Silkair is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and is based in Singapore. It flies from Singapore to 25 exotic cities in Southeast Asia and South Asia and China.

As the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, SilkAir enhances Singapore Airline's vast international network by developing new, exciting destinations in Asia and serving regional connections using Singapore as the ideal transit hub.

It is the first Asian carrier to offer handheld portable video-on-demand (VOD) inflight entertainment in the form of the digEplayer 5500.(Available on flights to China and India)

SilkAir boasts one of the youngest fleets in the South East Asian region, with eleven (11) aircraft; seven (7) A320s (16 Business class and 126 Economy Class) and four (4) A319s (12 Business Class and 106 Economy Class).

Code Data

• IATA Code: MI
• ICAO Code: SLK
• Callsign: Silk Air

History

The airline had its roots as a regional air charter company in the form of Tradewinds Charters at its formation in 1976, using planes predominantly leased from parent Singapore Airlines. Scheduled services were introduced when it leased McDonnell Douglas MD-87 airplanes. A major marketing overhaul was done in 1991, giving the airline its present name, and utilising up to 6 of the new Boeing 737-300s introduced just a year earlier. The mid-1990s saw two Airbus A310-200 aircraft in use.

Services

As at 27 May 2004, excluding code-shared destinations.

Asia

East Asia

• China, People's Republic of
  • Chengdu since 24 July 2002
  • Chongqing since 15 June 2004
  • Fuzhou since 3 December 2003
  • Kunming
  • Xiamen

South Asia

• India
  • Hyderabad (Begumpet Airport ) since 30 October 2002
  • Kochi (Cochin International Airport) since 28 October 2001
  • Thiruvananthapuram (Thiruvananthapuram International Airport) since 2 June 1999

Southeast Asia

• Cambodia
  • Phnom Penh (Pochentong International Airport)
  • Siem Reap (Siem Reap Airport ) since fiscal year 00/01
• Indonesia
  • Balikpapan (Sepinggan Airport )
  • Lombok (Selaparang Airport )
  • Manado (Samratulangi Airport )
  • Medan (Polonia Airport)
  • Padang (Tabing Airport ) (suspended from 23 February 2005 to 30 April 2005)
  • Palembang (Mahmud Badaruddin Ii Airport ) since October 2001
  • Solo (Solo City - Adi Sumarmo Wiryokusumo )
• Malaysia
  • Kuching (from 28 March 2005)
  • Langkawi (Langkawi Airport )
• Myanmar
  • Yangon (Mingaladon Airport )
• Philippines
  • Cebu (Mactan-Cebu International Airport)
  • Davao (Davao International Airport)
• Singapore
  • Singapore (Singapore Changi Airport), Home Base
• Thailand
  • Chiang Mai (Chiang Mai International Airport)
  • Phuket (Phuket International Airport)
• Vietnam
  • Danang (Danang International Airport ) (from 3 January 2005)

Charter Destinations

• Jaipur since December 2002
• Bodh Gaya since January 2003

Destinations under negotiation

• Yogyakarta

Terminated Destinations

• Chittagong Service launched on 31 March 2002, with 3 flights a week every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, and suspended sinde 19 January 2004 due to low traffic.
• Hatyai/Pattaya
• Jakarta suspended since July 1999
• Makassar Service launched in November 1995, and suspended since 26 March 2003 due to low yields.
• Vientiane
• Pekanbaru, which was suspended due to a lack of aircraft, but talks are on-going for the route to be reinstated.
• Macau (Macau International Airport) (launched 2 July 2002, last flight 31 December 2004)
• Krabi (Krabi Airport ) (launched 1 May 2002, last flight on 28 February 2005)

Fleet

The Silkair fleet consists of the following aircraft (at March 2005):

• 4 Airbus A319-100
• 7 Airbus A320-200

Codeshare Partners

• Singapore Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines (27 march 2005 / 1 July2005)
• Air India
• Garuda
• Mandala Airlines

External Links

• Silkair
• Silkair Fleet Detail
• Silkair Passenger Opinions
• Singapore Airlines

See also

• Singapore Airlines
• Silkair Flight 185