“This particular recession is a more severe test than any other downturn I can recall in the last 25 years,” says Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Chew Choon Seng.

All that bad news, however, hasn’t fazed the public one bit. Singapore Airlines, the world’s largest airline by market capitalization, once again landed in first place as the most-admired Singapore company in the Asia 200 survey of subscribers of The Wall Street Journal Asia and other businesspeople.

The airline has been voted Singapore’s top company every year since 1993, when the Asia 200 survey began. It’s the only company in Asia to win its country’s first-place ranking every single year. Temasek Holdings, the Singapore government’s investment fund, owns 54% of Singapore Airlines

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest telephone company by market capitalization, was ranked second in the survey, and United Overseas Bank placed third. This year, Singapore Airlines ranked first in most subcategories, including reputation, quality of service and products, innovation in responding to customer needs and long-term management vision. It ranked fourth, however, in the category of financial reputation, reflecting concerns about the tough environment faced by airlines world-wide.

Singapore Airlines dominates the survey each year because the company consistently delivers on its brand promise: the airline boasts top-tier service, the latest in-flight entertainment and amenities, and one of the youngest fleets in the sky. The company, meanwhile, has continued to invest in new planes and staff training throughout the global economic crisis. Singapore Airlines has 10 more A380s, 11 more A330s, 20 Boeing 787s and 20 Airbus A350s on order today. There have been no cuts in core areas of service and fleet renewal, despite continued pressure on the bottom line, says Mr. Chew.

“That’s kept us in good stead,” he says. “It shows we are committed to staying true to our core values, our market positioning and the identity of the company.”

The average age of Singapore’s fleet right now is 6 years old, which puts it way ahead of the pack. The average fleet age of airlines world-wide is 14 or 15 years, according to Corrine Png, head of regional transportation research at J.P. Morgan. “This generates customer appeal,” she says. “People are excited about traveling on the newest aircraft with the best technology.”

Asian airlines are widely perceived to have among the best service in the world, and within Asia, Singapore Airlines sits at the apex. “Customer service is the cornerstone of our business strategy,” says Mr. Chew. Any airline can buy the same aircraft with the latest gadgets, he says. It’s the operating systems and the people that set SIA apart. The airline makes optimal use of its customer-relationship management software, so staff can tell what meals, drinks or extras its regular customers prefer. Staff members receive continuing training on both technical matters and customer-service skills. “We’ve managed, over the years, to inculcate that into our corporate DNA,” Mr. Chew says. “We’ve honed it so it’s not just one or two flights that you get good service on; it’s all flights.”

Employees buy into the service mantra when they join the airline. Last year, a flight attendant named Caroline Chou noticed an Indian passenger, who suffered from sclerosis, had fallen ill on a flight from Los Angeles to Coimbatore. The plane landed for a stopover in Taipei, where Ms. Chou was due a few days off. She escorted the man and his family to a hospital, and stepped in to translate for the Mandarin-speaking doctors. Although she wasn’t required to, Ms. Chou visited the family on her days off. When the family was informed the man could continue his journey only on a flight equipped with specialized medical equipment, Ms. Chou helped source the equipment and get authorization from various authorities to take the gear on board.

Providing the latest technology and attentive staff has helped make SIA the airline of choice for many business travelers. Singapore Airlines earns 60% of its revenue from business and first class; other Asian airlines earn, on average, 20% of their revenue from premium seats, according to Ms. Png.

To be sure, there is continued turbulence ahead. Mr. Chew, who has worked for the airline since 1972 and served as the CEO for six years, reckons this is the worst environment in decades, and doesn’t anticipate a quick economic recovery. Past periods of economic turmoil, like the 1998 Asian economic crisis, the 2003 outbreak of SARS and even the dotcom crash, were largely regional in nature, so falling demand from one part of the world was largely offset by other regions, says Mr. Chew. This time the impact is global. The rest of the year will remain tough, and the prospect of a recovery in 2010 depends entirely on how governments around the world manage their economies and how consumers respond, says Mr. Chew.

There are some signs that while things have yet to get better, it’s at least stopped getting worse. The decline in SIA’s forward bookings has leveled off, which is good news. But the situation has yet to improve. The airline warned that it could post its first-ever annual loss if conditions didn’t improve.

The company has moved to stem costs. Capacity has been cut by 11% for the current fiscal year by trimming routes and grounding planes. In June, the airline announced management would take a 10% pay cut, and the CEO and board pay would be cut by 20%. Pilots agreed to take one day unpaid leave a month and a salary cut equivalent to 65% of one day’s salary per month. Agreements negotiated with staff unions, meanwhile, include a large variable component that links pay to the company’s performance. When the company announced its quarterly loss last month, it also said that pay for 12,000 staff based in Singapore would be cut by 10% for at least three months starting Aug. 1

“Right now, our challenge is to manage our costs so we can keep our noses above water, and put us in a position to ride the upturn when things pick up,” says Mr. Chew. “We also need to manage resources so we can uphold the values and the business strategy of the company.”

This time around, as things turn down there are however three new features: one, this downturn is global and there are few if any pockets of hope; secondly, they have ramped up reliance on a premium traffic market which is now slumping to an extent that could not have been imagined a year ago; and thirdly, their reliance on Asian markets has grown significantly, even since the 2003 SARS outbreak.

This latter feature is hurting both carriers. Singapore Airlines, reporting its Nov-08 traffic results today, for example showed a cargo load factor reduction of a whopping 13.1 percentage points for “East Asia” routes. This compares with an overall equivalent fall of 4.2 percentage points for all routes.

Cathay, whose reliance on the Chinese market is greater (but does not break out regional cargo results), shed 15.4 percentage points on cargo loads. Cargo markets are tanking as high value exports decline. As Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales and Marketing, Titus Diu, said last week, “November is traditionally one of the busiest months in the airfreight business but this year the peak simply didn’t happen.”

The outlook is not good either for this sector. As IATA reported last week in its global review for 2009, “with 45% of the global cargo market, the (Asia Pacific) region’s carriers will be disproportionately impacted by the expected 5% drop in global cargo markets next year.” (And, ominously, Director general, Giovanni Bisignani went on, “Air cargo comprises 35% of value of goods traded internationally. The 7.9% decline in October is a clear indication that the worst is yet to come – for airlines and the slowing global economy.”)

But Singapore Airlines has to date been much restrained in its capacity expansion than Cathay and it is here that the difference in performance shows. Cathay is talking of grounding several of its freighters as its greater exposure there has bitten deep already. But the bigger contrast is in capacity growth on the passenger deck that is making a difference.

Cathay went on an order binge over recent years, while Singapore has managed, at least so far, to contain its expansion. For most of 2008, Cathay’s passenger capacity levels have been up by around 15% year on year. Singapore has managed to keep its increase down to more manageable levels.

Despite similar numbers of new aircraft seats entering their fleets, Singapore has apparently managed the process better, either grounding or redesigning flight patterns to reduce utilisation.

This disparity – and the decline in passenger loads since Asia recognised that it was not “decoupled” from the world’s economy – can be seen in the respective load factor showings of the two carriers. In the early part of the year, Cathay was able to maintain load factor increases, despite adding 10% and more of capacity year on year.

But, as the economy deteriorated and Cathay’s capacity kept rolling in, this equation quickly changed. Meanwhile, despite its lower expansion of seat numbers, Singapore Airlines’ passenger load factors have bumped along in negative territory all year, but are not experiencing the steeper decline of Cathay.

There is one other closely linked variable: yields. Airlines are understandably reluctant to publish any more than local requirements force them to – and even then reports tend to be somewhat opaque.

To some extent, the Asia Pacific market, along with others, has been carried along on the previous year’s optimism. Once the new year turns, the indications from forward bookings are that either a lot more capacity will be grounded (unlikely while fuel prices remain low) – or that yields will decline across the board.

Already Qantas has effectively dumped a lot of its first half 2009 premium capacity in the market with its two-for-one offers.

The race to get seats out there first could be on after midnight on 31 December, as a year ends that most will prefer to forget. Hopefully 2009 will be a year to remember, for all the right reasons.

Ensuring safety for several millions of passengers

In order to ensure its service quality, SIA has invested in a “Million Training Center” to prevent potential in-flight errors by providing training courses. Around 15,000 employees are working in the Headquarter Office of SIA, therefore, SIA’s security control is highly valued for the safety of its employees and customers.

Changi Airport is a major traffic gate in Asia and the main airport in Singapore, which supports up to 4,340 flights every week and connecting over 116 cities in 59 countries. In 2007, Changi Airport serves a record high of almost 37 million passengers. Changi Airport is also the main hub for Singapore Airlines.

Friendly, easy to use and stable

In the Airline House and in the Training House, NUUO provided two SCB-IP+64 for two servers to connect with 106 cameras and 105 cameras consist of two camera brands respectively. Singapore Airline adopted NUUO’s surveillance solution because they required a “friendly” interface for security personnel to monitor more than one hundred channels of cameras at once.

Counting application and remote live viewer

In addition, Singapore Airline used counting application to reckon daily in and out car amount, and to monitor the entrances. SIA also adopted remote live viewer for guardroom, which locates outside the building, to reduce costs. Moreover, they needed 4CIF resolution, 12 fps in video solution and to store video for 28 days at least. Absolutely, NUUO SCB-IP+64 solved all SIA’s security needs all in one.

Expend easily with competitive price
In order to expend more cameras easily, SIA has decided to adopt IP cameras in the future. SIA chose NUUO SCB IP+64 for its advanced features and competitive price. NUUO’s supporting IP cameras allows SIA to reduce the cost and made future possible camera expansion possible.

Passenger numbers slid 6.1 percent in November to 1.54 million, the airline said in a Singapore stock exchange statement today. That’s the biggest drop since a 7.6 percent decline in August 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Singapore Air’s traffic has declined in two of the past three months as financial firms cut business travel and people cancel leisure trips. Global air traffic will decline 3 percent next year, the first drop since 2001, the International Air Transport Association has said.

The airline gained 0.2 percent to S$11.06 in Singapore trading today. The shares have declined 36 percent this year.

Qantas and Singapore Airlines have reduced their international surcharges by about 10 per cent. Qantas has reduced its domestic surcharges by about 20 per cent and, separately, has rescinded a fuel-related ticket price increase of about 3 per cent introduced earlier this year. Virgin Blue has reduced its surcharges by about 20 per cent.

“We are keeping our word,” says Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey. “We have always promised that if the cost of fuel reversed [came down], we would gladly reverse the surcharge accordingly. That is what we are doing.”

However, all three airlines appear reluctant to forgo all of the price increases made in the name of fuel surcharges.

Since July, the Singapore spot price for jet fuel has dropped by more than 60 per cent in US dollars. Factoring in the fall in the value of the Australian dollar, the price of jet fuel in the local currency has fallen 30 per cent since the middle of the year.

Compared with a year ago, jet fuel is about 15 per cent cheaper in Australian dollars, in spite of the currency’s fall. Yet Qantas is maintaining its fuel bill last financial year of $3.6 billion will still increase this financial year by about $750 million, or 20 per cent.

That outlook is at least 35 per cent better than what Qantas was forecasting in August (a $2 billion increase in its fuel bill), when, despite the gloom over oil prices, the airline was reporting a record gross profit of more than $1.4 billion.

What are consumers supposed to believe?

“The whole concept of fuel surcharges is on the nose and should be gone forever,” says airline industry analyst Peter Harbison, of Sydney’s Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. “It’s the appropriate time for the industry to say let’s have an end to fuel surcharges – no more.”

Harbison believes rapid changes in the outlook for the airline industry might make fuel surcharges irrelevant anyway, except as one of the many surcharges that are stacked on to frequent flyer redemptions to ensure seats that were once “free” now cost anything up to $800 for a long-haul return flight.

“Already, fuel surcharges don’t apply when airlines start discounting seats and, in some cases, we’ve seen them discounting full fares as well [to attract business travellers],” Harbison says. “In the past few months, the domestic industry in particular has gone dead and the airlines have a lot of empty seats to fill, so we’re going to see a lot of very aggressive discounting in the months ahead.”

The fuel surcharges are also unpopular with Australian travel agents, who are now fighting a class action against the airlines over the issue.

Some airlines, however, are breaking ranks. The low-cost carrier AirAsia, whose subsidiary AirAsia X flies from Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth, became this month “the first airline in the world” to scrap fuel surcharges, even though the group says that doing so would cost about $380 million in revenue.

“Boeing has been keeping us advised about delays to the 787 program. We are not an early 787 customer, so precisely how this will impact each of the delivery dates for our 20 ordered aircraft will be worked out over time,” Singapore Airlines Vice President of Public Affairs Stephen Forshaw told Dow Jones Newswires in an e-mailed statement.

Boeing said Thursday that it is pushing back the schedule of its troubled 787 jet program by about six months as it unravels delays caused by a recent union- machinists strike and problems of improperly installed fasteners on the first few planes.

“We remain committed to delivery of these new generation of aircraft, because new technology is vital to make our industry more fuel efficient and economical. Delays are always frustrating, but the most important priority is to develop and build the aircraft without rushing in a way which may compromise standards,” Forshaw said.

The Dreamliner is scheduled for delivery from early 2011 to mid-2013 and is tipped to be a “game changer” because of its ability to cut fuel costs by 20%.

In its fleet, Singapore Airlines has 90 Boeing planes of different models and 11 Airbus planes, including six A380s. The airline has also placed a firm order for one Boeing 777-300ER, with an option of purchasing another 13 of the planes.

Some say that airlines and travel agents refuse to entertain refund requests or they have had to forfeit chunks of their deposits. Others are unhappy that they have to wait up to six months to get their money back.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) says it has received 35 complaints in the past week about cancelled Bangkok flights. This is seven times more than the average amount.

Its executive director Seah Seng Choon says: “The complaints we receive mainly involve travel operators not acceding to requests or that resolutions are slow.”

Political riots in the Thai capital last month saw demonstrators shutting down Suvarnabhumi International Airport, freezing flights in and out of Bangkok for a week.

Although flights resumed last Friday, travel agents say travellers are still wary of the unstable political situation and cancelling their trips.

A spokesman for Chan Brothers says 90% of customers with forward bookings to Bangkok till February are considering switching destinations, delaying or cancelling their flights. CTC Holidays says it has seen overall bookings to Thailand fall by 80% compared to the same period last year.

Mr Terence Tan, 27, an engineer, and his wife Xu Jing Wen, 25, a teacher, were scheduled to leave for Bangkok last Thursday.

They decided to cancel instead of postponing their trip. They had booked their four-day vacation for a total of $1,430 and had to forfeit about $480 for their hotel. The couple are appealing for this portion to be refunded.

Cathay Pacific has agreed to give a ticket refund with all cancellation fees waived. But Ms Xu was told she might have to wait up to six months to get her money back. She adds: “I’m not even sure how much I can get back because of all the terms and conditions that the tickets have.”

Apparently, she had bought promotional tickets which are only partially refundable, so she is still waiting for confirmation from her travel agent.

She says: “The whole situation is very disappointing.”

Ms Juliana Goh, 25, a teacher, is another passenger who is dissatisfied with how cancellations for her trip were handled. She was supposed to fly to Bangkok this week but decided to cancel because she does not think it is safe to travel there.

She was looking for the cheapest tickets and had booked a flight from Singapore to Bangkok on Jetstar and two flights with AirAsia – from Bangkok to Chiangmai, and Chiangmai to Kuala Lumpur. When the airport takeover happened, she had not booked her return trip from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

Ms Goh is receiving nearly a full refund of $121 for her Singapore to Bangkok flight from Jetstar, but has to wait 12 weeks.

AirAsia is giving her credits to replace the value of the second flight from Bangkok to Chiangmai ($260), provided she re-books within three months. But she has had to forfeit the third flight from Chiangmai to Kuala Lumpur. She is losing over $200 for this part of the journey and is appealing to get her money back.

Getting the refunds took up a lot of her time. When she could not get through to the AirAsia hotline, she went to its office at the airport. She says she waited for over an hour before she could meet its officials.

AirAsia could not be contacted for comment but the airline had a notice on its website last week telling passengers that its call centres have been “overwhelmed with calls”, and that “guests may face difficulties getting assistance”.

Customers are advised to refer to the website for updates.

A check with the main airlines flying to Bangkok such as Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways shows that the general policy is to offer passengers full refunds or re-routes with all fees waived, provided tickets were bought before the crisis in Bangkok and meant for travel during the November to December period.

Refunds for cancellation of trips outside the November to December travel period would be subjected to what the airlines say are the normal terms and conditions. Airlines are generally tight-lipped when asked what these “terms and conditions” mean.

An online check reveals there are various permutations involving refunds, cancellation or change fees, depending on the type of fare. For example, budget carrier Jetstar states on its website that only passengers who have bought the more expensive JetFlex and StarClass tickets can claim refunds when they cancel their trips. Passengers holding JetSaver tickets have to forfeit their entire tickets.

An SIA spokesman says: “Cheaper fares generally come with tighter conditions so a deep discount fare may include a condition of no refund in the event of cancellation.”

Industry sources say refunds on average may take as long as a month to four months. This is because there are various parties involved, including banks, in the sorting out of the administrative details.

Cancellation or change fees may start at $25 for travel agents and can be anywhere from $40 to $200 for airlines. This may mean that travellers with budget or promotional airline tickets could end up not getting any money back after taking into account the cancellation charges.

A CTC spokesman says: “We have to adhere to suppliers’ terms and conditions. Refunds for customers will depend on whether airlines and hotels are willing to offer them and waive charges.”

In general, travellers are urged to always check in advance with the airlines or travel agents about refund policies when booking.

Case’s Mr Seah advises: “Consumers can also protect their interests by buying insurance. And they should read the terms and conditions when booking tickets.

Some are spelt out quite clearly. Many consumers don’t pay attention because they don’t expect such situations to happen.”

It is not all a lost cause however. Bank officer Tai Ping Ling, who is in her 40s, had one successful attempt at flight cancellation in May this year. She was supposed to travel to Kerala, India, with her friend, but had to put off her trip because of her father’s death.

After exchanging e-mail with SilkAir for a week, the airline agreed to give her a full refund on compassionate terms, albeit with an administration fee of $60. She had to wait about five weeks for her refund of $600.

This was the only time she managed to obtain a refund, having cancelled bookings before on four previous occasions for “less compelling reasons”. “At first they were unwilling, but I guess they do listen if your reasons are appropriate,” says Ms Tai.

As an airline spokesman, who declined to be named, says: “Airlines do make concessions on a case-by-case basis. But if any of them were to come out and say this, they would be faced with a flood of appeals. It would be an impossible situation.”

Celebrating the Year of the Ox and recognising the significance of the number eight in Chinese culture, customers can choose from eight destinations in South East Asia, eight destinations in North Asia and eight European destinations.

Travellers can celebrate Chinese New Year in an exotic Asian destination, spend Valentine’s Day atop the Eiffel Tower, or shop up a storm in Milan – without breaking the bank.

Dale Woodhouse, National Marketing Manager for Singapore Airlines, said the Chinese New Year Take-off Fares will provide customers with the perfect stocking filler for Christmas or an ideal post-New Years getaway.

“The attractive airfares and extensive range of 24 destinations on offer cater to a wide range of travel interests and styles,” Mr Woodhouse said.

“The Chinese New Year celebrations will give consumers the chance to experience the award winning Singapore Airlines service at an affordable price and we’re delighted to announce the initiative in the lead-up to Christmas.”

Depending on the chosen date of travel, fares range from $1,001 including taxes and surcharges for return flights to Singapore, and from $2,197 including taxes and surcharges for return flights to London.

Destinations include:

South East Asia: Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Bali
North Asia: Hong Kong, Taipei, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Kunming, Chongqing, Chengdu, and Nanjing
Europe: London, Barcelona, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Istanbul, Milan and Zurich.

Fares are on sale until 30 January 2009 for departures from 16 January 2009 – 31 March 2009. Please visit singaporeair.com.au for bookings and conditions.

The first flight from the Thai capital’s Suvarnabhumi Airport will depart for Singapore at 1.05 p.m. local time (0605 GMT), SIA said in a statement.

Additional relief flights from U-Tapao airport in Pattaya will cease from Thursday night. The carrier said it is contacting customers who are booked to travel from U-Tapao on Thursday to inform them of the change.

SIA’s regional wing Silk air is also reducing its additional flights between Phuket and Singapore to one per day – on top of the daily schedule of at least four flights – as capacity increases from Bangkok and demand for its relief flights tapers off. These additional flights will continue until Sunday.

On Friday, SIA will operate three return flights between Singapore and Bangkok, plus one flight from Singapore to Bangkok then onto Tokyo Narita.

From Saturday onwards, a three-times-daily return flight will operate, in addition to a flight in each direction between Bangkok and Tokyo Narita.

SIA said it will monitor demand in coming days to determine whether the capacity is in line with demand, and may make further schedule adjustments.

“The key is to organize your business model to be as flexible as possible and supply what the customer needs,” said Catherine Gridley, president of Systems Customer Services for GE Aviation. “GE is delighted to sign the first Systems OnPoint contract with Singapore Airlines, which builds on the contracts SIA has in place for the GE 90.”

A similar agreement for systems support has been in place with Singapore Airlines for the A380 since September 2006.

The OnPoint agreement provides comprehensive support on inventory pooling and maintenance services to the airline. This contract is the first Systems OnPoint contract and is focused on Singapore Airlines large fleet of 77 Boeing 777 aircraft. It covers more than 200 part numbers of GE’s systems products. The agreement covers all existing 777 for a period of 10 years and each new 777 aircraft from entry into service for a 10-year period.

First Interview (Panel of 2 Interviewers)
1. Basic questions like why you want to become a pilot.
2. Some questions relating to your current occupation.
3. Mathematical questions like working out the distance given speed and time etc…
4. Geography questions like how many continents, where the nearest ocean from X country etc…
5. Depending on the interviewer, they may or may not ask you technical information about aircrafts.
6. You can expect a wait of 7-9 days before they contact you on the results of the First Interview through the phone and email.

Second Interview (2 days affair)
First day
1. You can expect to settle some admin stuff like certifying true copies of your documents before lunch. The email will state the things you need to bring.
2. After lunch you will be put through some Computer-based tests. Physcomotor, Logic and Memory tests.
3. End of First day.

Second day
Part One
1. In the morning, you will be broken up into groups of 5 for the team-building exercise. There are a series of questions here for individual work and group work. There will also be a question where they give you some building blocks and see how effectively you communicate with your teammates on getting the task done. Do be sure to follow ALL the rules or you will be penalized!!
2. Just before lunch, you will be asked to write an essay of about 50 words.
3. After lunch, the second interview will begin.

Part Two (The Interview – Panel of 4-5 Interviewers)
1. The series of questions asked during the Second Interview will be slightly similar to the First Interview but there will be more technical questions.
2. Depending on the interviewers, they may ask you how a jet engine works, how many wheels does a plane have etc…
3. After your interview, you will be seperated from those who have not gone for the interview so do not think that you can ask the person who comes out what his/her questions were.
4. After the interview, the tea-party begins. The best is just to be yourself because the interviewers are very sharp people. For the beverage part, it is only a rumor that you should not take the alcohol, the panel of interviewers actually offered us saying that we can relax already. (The reason HR might say to abstain from the alcohol could just be that they want to cut cost…but if you’re those who gets drunk easily then please don’t take any.)

Medical Check-up
1. After the Second Interview, you will have to call up the next day at a specific time. You will then know whether or not you clear the interview in order to go for the medical check-up.
2. The medical check-up will take roughly half a day and you will need to go to 3 clinics.
3. After the medical, what most people do not realise is that the application is then sent to MOM for clearance.
4. You can expect to wait about 2 weeks before they contact you on whether they decide to take you in. They will at this point also tell you your posting.

The annual survey this year saw 9,950 participants in the study, which continued to show a high level of customer dissatisfaction, especially in areas of delays and cancellations.

“The airline industry continues to be plagued with delays, cancellations and consumer dissatisfaction,” said Tim Zagat, Zagat Survey CEo and co-founder.

“Singapore Airlines gained altitude, sweeping the competition for the twentieth year in a row for both international economy and premium classes, [taking] the number one spot for [sub categories of] Food, Service and Comfort,” the survey adds.

The top five for best international economy start with Singapore, followed by Emirates Airline, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific Airways and Thai Airways in fifth.

While in the premium international sector list begins with Singapore and is then followed by Cathay Pacific Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Air New Zealand and with All Nippon Airways (ANA) in fifth.

Zagat Airline Survey takes responses from frequent travellers and travel professionals who this year averaged 16.3 flights a year, totalling 162,000 trips considered for the survey, 38% which were for leisure, 62% for business.

Within the United States Continental took out the first place in terms of a large premium class service while JetBlue took top honours for large economy class. Virgin America did well in the medium-sized operations category, taking out the top spot in premium and second in economy after Midwest.

In terms of booking flights, it appears that Americans are turning evermore to the web, the Zagat Survey finds.

“When booking air travel, 60% of surveyors use airline websites, while only 4% call the airline. Sites such as Expedia, Travelocity and the like are used by 18%, while 9% book through work and 8% use a travel agent,” the survey says.

The reasons were many. At the top of the list was that his dream of total open skies between Singapore and KL had been realised. He compared the challenge of opening the route — which used to cost about S$400 (RM960) return on full-service carriers — to “Nelson Mandela fighting for freedom”.

“It was ridiculous that the most expensive route in Asia was KL-Singapore,” he said.

Now, the fares could be as low as S$60 return on budget carriers, which also include Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia. There are some 14 flights daily from Singapore to KL.

The plane that Fernandes greeted on the tarmac on Monday was 85 per cent full, with many Singaporeans on board. From this group, Fernandes met a couple who flew to Kuala Lumpur on their way to Langkawi. Which thrilled him no end.

“Singaporeans certainly don’t think about flying to KL to take a flight,” he said. Indeed, flying to KL allows Singaporeans to tap into a web of budget connections offered by AirAsia and its long haul arm, AirAsia X. Both launched new routes last week — the former to Trichy, Tamil Nadu; the latter to London.

Does Fernandes think Singaporeans will fly to KL to switch planes?

“I think it’s beginning to happen,” he said. “Singaporeans are very savvy. They are very loyal to their wallets. Malaysians, too,” he added with a laugh.

The company recently scrapped its fuel surcharges, which Fernandes admitted was a big risk, but according to him, sales tripled.

“Singaporeans are also adventurous. The young in Singapore want to travel. They want to see Borneo, Siem Reap … We provide that connectivity, so I don’t think it will be hard to convince them.”

Route-wise, short-haul carrier AirAsia has covered all the countries within its range. It will focus on flying to more destinations in China and India. There’s more potential for AirAsia X to go global.

“I’d love to see AirAsia X fly to Africa — KL to Nairobi. And, one day to the (United) States. Maybe my last route will be KL-Rio.”

That’s Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is more than 24 hours by plane away from KL.

But Fernandes is accustomed to dreaming big, taking risks and opening routes to places most people don’t know about. Like Tiruchirappalli, or Trichy, which he had heard about at a funeral. He decided to fly to Trichy because of the town’s religious significance and the fact that a “lot of Indians from Malaysia and Singapore are from there”.

His dream is for the seven-year-old AirAsia to take on Singapore Airlines — though not all of it. “SQ is the best airline in the world without a doubt,” he said. “My aim now is to tell people that we are as good as they are … in the back end. I think we can be as good in the economy section. That’s my goal before I leave my job as CEO.”

The maverick entrepreneur revealed his company’s ambitions at the end of a slide presentation at an event where he was conferred an award by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak Thursday.

To the amazement of those present, he showed two pictures – one of aircraft livery and the other of AirAsia’s new uniform for its stewardesses. He told his audience that he would name his new company Singapore AirAsia, The Sun newspaper reported Friday.

Fernandez kept the audience in stitches throughout his one-hour presentation, ending it with the remark: “And this is the uniform the stewardesses on board Singapore AirAsia will wear.” He pointed to a picture of a smiling woman wearing a combination of the famous SIA baju kebaya and striking red AirAsia skirt.

While many in the audience laughed it off, aviation industry observers said it was a signal from Fernandez following news reports of Malaysia Airlines being in talks for a strategic alliance with British Airways and Qantas.

A Malaysian news portal said that owing to global economic pressures, the airline industry was going through a consolidation period, with talks of mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies dominating the business pages.

At Thursday’s event, Razak said he was proud of Fernandez’s achievements, not only for his company but for the country as well.

AirAsia is rated as having done remarkably well in Southeast Asia and has begun flights to various destinations in India, catering mainly to the 2.6 million diaspora.

He was trying desperately to help save the passengers and lost his life in doing so. Alfred could been alive today had he not been so brave and conscientious,risking his life for perhaps some PPS passengers.

Well he is gone and nothing can bring him back but there are lessons to be learnt.

SQ should treasure its crew,especially cabin crew. Flight stewardess Fawzana, a newbie went out of her way and risked her life and limbs to save the lives of passengers. She did well and the same goes for CS Suresh and the other cabin crew.

If there is another round of mishap and I pray not, SQ still have to depend on its brave and unselfish cabin crew to save the lives of its pasengers.

BTW, air crashes were never caused by the cabin crew and yet they have to pay dearly with their own lives.

Cherish them and don’t just think of cutting cost by curtailing their flight pattern for you never know when you need them to sacrifice their lives for your customers.

‘James’ a PPS passenger from Taipei was giving the staff and crew a hard time whenever he travelled with SQ. He antagonised someone from SQ management and cabin crew division looked into his mistress work record and found her to be involved in a few medical fraud cases and was sacked.

The truth of the matter was ‘James’ wanted the Taipei ground staff to upgrade his mistress from business class to the first class section. They ground staff told him they would have done the upgrading if not for the presence of a cabin crew executive on the flight (the ground staff was passing the buck to the CCE)

Angered by the reason for not upgrading his mistress,James took it on the CCE during the flight. He abused the CCE (happened to be a relatively young female graduate CCE) and complained to SIA that this particular CCE slept on the job.

The cabin crew manager in charge of this CCE did not accept the complaint as valid,knowing that this graduate CCE was a high flyer and not capable of sleeping on the short flight between TPE and JPN.

The manager was also informed of the name of the LSS who was James’ mistress and he immediately ordered the cabin crew “Medical Tribunal” staff to investigate the medical as well as work records of this particular LSS.

Unfortunately for the LSS,she had committed a couple of MC fraud cases and the result was,she was fired.

Captains
B777/A340 >>>>>>$ 8,850 – $ 15,300
B747-400 >>>>>>$ $10,000-$16,500
Airbus A380 >>>> $ 10,700 – $16,500

Allowances ( approximate monthly meals,nightstop and productivity allowances).

First Officer gets between S$ 4,000 to S$ 6,000

Captain gets between S$ 5,000 to S$ 10,000

Just 18, Temasek Polytechnic (TP) student Chia Meng Yu has a head start to realising her dream.

From next April to September, she and 12 other students – nine girls and three boys – will take to the skies as full-time cabin crew in an internship leading to TP’s aviation diploma, The New Paper reported on Wednesday.

In the first of its kind in Asia, the students will fly 15 to 20 hours a week as normal cabin crew, and get paid the same rates.

Since September, they have been flying on some flights on weekends. Meng Yu is hopeful that after her internship, she can continue to work for Tiger Airways, and perhaps for Singapore Airlines one day.

Said her lecturer, Mr Gary Ho: ‘The normal route to be a Singapore Girl is to get a diploma, wait for the advertisment in the newspaper, then go for a walk-in interview.’

But Meng Yu has begun to live her dream life. Since September she has been on five trips to China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, India and Indonesia.

She has always had the travel bug, something she picked up from her father, an aircraft engineer.

She said:’Initially, my parents were worried for my personal safety. But now they just want to know where I’m going to next.’

She describes the internship as ‘a once-in-a-lifetime’ learning opportunity.

1st Round : will group in a group of 10 for group interview. They will ask u to introduce yourself, and another questions. It can be any questions.( Ex: why u wan to join SIA, tell us about a good or bad customer service that u had encounter)

If you are selected in 1st round, then u will go to Kebaya Fitting / Skin check round.

There are uniforms & sandals, u will need to change into the uniform, and walk towards the interviewer. They will look at your posture, fingers, skin or anything that is not cover by the uniforms, and also to check whether u had any tattoos on your feet. ( this is what i think because they never mention what they are looking for)

Again, you will know whether you are in or not for the next round after this. Then u will go to round 2.

Round 2: 1 to 1 interview. The interview will ask all sort of situation questions, and see how u react to it.

Once again, another heart beating round , if u are selected, then u will proceed to the Final Round.

Final Round : 2 to 1 interview. 2 Interviewer will be there, u will need to introduce urself, then they will ask questions from there.

You will know on the spot whether u are selected or not.