Inflight Editor Satu Dahl speaks with Joey Seow, Regional Vice President Europe of Singapore Airlines, about how the carrier has enhanced its in-flight experience – and learns more about the airline’s valuable partnerships that contribute to its excellent passenger experience.
This article was originally published in the May/June 2024 edition of Inflight. If you would like to subscribe to receive Inflight, you can do so here.
Enhancing passenger experience
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has had several new onboard highlights recently, one of these being the revamping of the carrier’s Premium Economy Class in-flight experience, which includes an improved and expanded selection of food and beverage options, as well as new amenity kits.
Vice President of Singapore Airlines, Joey Seow speaks to Inflight about the carriers’ in-flight enhancements.
The carrier also has exciting news for its UK passengers. Joey Seow, SIA’s Regional Vice President Europe, tells Inflight: “We are very excited for the launch of our newest departure point in the UK when we start our five-times-weekly operations from London Gatwick from 22 June.
“Opening a world of travel to those living in London and the South East of England, flight SQ309 will operate from London Gatwick’s North Terminal, departing at 10.15am and arriving in Singapore at 6.20am the next day.”
The early arrival will enable passengers to seamlessly transfer on to flights to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand from the award-winning Changi Airport.
Seow notes that the 13-hour flight will be operated with the Airbus A350-900, a quieter and highly fuel-efficient aircraft.
He says: “The 253-seat aircraft features three cabin classes, with 42 seats in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy Class and 187 in Economy Class. Customers can sit back and enjoy our world class service, an award-winning wine collection, gourmet cuisine, and complimentary in-flight Wi-Fi as a KrisFlyer member.”
There’s good news on the in-flight dining front also. “Acclaimed chef and TV personality Monica Galetti has just been named as our guest chef,” Seow reveals.
“Monica will design a culinary experience for Suites, First Class, and Business Class customers departing from the UK.
“Her collection of dishes will showcase the finest British ingredients, with an emphasis on provenance and local suppliers.”
Seow says that customers can look forward to sampling Galetti’s menu when it is rolled out towards the last quarter of the year.
Expanding Singapore Airlines’ Premium Economy
Seow also shares more insight into SIA’s enhanced Premium Economy offering.
“We have recently announced a revamp of our Premium Economy in-flight experience, including an improved and expanded selection of food and beverage options, as well as a new amenity kit, all available for our passengers
from 31 March.
“This marks the first significant changes since the launch of our Premium Economy product in 2015, following extensive customer feedback and market research that gave us insights into the evolving needs and preferences of our customers.”
Seow notes that, over the years, Premium Economy has gained popularity among customers who appreciate the additional amenities, elevated comfort and extra personal space it offers – all at an excellent value.
“The introduction of these refreshed in-flight offerings will elevate our Premium Economy Class experience to a class of its own.”
When it comes to food on board, Seow says SIA’s catering teams have developed more than 200 new appetisers, main courses and desserts as part of the expansion of the Premium Economy Class in-flight meals, which consist of a seasonal appetiser, main course, bread, dessert, cheese and crackers, all served on a full-sized tray.
“We have also expanded our ‘Book the Cook’ menu, which features up to 20 dishes available on rotation, for pre-order at least 24 hours before departure.
“Customers will also be offered a glass of champagne shortly after take-off, and on flights that are at least seven hours long, an all-new sustainable Out of the Woods amenity kit comprising eyeshades and slippers made from recycled PET material and a lip balm packaged in biodegradable material will be available.”
Economy features a wide selection of catering options, plus new amenity kits. – Photo credits; Singapore Airlines
At London Heathrow, Seow says SIA is investing more than £3.5 million in refurbishing its SilverKris Lounge to deliver a refreshed experience for customers, with up to 16 per cent more seating space, enhanced facilities, and a new look to be unveiled in the summer.
“This follows the completion of an SGD$50 million dollar refurbishment of the flagship SilverKris and KrisFlyer Gold lounge in Changi Airport Terminal 3 in 2022,” he notes.
“The design of the SilverKris Lounge in Heathrow will continue with the refreshed ‘Home Away from Home’ concept, while taking elements from the recently completed flagship SilverKris Lounge in Singapore, so guests can look forward to distinct personal spaces that provide a sense of ‘being home’.”
Route expansion
Singapore remains an important destination and gateway to Asia, and Seow says SIA’s new service will offer the only direct flight from London Gatwick to Singapore.
“Together with our current four-times-daily services from London Heathrow, we will operate 33 weekly services from London to Singapore, up from today’s 28 weekly services. We also operate five-times-weekly services from Manchester Airport to both Singapore and Houston, USA.”
When it comes to more far-away destinations, Seow says that with more than a million British expats living in Australia there is a natural and historical affinity between the two countries, with friends and family travel adding to its high demand.
“As well as being Australia’s most frequent visitor with 140 weekly flights, we will offer the fastest connecting service from the UK to Sydney, in 21 hours 40 minutes, once the Gatwick service has launched.
“With a fleet of an average age of seven years and two months, our routes are served by various aircraft, from the A380, the A350 and the B777-300ER on our long-haul routes, to the B787 on our regional routes and the B737 on our short-haul destinations.
“Specifically, there’s a lot of buzz about Cairns at the moment, especially with the newly expanded Cairns Convention Centre, and our A350 now serving the route, increasing capacity.”
The carrier is also excited about some of the new routes its low-cost airline Scoot has launched, including Koh Samui, with Seow noting: “Travel to Asia is particularly strong at the moment because of affordable prices and great value for money.”
Inflight entertainment and connectivity
SIA offers Panasonic Avionics Wi-Fi on board with KrisFlyer membership, and Seow says the airline has been offering free unlimited Wi-Fi services to all travellers in all cabin classes since July 2023.
This enhanced Wi-Fi offering is available across virtually the entire aircraft fleet, except for the seven Boeing 737-800 aircraft which are not Wi-Fi enabled, and therefore almost the airline’s entire global route network.
“As a result, customers enjoy the most comprehensive free unlimited Wi-Fi access in the airline industry,” says Seow.
“We based our decision on customer feedback, which showed that high-speed in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity is one of the most important requirements for today’s travellers.
“It allows customers across all cabin classes to stay connected with loved ones, work online, or keep up to date with the latest news or their social media feeds, even from 36,000 feet in the sky.
“For us at Singapore Airlines, giving customers access to free unlimited Wi-Fi is yet another milestone in our continuous effort to offer an exceptional end-to-end travel experience, staying committed to providing premium economy excellence. Offering this service to KrisFlyer members is part of our continuous effort to reward our members.
“We have seen strong demand for this service since it was rolled out. We have committed to offering this across all our flights for consistency of product delivery, whereas most airlines offer this only on some routes or aircraft.”
Exclusive airline technology
Singapore Airlines has a long-term in-flight entertainment content partnership with Anuvu. So what trends is the carrier seeing on board when it comes to in-flight entertainment?
Kris Word; Photo credits – Singapore Airlines
“We carefully curate our KrisWorld in-flight entertainment service to offer a wide range of high quality and up-to-date options for our customers,” Seow says.
“We consider a wide range of factors in our selection, including the commercial success and critical acclaim of a movie or show, its entertainment value, and suitability for a broad spectrum of viewers including adults and children.”
KrisWorld has over 1,900 on-demand entertainment options, including movies, television shows, music albums and more for the airline’s customers, which are refreshed every month.
Live TV is increasingly popular, especially with the various sports events taking place across the year, enabling passengers to follow their favourite teams’ games in real time.
“Wellness is another area we are developing,” Seow notes. “With content including calming music, guided meditations, and other content that helps improve nutrition, sleep, relaxation and energy levels while flying.
“We are the first airline to offer live online shopping on board our aircraft through the KrisShop e-commerce platform in KrisWorld.
“Customers can browse from over 4,000 products across various categories, take advantage of duty-free prices, and choose to have their purchases delivered to their next SIA flight or directly to their homes.”
‘ Award-winning ‘ in-flight catering
When it comes to the drinks offering on board, Singapore Airlines has received several awards for its in-flight wine selection.
“That’s right,” says Seow. “We were most recently awarded the ‘Best Business Class Sparkling’ and ‘Best Presented First Class Wine List’ at the Cellars in the Sky Awards earlier this year.
“We serve approximately 2.1 million bottles of wines and champagnes on board every year, across all cabin classes. The wines we pour on board come from the very best vineyards located in many famous wine regions, selected by some of the world’s most educated and highly sought-after palates.
“The selection of wines and champagnes are done by tender, where suppliers are invited to submit their offerings for blind tasting by our three wine consultants – Michael Hill-Smith, Australia’s first Master of Wine; Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian Master of Wine; and Oz Clarke, one of the world’s most celebrated and colourful wine authorities.
“Our wine consultants personally visit vineyards and wineries across different regions to taste and source for quality small-batch wines. This approach complements the traditional way of procuring wines through tender requests and allows us to build relationships with smaller maisons and domaines.
“Through these processes, we are proud to offer a wide selection of exceptional quality and diverse wine selections. Together, the panel is responsible for recommending the wines and champagnes to be served on SIA flights.”
Seow explains that SIA conducts formal tastings regularly in Singapore, where more than 1,000 bottles of red and white wines, champagnes, and fortified wines are sampled by the consultants each year in blind tastings where the bottle labels are concealed.
Wines are judged on appearance (colour and clarity), bouquet or nose (smell), and palate (taste). The panel also assesses the wine’s suitability for drinking on board an aircraft, where the atmosphere tends to be drier.
“Based on the consultants’ advice, we stock up reserves for serving in the future, particularly for Suites, First Class, and Business Class,” says Seow.
“We do this frequently to stay ahead of the latest trends and developments, including exposure to New World wines that come into the market.”
Seow adds that SIA’s cabin crew are taught the essentials of wine appreciation during their training, including how and where different wines are produced, as well as the unique characteristics of different wines.
Those interested in acquiring more wine knowledge may then progress to advanced courses conducted by wine professionals.
“Singapore Airlines is an Approved Programme Provider for the UK’s Wine and Spirit Education Trust’s Intermediate and Advanced Certificate in Wines and Spirits,” Seow notes.
“Selected crew with the necessary certification often go on to become Singapore Airlines Air Sommeliers, providing professional wine service to customers and promoting wine knowledge amongst fellow crew members.
“This enables our cabin crew to recommend customers suitable wines to pair with their meals.”
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Singapore Airlines’ in-flight wine selection wins bronze, silver and gold
