The history of Singapore Airlines: the planes, the service, the awards and the Singapore Girls
- Singapore Airlines was established in 1972, but it’s celebrating its 60th year of flying to Hong Kong
- The airline has won more awards than any other and is often named airline of the year
Singapore Airlines was never supposed to conquer the world. When the carrier was established, in 1972, its prospects appeared to mirror those of Singapore itself: to remain a small, regional player with little global influence. But it has improbably risen to become an instantly recognisable aviation powerhouse, and has won more awards than any other airline.
Last year marked the 60th anniversary of the company operating in Hong Kong. This might sound somewhat curious, given that the airline is only 46 years old but, like the nation it represents, Singapore Airlines has a rather complicated history.
It was effectively born in 1946 as Malayan Airways, incorporated by the Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool, the Straits Steamship Company of Singapore and Imperial Airways, and operated its first flight a year later.
With the liberation of Malaysia from colonial rule, it became Malaysian Airways in 1963; then, after Singapore split from Malaysia in 1965, it became Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) the following year. That arrangement, with ownership split between two governments with different agendas, understandably only lasted six years and the company split into two: Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airline System, now Malaysia Airlines.
“Back then there were quite a few domestic routes within Malaysia,” says Chia Chow Hwee, the company’s Hong Kong general manager. “Singapore Airlines took on the international routes while Malaysia took the domestic routes.