SIA SPENDING US$850m TO REFIT A380 PLANES
SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines Ltd, the first carrier to put a double bed in its cabins, is spending US$850 million (RM3.6 billion) to refit all its Airbus SE A380 jets as it fights neck and neck with airlines such as Emirates for passengers paying top dollar.
The flag carrier yesterday unveiled its first major overhaul across cabins of its Airbus SE A380s since 2007, when it became the first to fly the doubledecker aircraft. For top-end customers, Singapore Air has cut the number of suites to six from 12, allowing more space for a separate flat bed and fully adjustable seat with leather upholstery by Italy’s Poltrona Frau.
Singapore Airlines is fending off intensifying competition particularly from Middle Eastern airlines like Etihad Airways PJSC and Emirates, which in August introduced a yacht cabin-inspired lounge on its own A380s and is set to unveil a new firstclass cabin this month.
The carrier’s interiors revamp — four years in the making — comes amid a review of its entire business as the money earned from flying passengers per kilometre hovers around eight-year lows and it prepares to report quarterly results next week.
“We do not compare ourselves with competitors,” said Singapore Airlines chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong at a briefing to unveil the new cabins.
Airlines have been trying to outdo each other when it comes to pampering the upscale business traveller. In addition to the bed and leather chair in the new suites, there’ll be a full-sized wardrobe and double bathrooms, one of which has a sit-down vanity counter.
But they won’t have an in-flight shower like what Etihad offers in its Residence suites. Neither will there be a common lounge for premier customers, like on Emirates flights.
Singapore Airlines says feedback indicates passengers don’t
want a bar, but more private space and convenient storage.
The changes will be first introduced in five new super-jumbo planes Singapore Airlines will receive progressively from this year, starting with the SingaporeSydney flight on December 18.
The airline also will retrofit 14 existing A380s with the new products starting late next year, with a target for completion in 2020. Bloomberg