For the first SQ flight arriving at MAN.
It's 1 April in Singapore now, so why not...
Manchester Airport’s Longest Serving Long-Haul Carrier
Today, 1st April, marks the 30th anniversary of the first scheduled Singapore Airlines flight touching down at Manchester Airport, with the flight having departed Singapore the night before. The milestone not only celebrates the carrier’s continuous service ever since – making it Manchester’s longest serving long-haul carrier – but also the success of a lengthy lobbying campaign that was required to permit its launch in the first place.
Over the last 30 years, neither side has looked back since; highlighting the airline’s commitment to the North West region, as Manchester remains the only hub outside London that the airline flies to in the UK.
In 1986, the flight was twice weekly, operated by a Boeing 747-300 Combi aircraft, Cliff Richard and the Young Ones were Number One in the UK Charts and Alex Ferguson was taking the reins at Manchester United for the first time – how times change. Since then, a total of five different Singapore Airlines aircraft types have plied the route, spending over 100,000 hours in the air and covering more than 50 million miles to allow customers to reach their chosen destinations.
Similarly, over the past thirty years Manchester Airport has gone from one runway and one terminal to two runways and three terminals, servicing 23.3m passengers (from 7.5m in 1986) and seeing 174,000 aircraft movements (from 80,367 in 1986) each year.
Today, Singapore Airlines operates a daily service, via Munich, using modern Boeing 777-300ER aircraft featuring the latest cabin interiors - including the new Premium Economy Class. This has helped both the airline’s European stopover point – Munich – and its more traditional destinations across SE Asia, Australia and New Zealand to prove popular with local customers.
With 30 years of history, comes 30 years of stories and Singapore Airlines has enjoyed some great times in Manchester over the years.
In the 1990s, a Singapore Airlines ‘Singapore Girl’ standee was featured in a handful of episodes of one of Manchester’s most famous exports – Coronation Street – after a casual chat with one of the cast. She featured on set within the travel agency that was located on the famous Cobbled Street at the time.
Additionally, the airline participated in a World Record Attempt for the longest distance take-away curry, when the Daily Sport Newspaper’s Manchester office ordered a vegetable biryani all the way from Christchurch, New Zealand! After 12,000 miles, 26 hours and around £300 later, the curry apparently reheated well to the enjoyment of the editorial staff!
Wilson Yong, General Manager UK & Ireland, Singapore Airlines, commented: “This anniversary marks 30 years of a great relationship with customers in the North of England, as well as our partners at Manchester Airport – both of whom we would like to thank for their long-standing support. We are lucky enough to have some staff that have shared all our memories along the way and even as we celebrate this fantastic milestone, we are already looking forward to creating even more history in the region over the years still to come”.
Ken O’Toole, Managing Director for Manchester Airport, said: “As our longest serving long haul carrier we’re pleased to be able to celebrate 30 years of service with Singapore Airlines.
They continue to offer the 23 million people in our catchment area a daily flight to Singapore with a modern cabin and world renowned service. As the only UK scheduled service to Singapore outside of London, it’s no surprise how popular they continue to be from Manchester Airport.
As the airport grows over the next 10 years, we hope Singapore Airlines are part of that growth.”
As part of celebrating the landmark anniversary, Singapore Airlines customers travelling today will be treated to special gifts and a celebratory cake at the gate. For customers missing out on the anniversary flight, the airline has a special Economy Class fare promotion this weekend. Travel Monday-Thursday between 11 April-31May, or 1st-30th November, 2016, to many of our popular destinations from Manchester; including Sydney and Brisbane in Australia, the island of Bali and Thailand’s popular Phuket. For full details and to book, visit singaporeair.com.
There is a Do for TA's tonight in the museum of Science & Industry.
It's 1 April in Singapore now, so why not...
Singapore Airlines Celebrates 30 years of flying from Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport’s Longest Serving Long-Haul Carrier
Today, 1st April, marks the 30th anniversary of the first scheduled Singapore Airlines flight touching down at Manchester Airport, with the flight having departed Singapore the night before. The milestone not only celebrates the carrier’s continuous service ever since – making it Manchester’s longest serving long-haul carrier – but also the success of a lengthy lobbying campaign that was required to permit its launch in the first place.
Over the last 30 years, neither side has looked back since; highlighting the airline’s commitment to the North West region, as Manchester remains the only hub outside London that the airline flies to in the UK.
In 1986, the flight was twice weekly, operated by a Boeing 747-300 Combi aircraft, Cliff Richard and the Young Ones were Number One in the UK Charts and Alex Ferguson was taking the reins at Manchester United for the first time – how times change. Since then, a total of five different Singapore Airlines aircraft types have plied the route, spending over 100,000 hours in the air and covering more than 50 million miles to allow customers to reach their chosen destinations.
Similarly, over the past thirty years Manchester Airport has gone from one runway and one terminal to two runways and three terminals, servicing 23.3m passengers (from 7.5m in 1986) and seeing 174,000 aircraft movements (from 80,367 in 1986) each year.
Today, Singapore Airlines operates a daily service, via Munich, using modern Boeing 777-300ER aircraft featuring the latest cabin interiors - including the new Premium Economy Class. This has helped both the airline’s European stopover point – Munich – and its more traditional destinations across SE Asia, Australia and New Zealand to prove popular with local customers.
With 30 years of history, comes 30 years of stories and Singapore Airlines has enjoyed some great times in Manchester over the years.
In the 1990s, a Singapore Airlines ‘Singapore Girl’ standee was featured in a handful of episodes of one of Manchester’s most famous exports – Coronation Street – after a casual chat with one of the cast. She featured on set within the travel agency that was located on the famous Cobbled Street at the time.
Additionally, the airline participated in a World Record Attempt for the longest distance take-away curry, when the Daily Sport Newspaper’s Manchester office ordered a vegetable biryani all the way from Christchurch, New Zealand! After 12,000 miles, 26 hours and around £300 later, the curry apparently reheated well to the enjoyment of the editorial staff!
Wilson Yong, General Manager UK & Ireland, Singapore Airlines, commented: “This anniversary marks 30 years of a great relationship with customers in the North of England, as well as our partners at Manchester Airport – both of whom we would like to thank for their long-standing support. We are lucky enough to have some staff that have shared all our memories along the way and even as we celebrate this fantastic milestone, we are already looking forward to creating even more history in the region over the years still to come”.
Ken O’Toole, Managing Director for Manchester Airport, said: “As our longest serving long haul carrier we’re pleased to be able to celebrate 30 years of service with Singapore Airlines.
They continue to offer the 23 million people in our catchment area a daily flight to Singapore with a modern cabin and world renowned service. As the only UK scheduled service to Singapore outside of London, it’s no surprise how popular they continue to be from Manchester Airport.
As the airport grows over the next 10 years, we hope Singapore Airlines are part of that growth.”
As part of celebrating the landmark anniversary, Singapore Airlines customers travelling today will be treated to special gifts and a celebratory cake at the gate. For customers missing out on the anniversary flight, the airline has a special Economy Class fare promotion this weekend. Travel Monday-Thursday between 11 April-31May, or 1st-30th November, 2016, to many of our popular destinations from Manchester; including Sydney and Brisbane in Australia, the island of Bali and Thailand’s popular Phuket. For full details and to book, visit singaporeair.com.
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