKAirbus · Fri May 18, 2018 7:51 am

I wonder if we'll see SQ order the A321LR for some thinner regional routes?

aerorobnz · Fri May 18, 2018 8:19 am

I'm pleased, now I can fly SQ, with lounge access the whole way instead of the current nonsense with Silkair not getting star mileage etc,. It has been a long time coming, and SQ is finally starting to shine again.

Velocity7 · Fri May 18, 2018 8:42 am

Long time lurker, first time poster!

What's the likelihood that a lot of the existing SilkAir routes become Scoot, not SQ? Is this more about building the Scoot brand in intra Asia versus SQ? In my view many (not all) of SilkAir's existing routes are highly leisure orientated and by nature, potentially much more fare sensitive. There has been 3 examples of this happening this year alone - LGK, PKU and KLO all now with Scoot, previously, and for sometime in LGK case, with SilkAir.

I am not convinced we are going to see a plethora of SQ narrow bodies. I may be more inclined to believe we will see an expansion of Scoot!

55flyer · Fri May 18, 2018 9:22 am

Great move! Much better for us travelers knowing that star benefits will apply to all legs now, like increased baggage allowance.

For SQ I think it makes a lot of sense, they are struggling a bit and my impression is that they are no longer a leading airline because they don't have a lot of destinations. I think this makes the brand much more credible for business travelers.

Kashmon · Fri May 18, 2018 10:56 am

finally
SILKAIR is such a terrible substandard product....
at least KA was similar to CX

walking of an SQ plane and onto Silkair was always a shock

csturdiv · Fri May 18, 2018 11:03 am

usflyer msp wrote:
This means SilkAir will be in A* - I always found it odd that SQ was in Star but SilkAir was not...

Not unusual. QF is Oneworld while their JQ brand is not.

AntonioMartin · Fri May 18, 2018 11:12 am

Sad to see another airline name go.

usflyer msp · Fri May 18, 2018 11:56 am

csturdiv wrote:
usflyer msp wrote:
This means SilkAir will be in A* - I always found it odd that SQ was in Star but SilkAir was not...

Not unusual. QF is Oneworld while their JQ brand is not.

That is not quite the same. JQ is an LCC. SilkAir is a full service regional carrier. SilkAir not being in Star is like QantasLink not being in oneworld- very odd.

SJL · Fri May 18, 2018 11:58 am

Silk Air worked well on it’s own as a full service regional airline for SE Asia. However the reality is that someone from Europe or Australia booking SQ to somewhere like Siem Reap, Trivandrum or Kuching is going to step off an A380 or 77W and onto a 737 and feel it was an inconsistent experience. Although SQ have always felt bringing MI “in-house” would dilute the SQ brand, this will end up extending the SQ brand and experience to more places. Exciting times.

airbazar · Fri May 18, 2018 12:19 pm

Coal wrote:
Huge news! It will be the first time in many decades that SQ has narrow body planes in its livery, including on a 737.

Mere marketing. SilkAir was always Singapore Airlines but with different branding. Even on the frequent flier program was the same.

A388 · Fri May 18, 2018 12:31 pm

This is fantastics news and I agree the 737MAX will look fantastic in the SQ colors!!!! Any aircraft type will look fantastic in the SQ livery

A388

afterburner · Fri May 18, 2018 12:31 pm

airbazar wrote:
Coal wrote:
Huge news! It will be the first time in many decades that SQ has narrow body planes in its livery, including on a 737.

Mere marketing. SilkAir was always Singapore Airlines but with different branding. Even on the frequent flier program was the same.

I think it will be more cost-effective to manage one brand instead of two.

A388 · Fri May 18, 2018 12:36 pm

A bit off topic but I see FlyDubai also being fully integrated into Emirates Airlines and getting their inflight product and livery too. Just a matter of time in my opinion.

A388

aaexecplat · Fri May 18, 2018 1:30 pm

I have flown SilkAir several times in the last few years and as a Star Alliance Gold Passenger, the biggest gripe I had was not the inconsistency of the product or the relatively tight seating, but the fact that I had no lounge access. I mean...I would spend $2k to fly in PE to Thailand but I had no lounge access at Changi for hours on end on my transfer or when we were back on our way home in HKT. That was honestly absurd. That said, I still liked Silkair better than what Thai did with their Thai Smile brand. THOSE were the pits for me...no lounge access, subterranean gates, long bus transfers, and the most cramped pitch in any plane I have ever been on....only good news was that the flights to Chiang Rai and back were very short.

The other issue was that folks in Singapore didn't like to fly Silk because it was "expensive" when compared to the other low cost options (like Air Asia). Bringing these brands under one umbrella and harmonizing the service levels will go a long way to justify the fare difference perception between Silk and its competitors.

ZaphodHarkonnen · Fri May 18, 2018 1:44 pm

It feels a bit like the era of the classic 'full service' carriers creating low cost carrier subsidiaries is coming to a bit of a close. It seems the perceived cost of diluting a legacy brand has gone as people have got used to the more tiered pricing and stuff as basic as a seat + cabin bag.

Maybe we'll start seeing more of these mergers between low cost arms and their parent carriers. Who knows, maybe we'll end up with Qantas back flying NZ domestic. :p

zakuivcustom · Fri May 18, 2018 2:24 pm

ZaphodHarkonnen wrote:
It feels a bit like the era of the classic 'full service' carriers creating low cost carrier subsidiaries is coming to a bit of a close. It seems the perceived cost of diluting a legacy brand has gone as people have got used to the more tiered pricing and stuff as basic as a seat + cabin bag.

Maybe we'll start seeing more of these mergers between low cost arms and their parent carriers. Who knows, maybe we'll end up with Qantas back flying NZ domestic. :p

SilkAir is not a LCC subsidary of SQ, and they never were. They started out as charter arm of SQ before moving to scheduled services, with main focus on leisure destinations, and now operate mostly regional routes (to secondary Indonesia or India). Scoot is the "true" LCC subsidary for SQ.

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