Last week (21 Sep) marked one year since Singapore Airlines first touched down in Canberra, making history as the first regularly scheduled international airline to fly to the Australian capital.
The inaugural flight, which departed Singapore on 20 September, began a new chapter in Singapore Airlines long history in Australia when it arrived on a wet spring day, before taking off to Wellington to become the first airline to connect the two trans-Tasman cities.
Following one full year of service, Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President, Tan Tiow Kor, thanked Canberra and the surrounding region for their support of the flights.
“We have been very humbled by how Canberrans, and people from the surrounding region, have embraced and used the service over the first 12 months,” Mr Tan said.
“The first year has been exciting and challenging and we have established a good base to build on in the second year of operations.
“Over the next 12 months we will continue to work closely with key stakeholders in the region to promote Canberra as an exciting destination, and the ‘Capital Express’ as the most convenient option when travelling internationally either to or from the Capital.
“We will also have a focus on increasing the volume and consistency of exports and freight being carried from Canberra to Singapore and beyond,” he said.
Operating four times a week the service has connected Canberra to the world through the famous Changi hub to over 130 destinations on the Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot global network.
This level of connectivity has been embraced by Canberrans who have capitalised on the connectivity the ‘Capital Express’ has delivered, travelling to a variety of destinations across the Singapore Airlines global network.
The top 10 destinations that customers have travelled to in the first year of operation are:
-Bangkok
-Delhi
-Hanoi
-Hong Kong
-London
-Mumbai
-Phuket
-Saigon
-Singapore
-Wellington
While the top 10 inbound destinations have been:
-Colombo
-Delhi
-Frankfurt
-Hong Kong
-Jakarta
-Kuala Lumpur
-London
-Mumbai
-Singapore
-Wellington
“The ‘Capital Express’ service has provided business and leisure travellers alike with a convenient international travel option to and from Canberra,” Tan said.
“Canberrans have made good use of our global network and our portfolio of airlines, connecting through our Changi hub onto SilkAir and Scoot to visit some exciting places.
“From an inbound perspective, we are pleased at the variety of destinations that people are coming from, from across our network.
“As we look towards our second year of operations I want to sincerely thank the people of Canberra and the surrounding region for their support.
“We are looking forward to continuing to provide Australia’s capital with a convenient connection to the world,” he said.