SIA Abandons ‘Flights to Nowhere’ Idea; Instead They’ll Let You Eat On Stationary Plane

The airline industry has taken a massive battering during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With more and more countries imposing border restrictions, countless airlines all over the world have had to either scale down operations or shut them down altogether.

Even the renowned Singapore Airlines (SIA) has suffered massive losses, forcing the company to cut its capacity and axe thousands of its employees.

As you may know, to save the company from going under, the airline recently flirted with the idea of scheduling “flights to nowhere”.

And while your friend Ah Hock said flights are all about the journey, not the destination, most people weren’t exactly fans of the plan.

Well, now SIA has abandoned that idea and gone for something completely different.

SIA Abandons ‘Flights to Nowhere’ Idea, Introduces Airline Dining & Food Delivery Instead

SIA will soon offer customers the chance to dine on one of its Airbus A380s while it remains parked at Changi Airport, SIA said on Tuesday (29 Sep).

The airline is also offering food deliveries based off menus designed for its First Class and Business Class customers, as well as a tour of its training facilities, according to TODAY.

The airline previously floated the idea of flights from Changi Airport to, well, Changi Airport, but netizens didn’t take to it too well.

Many netizens, including Facebook user Chevon Low, were concerned about the potential carbon emissions from the operation of such flights.

However, she recognised that the airlines is in dire straits, and launched a public submissions form where netizens could offer suggestions to help revive the airline.

Low said they’ve received over 1,400 submissions since publishing her post. And it may have just helped.

Goh Choon Phong, CEO of SIA, said: “There has been a lot of interest in our customer engagement initiatives over the last few weeks, and I would like to thank everyone for their great ideas and suggestions. We are very encouraged by and grateful for the enthusiasm and passion that we have seen.”

So, what is SIA offering?

Airline Dining

Many of us complain about airline food, but aboard the A380, customers will be able to choose from SIA’s signature international cuisine, as well as from a special Peranakan menu designed by Singaporean chef Shermay Le.

On 24 and 25 Oct, customers will be served lunch in a cabin of their choice on the aircraft after entering via the aerobridge.

In addition, customers will be shown a display of SIA’s cabin crew uniform over the years.

Those who attend their lunches wearing traditional heritage wear – such as a sarong kebaya, cheongsam, and saree – will also receive a special gift.

Bookings for the A380 dining experience will begin on 12 Oct on SIA’s KrisShop website.

Food Delivery – SIA at Home

If you’ve developed debilitating laziness over the past few months and can’t bear to leave your house and expend energy, you will soon be able to order in food from SIA.

Come 5 Oct, customers can order a meal from 10 delivery menus which were designed for its First Class and Business Class customers by four world-renowned chefs.

Yes, this isn’t any old airline food. 

Customers can also purchase a First Class or Business Class amenity kit package.

Tour of Training Facilities

Those of you who have kids who are aspiring pilots can also visit SIA’s training facilities, which will be open to the public for two weekends during the November school holidays.

Visits will be completely free, but reservations have to be made beforehand.

If you don’t mind spending some extra cash, you can also pay for additional experiences:

• Experiencing the training SIA pilots receive on its flight simulator
• Kids can dress up as junior cabin crew for a day and keep their SIA uniforms
• Wine enthusiasts can learn about SIA’s wines from its air sommeliers
• Customers can also learn how to achieve the Singapore Girl look in a guided grooming workshop

The tour will be available on 21, 22, 28 and 29 Nov and bookings commence from 1 Nov.

Safe distancing measures will be implemented at all of SIA’s new activities, of course, so there’s no need to worry.

So, what do you think? Is this better than a flight to nowhere?

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