Qantas has marked the 75th anniversary of flying to Singapore by stressing the ongoing importance of Changi Airport as a crucial cog in its international network.
The first Qantas service to Singapore took off from Rose Bay on August 4, 1938, landing at Kallang Airport three days later after overnight stops in Townsville, Darwin and Surabaya.
Qantas used the anniversary to talk up the continuing importance of Singapore despite shifting its hub to Dubai for Europe-bound flights.
Qantas international executive, Narendra Kumar, said Singapore has become a destination in its own right rather than simply a stopover en route to Europe. It is also pivotal to fanning passengers to other parts of Asia, he said.
“The milestone comes in a year where Qantas has revitalised its service to Singapore, increasing capacity by 40% and opening a new multi-million dollar premium Qantas Lounge at Changi Airport,” Kumar said.
“Our services are no longer geared around to flying to Singapore as a waypoint to Europe, but rather as a key destination in its own right.
“Our new Asia schedule promotes Singapore as a key hub with better frequency and more connections.”
When Dubai became the Qantas hub following the launch of its alliance with Emirates, flights to Changi were retimed to improve connections to onward points in Asia.
Kumar added: “The Qantas Group operates 140 flights per week to 11 cities in Asia including services with partner airlines.
“Services to Singapore represent over a third of those services and we have fares available with partner airlines to over 120 additional Asia cities.”
