by : Derwin Pereira
I have travelled the world, on many airlines famous or not. I have encountered airline “service” ranging from the unremarkable to the rude, from the arrogant to the abrasive. On all such encounters, I have consoled myself with a single thought: I am not flying Singapore Airlines (SIA); I should not expect very much. Once I lowered my standards, I found my treatment at the hands of “flight attendants” – they attend to themselves and not passengers – quite easy to bear. A philosophical attitude to the ways of the world would say that we must make the best of what life has to offer. Asking for more would be to settle for less in an unfair fight unless life changes for the better.
Life changes for the better when airlines do. My encounters with SIA have been of the Singaporean kind. That is to say, I am a citizen of a country that exists simply by virtue of being exceptional. Buses and trains run on time; contracts are honoured; politics is not for demagogues or fools; the law takes its course; and I can make my way to Church without being mugged. As a Singaporean, I have grown to expect the best and not the worst from your and my national airline. SIA is not just a product of the Singapore ecosystem: It is an emblem of it, particularly for foreigners whose first experience of Singapore lies in their engagement with the airline that carries its beautiful name. If every human or country should live up to its name, so should the national airline. SIA certainly does so.
Why? Let me tell you a story. I have heard that after SIA was born in 1972, its officers in London hawked cheap tickets to Singapore on the streets. No one knew Singapore Airlines then. What people saw were officials of the flag-carrier of a country, which itself had gained a flag only recently, trying earnestly to entice them to visit it. Forget the cushioned chairs; forget the airconditioned offices; forget the suits and ties of the world of airline offices. What matters for an airline, as for its country, is its ability to charm its way into the heart of a potential passenger. Once it has done so, the flight must live up to its promise.
The problem is that there are many countries that wish to be Singapore, many other airlines that wish to be SIA. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar lead the pack of modernising Arab countries that have become fixtures of success on the global map of aviation with airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways. That is because of the safe, efficient and caring service they provide. The countries’ airports have become to those airlines what Changi is to SIA. Dubai and Doha airports offer connectivity and comfort to Europe to passengers from Asia and Australia in a way that potentially rivals Singapore’s position as a trans-regional hub that looks to the west. Looking to the east and north, it is difficult to see Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian or Australian airlines or airports competing realistically with SIA and Changi. However, it is worth remembering that those countries have substantial domestic populations that travel abroad and thus offer them a buffer from dependence on foreign travellers. Demographically, SIA has to be a “foreign” airline, true to Singapore’s own destiny as a Global City. Singapore is global or it is nothing.
So goes the game. I cannot complain. SIA cannot base its success on the failures of other airlines because there will be yet others that will succeed. Other airlines are not SIA’s enemy. SIA’s enemy – indeed, its worst enemy – is itself. SIA has become a brand associated with success. That is exhilarating. But it is also tempting. It is tempting because it can lead to complacency. And complacency is the first footstep towards downfall. I do not expect this to happen. It should not.
Meanwhile, SIA is my First-Class airline. The only one.
