SilkAir chief executive Chin Yau Seng said the airline would focus on leisure packages, flying in to Penang from its various routes and those serviced by its parent company Singapore Airlines.
Speaking at the launch of SilkAir’s twice daily flights to Penang officiated by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Chin said 60% of SilkAir’s flight traffic came from leisure and business sectors.
“The other 40% of traffic is from SIA’s long haul destinations which feed through our Singapore hub to our various regional destinations. Like our other SilkAir destinations, Penang is also an extension of this model.
“We are working with travel agents on these destinations by offering them fares and holiday packages including via our SilkAir holiday brand,” he added.
Asked about competition from the other airline carriers which would fly the Penang-Singapore route, and were also expected to do the same, Chin said: “We are different from other airlines as SilkAir and Singapore Airlines not only serve from point-to-point but to a myriad of destinations and with our quality and services, we bring very good value, with reasonable pricing.”
AirAsia also started the Penang-Singapore service yesterday. The others flying the route are Tiger Airways, Jetstar and Firefly.
Chin said SilkAir’s entry into Penang emphasised the value and importance of tourism, trade and business links between Penang and Singapore.
He said even though Penang was only one-and-a-half hours from Singapore by air, customers would enjoy benefits including full meals and attentive services from its crew.
“We offer these top quality services at competitive fares. SilkAir with Singapore Airlines will offer a total of three daily flights to Penang,” he added.
Singapore Airlines will operate the morning flights while SilkAir’s services will be in the afternoon and evening. SilkAir and Singapore Airlines will also codeshare on Malaysia Airlines’ daily service on this route. In total, the three carriers will offer four daily flights between Singapore and Penang.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, June 2, 2009.