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SilkAir
IATA MI	ICAO SLK	Callsign SILKAIR
Founded		1989 (as Tradewinds)
Hubs		Singapore Changi Airport
Frequent flyer program		KrisFlyer
Member lounge		SATS Premier Lounge
Fleet size		13 (+2 orders)
Destinations		29
Parent company		Singapore Airlines Limited
Company slogan		Where the world unwinds
Headquarters		Singapore
Key people		Chin Yau Seng (CEO)
Website: http://www.silkair.com

SilkAir (Singapore) Private Limited is an airline based in Singapore. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and operates scheduled passenger services from Singapore to 26 cities in Southeast Asia, South Asia and China. As the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, it serves 29 out of 50 short haul destinations in the Singapore Airlines group network, and flew 1.56 million passengers in 2006. It made a profit of S$30 million, as turnover rose 20.4% to $415 million.^[1]

Contents 1 History 1.1 The incident of Flight 185 2 Destinations 3 Fleet 4 Services 4.1 Cabins 4.1.1 Business Class 4.1.2 Economy Class 4.2 In-flight 4.2.1 Dining 4.2.2 Entertainment 5 Codeshare partners 6 External links 7 References

The airline had its roots as a regional air-charter company in the form of Tradewinds Charters, formed in 1976, and using planes predominantly leased from parent company Singapore Airlines serving leisure destinations. Scheduled services were introduced as Tradewinds Airlines on 21 February 1989 when it leased McDonnell Douglas MD-87 airplanes for services to six destinations: Bandar Seri Begawan, Pattaya, Phuket, Hat Yai and Kuantan from Singapore's Changi Airport and Tioman from Singapore's Seletar Airport. As the carrier matured, regional business destinations such as Jakarta, Phnom Penh and Yangon were added to its network, thereby broadening the airline's appeal beyond the holiday maker to include the business traveller.

A major marketing overhaul was started in 1991, culminating on the 1 April 1992 by giving the airline its present name and logo as a new corporate identity ^[2]. The rebranded airline utilised up to 6 of the new Boeing 737-300s introduced just a year earlier. The mid-1990s saw two Airbus A310-200 aircraft in use and the expansion of services to India and mainland China. It was the first Asian carrier to offer handheld portable video-on-demand (VOD) inflight entertainment in the form of the DigEplayer 5500, available on flights to China and India.^{[citation needed]}

• On 19 December 1997, SilkAir Flight 185, operated by a Boeing 737-300 and piloted by Captain Tsu Way Ming, plunged into the Musi River in Sumatra during a routine flight from Jakarta to Singapore, killing all 104 people on board. As of 2007, officials have been unable to obtain a conclusive cause.

Further information: SilkAir destinations

SilkAir began operations with leased McDonnell Douglas MD-87 aircraft in 1989, before investing in its own fleet of six Boeing 737-300s, the first of which began operations in 1991. It operated two Airbus A310-200s for a brief period from 1993 to 1995 before they were transferred to Singapore Airlines, and two Fokker F70 from 1995 to 2000. It began replacing its Boeing fleet with Airbus aircraft when the first Airbus A320-200 arrived in 1998, and retired all Boeing aircraft a year later.^{[citation needed]}

Today, the SilkAir fleet, with an average of 4.5 years in operation, consists of the following aircraft ^[3]:

SilkAir Fleet

Aircraft	Number	Registration	Capacity	Routes
Airbus A319-132	4	9V-SBA - 9V-SBD	118 (12J/106Y)	Short Haul
Airbus A319-132	2	9V-SBE	120 (8J/112Y)	Short Haul
Airbus A320-232	5	9V-SLB - 9V-SLF	142 (16J/126Y)	Short Haul
Airbus A320-233	3 (2 on order)	9V-SLG - 9V-SLI	142 (16J/126Y) 144 (12J/132Y)	Short Haul

On 20 December 2006, SilkAir signed an agreement to purchase 11 Airbus A320-200 aircraft with 9 more on option. These aircraft will be delivered between 2009-2012 ^[4].

There are only two classes of cabins available on all flights of SilkAir - Business and Economy Class.

Business class cabins are available on all flights of SilkAir. The business class cabins offer a seat pitch of 40 inches, and legroom of 19.3 inches.

All economy class cabins have a seat pitch of 32 inches and legroom of 11 inches.

SilkAir offers oriental and western menus which emphasis on flavours of the region. Local delights such as Hainanese chicken rice, laksa, mee siam and mee rebus are available at selected flights.

SilkAir uses DigEplayer, which is a handheld device, as their in-flight entertainment. Interested passengers who are travelling on Economy Class in selected flights, will have to rent the DigEplayer onboard for a fee of S$15. DigEplayers are complimentary for all Business Class passengers flying on selected routes.

The selected routes which offer the DigEplayer are:

• Singapore to/from China (Xiamen, Chengdu, ChongQing, Kunming, Shenzhen)
• Singapore to/from India (Trivandrum, Kochi)
• Singapore to/from Philippines (Cebu, Davao)
• Singapore to/from Indonesia (Manado)

• Singapore Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Garuda Indonesia

• SilkAir Website
• Silkair Fleet Detail
• Singapore Airlines

1. ^ "SilkAir passenger numbers up 25%", The Straits Times, 16 March 2007. 
2. ^ SilkAir website - New corporate identity
3. ^ SilkAir fleet
4. ^ SilkAir website - Airbus orders

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	People: Cheong Choong Kong · Chew Choon Seng
	Related Companies: SIA Engineering Company (International Engine Component Overhaul · Singapore Aero Engine Services) · SilkAir (Tradewinds Tours and Travel) · Singapore Airlines Cargo (Great Wall Airlines)  · Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS Security Services) · Singapore Flying College · Tiger Aviation (Tiger Airways · Tiger Airways Australia) · Virgin Atlantic Airways

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