Singapore Airlines plans new flight route – to nowhere
In its quest to keep parts of its business running, Singapore’s flagship carrier Singapore Airlines is resorting to an unusual solution: The airline is planning flights to nowhere.
This means flights that start and end at the same airport to give potential passengers the feeling of being airborne again. The flights from Changi airport, probably with an A380 jet, are slated to take place beginning from the end of October and take about two to three hours.
They may be bundled with staycations at the city’s hotels, shopping vouchers and limousine and ferry rides for Singaporeans who don’t travel much at the moment, The Straits Times cited insiders.
As pointless it may seem at first thought, a survey conducted by aviation firm Singapore Air Charter showed that 75 per cent of the 308 participants of the poll would be willing to buy tickets for these types of flights. The most popular price that respondents would pay for an economy class seat is S$288 ($210), with 45 per cent of respondents saying they are willing to do so. About 40 per cent said they would be willing to pay S$588 ($430) for a business class seat.
Partnership with Singapore Tourism Board
Reportedly, Singapore Airlines also plans to explore a partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board to allow interested passengers to partially pay for such flights with tourism credits that will be given out by the government.
The airline did neither confirm nor deny the report, with a spokesperson saying that “We are considering several initiatives that would allow us to continue engaging both our customers and members of the public.”
Singapore Airlines has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis, and even harder than other carriers it does not operate domestic flights. On September 10, the airline announced massive job cuts and a reduction of its fleet.
Interestingly, it turned out that Singapore Airlines would not be the first airline to offer “flights to nowhere.” There have already been such offers by All Nippon Airways, EVA Air and Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines. Those flights have been extremely popular, given the novelty, and also given that people are just generally excited to travel again – and getting on a plane can be part of that, airline industry experts say.
Singapore Airlines A380 a takeoff In its quest to keep parts of its business running, Singapore’s flagship carrier Singapore Airlines is resorting to an unusual solution: The airline is planning flights to nowhere. This means flights that start and end at the same airport to give potential passengers the feeling of being airborne again. The flights from Changi airport, probably with an A380 jet, are slated to take place beginning from the end of October and take about two to three hours. They may be bundled with staycations at the city’s hotels, shopping vouchers and limousine and ferry rides for...
In its quest to keep parts of its business running, Singapore’s flagship carrier Singapore Airlines is resorting to an unusual solution: The airline is planning flights to nowhere.
This means flights that start and end at the same airport to give potential passengers the feeling of being airborne again. The flights from Changi airport, probably with an A380 jet, are slated to take place beginning from the end of October and take about two to three hours.
They may be bundled with staycations at the city’s hotels, shopping vouchers and limousine and ferry rides for Singaporeans who don’t travel much at the moment, The Straits Times cited insiders.
As pointless it may seem at first thought, a survey conducted by aviation firm Singapore Air Charter showed that 75 per cent of the 308 participants of the poll would be willing to buy tickets for these types of flights. The most popular price that respondents would pay for an economy class seat is S$288 ($210), with 45 per cent of respondents saying they are willing to do so. About 40 per cent said they would be willing to pay S$588 ($430) for a business class seat.
Partnership with Singapore Tourism Board
Reportedly, Singapore Airlines also plans to explore a partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board to allow interested passengers to partially pay for such flights with tourism credits that will be given out by the government.
The airline did neither confirm nor deny the report, with a spokesperson saying that “We are considering several initiatives that would allow us to continue engaging both our customers and members of the public.”
Singapore Airlines has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis, and even harder than other carriers it does not operate domestic flights. On September 10, the airline announced massive job cuts and a reduction of its fleet.
Interestingly, it turned out that Singapore Airlines would not be the first airline to offer “flights to nowhere.” There have already been such offers by All Nippon Airways, EVA Air and Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines. Those flights have been extremely popular, given the novelty, and also given that people are just generally excited to travel again – and getting on a plane can be part of that, airline industry experts say.
