Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA; SGX: C6L) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its hub at Changi Airport.

The Singapore Airlines group includes many airline-related subsidiaries: SIA Engineering Company handles maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business across nine countries, with a portfolio of 27 joint ventures, including with Boeing and Rolls-Royce. Singapore Airlines Cargo operate SIA's freighter fleet and manages the cargo-hold capacity in SIA's passenger aircraft. It has three airlines subsidiaries: SilkAir operates regional flights to secondary cities, while Scoot and Tigerair operate in the low-cost carrier sector.

Singapore Airlines was the launch customer for the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft. It ranks amongst the top 15 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue passenger kilometres, and 10th in the world for international passengers carried. On 15 December 2010, Singapore Airlines was named by the International Air Transport Association as the second largest airline in the world by market capitalisation, worth of 14 billion US dollars. Singapore Airlines utilises the Singapore Girl as its central figure in its corporate branding. The airline is also regarded as a Singaporean national symbol and icon.

Singapore Airlines Cargo

Singapore Airlines Cargo (abbreviated as SIA Cargo) is a cargo airline based in Singapore. It is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and was incorporated in 2001. SIA Cargo operates 10 freighters and manages the bellyhold of all Singapore Airlines and Scoot aircraft. Its head office is in the Fifth Floor of the SATS Airfreight Terminal 5 at Singapore Changi Airport.

SIA Cargo's warehouse in Singapore, dubbed SIA Superhub 1, was opened in 1995. This warehouse is capable of handling up to 450,000 tons of goods a year. In 2001, the SIA Superhub 2 was opened which increased the capacity to over 1,200,000 tonnes per year.

History

In July 1992, Singapore Airlines created a cargo division to complement its passenger-carrying business. However, it was not until 1 July 2001, when Singapore Airlines Cargo was incorporated, taking over the air-freight operations of Singapore Airlines as a separate subsidiary. SIA Cargo leased the entire freighter fleet from Singapore Airlines, as well as taking over management of the cargo holds in all of Singapore Airlines' passenger aircraft. Within a few months, it entered an alliance with Lufthansa Cargo and SAS Cargo Group to form WOW Alliance on 1 October 2001.

Singapore

Singapore (ⁱ/ˈsɪŋɡəpɔːr/), officially the Republic of Singapore, and often referred to as the Lion City, the Garden City, and the Red Dot, is a global city in Southeast Asia and the world's only island city-state. It lies one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southernmost tip of continental Asia and peninsular Malaysia, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south. Singapore's territory consists of the diamond-shaped main island and 62 islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 km²), and its greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora, parks and gardens.

The islands were settled from the second century AD by a series of local empires. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles founded modern Singapore as a trading post of the East India Company; after the company collapsed, the islands were ceded to Britain and became part of its Straits Settlements in 1826. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from Britain in 1963, by uniting with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but was expelled two years later over ideological differences. After early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian tiger economy, based on external trade and its human capital.

Boeing 747-400

The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe. Its most distinguishing features versus preceding 747 models are 6-foot (1.8 m) winglets mounted on 6-foot (1.8 m) wing tip extensions, which are found on all 747-400s except for Japanese domestic market versions.

The 747-400 is equipped with a two-crew glass cockpit, which dispenses with the need for a flight engineer, along with more fuel-efficient engines, an optional fuel tank in the horizontal stabilizer, and revised fuselage/wing fairings. The aircraft also features an all-new interior with upgraded in-flight entertainment architecture. As on the 747-300, passenger variants include a stretched upper deck as standard. The model has a maximum capacity of 660 passengers with the 747-400D variant, and can fly non-stop for up to 7,670 nautical miles (14,200 km) with maximum payload, depending on model.

Airline

An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit. Generally, airline companies are recognized with an air operating certificate or license issued by a governmental aviation body.

Airlines vary from those with a single aircraft carrying mail or cargo, through full-service international airlines operating hundreds of aircraft. Airline services can be categorized as being intercontinental, domestic, regional, or international, and may be operated as scheduled services or charters.

History

The first airlines

DELAG, Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft was the world's first airline. It was founded on November 16, 1909 with government assistance, and operated airships manufactured by The Zeppelin Corporation. Its headquarters were in Frankfurt. The first fixed wing scheduled air service was started on January 1, 1914 from St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa, Florida. The four oldest non-dirigible airlines that still exist are Netherlands' KLM, Colombia's Avianca, Australia's Qantas, Polish AeroTarg, and the Czech Republic's Czech Airlines. KLM first flew in May 1920, while Qantas (which stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited) was founded in Queensland, Australia, in late 1920.