Here is an opportunity for global startups who want to redefine the aviation industry to partner with the world’s leading airline. Up to 5 startups from the Grand Finale round will fast-track implementing their solutions through the SIA Accelerator Programme. Winners will also have access to Singapore Airlines and key partners’ APIs Workspace and facilities at Singapore Airlines Digital Innovation Lab, KrisLab. 

How to participate in the challenge

The Singapore Airlines 2020 features 10 challenge statements across 6 themes. The themes are as follows:

• Seamless Travel Experience Challenge Statements
• People and Operations Challenge Statements
• Beyond Travel Challenge Statements
• Travelling in the New Norm Statements
• New Business Opportunities Challenge Statements
• Sustainability Challenge Statements

Deadline

The Submissions round and virtual roadshows have started from 1st June and will be running till 12th of July. For full details, please visit https://appchallenge.singaporeair.com/.

The post Singapore Airlines invites global startups to take the aviation industry to the next level appeared first on TravHQ.

The Singapore Airlines Group recently announced bringing blockchain into its loyalty scheme. The airline’s KrisFlyer frequent-flyer programme is to launch a world-first blockchain-based airline loyalty digital wallet.

The KrisFlyer is expected to be rolled out in about six months and will allow KrisFlyer membership base to use ‘digital KrisFlyer miles’ for point-of-sale transactions at participating retail merchants. According to a statement by the airline, KrisFlyer will be signing up retail merchant partners, initially in the Singapore market. The lifestyle digital wallet app will be enabled using an SIA-owned private blockchain involving only merchants and partners.

“Innovation has been a key contributor to the success of Singapore Airlines since day one and we are very excited about this world-first initiative, which will bring even more benefits to members of our KrisFlyer programme,” said Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong.

“This groundbreaking development in which we will be using blockchain technology to ‘digitalise’ KrisFlyer miles is a demonstration of the investment we are making to significantly enhance the digital side of our business for the benefit of our customers. It is in line with our recently unveiled Digital Innovation Blueprint, under which we aim to be the world’s leading digital airline.”

The move by Singapore Airlines is well-planned and brings many potential benefits, both to its customers and its investors. For consumers, a loyalty program that is based on blockchain is possibly more valuable than a regular miles rewards programs, which are subject to expiration, depreciation in value, blackout dates, and more. A blockchain-based loyalty programme addresses these issues since they would be flexibly interchangeable with other digital currencies, programmes or money. Moreover, the fact that the market decides the value of these tokens create potential for appreciation in future.

This alternative carries even bigger benefits for the company and its investors. For instance, every time a Singapore Airline customer redeemed their miles for a free flight, it would cost the carrier a lot of money, thus effectively making the reward programme a discount coupon. With blockchain, however, the same miles can be sold by the company for cash in the market, which means that the traders of Singapore Airlines’ miles would be funding the company’s loyalty program, thus reducing the company’s financial burden. Additionally, this alternative form of investment will lure even more investors to the company.

Singapore Airlines is not the first carrier to venture into blockchain. In October, Lufthansa announced it was partnering with Winding Tree to bring control of the travel distribution network out of the hands of intermediaries who cost airlines money. If all these efforts are successful, a blockchain-based loyalty program could turn out to be the straw that many in the travel industry could hang on to in the face of competition.

The post Singapore Airlines announces blockchain-based loyalty programme appeared first on TravHQ.

From being held up on the phone for hours for customer support to making a beeline for social media handles to air grievances, the service industry has come a long way. The aviation industry, in particular, now comes under immense public scrutiny. This makes it vital for airlines to make social media the most important and the fastest way to connect with their customers – whether it’s receiving feedback about in-flight service, updating them on flight schedules and delays or generally keeping them abreast of latest developments in the company.

Some of the biggest airlines in the world have emerged to become top brands owing to their strong social media presence. From high-quality digital campaigns to quirky content strategies, they are all burning the midnight oil to make sure they deliver better than competition.

Here, we take a look at the social media strategies of top five airlines in the world.

Qatar Airways

The airline has a very strong presence on all social media platforms and usually links most of its campaigns to news and events, including politics, sports or even information about their own company.

For instance, Qatar Airways has recently launched a social media competition to celebrate the final draw for the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which will take place on December 1 at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia. While the competition may seem like any other, what Qatar Airways aims to do through this competition is basically announce the fact that they will start their new direct flights to St Petersburg, making it easier for football fans to choose the airline to participate in the historic sporting event.

The airline is quite active on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, with upwards of a million followers. Their engagement on all platforms is fast and constant, and their swift response to queries and compliments very effectively upsells the brand. Their photographs are visually appealing and their content is crisp and to the point, at the same time effective in communicating the brand message.

Etihad Airways

Social media has been a very important part of the airline’s strategy in recent years. That is quite clear from the way their creative initiatives have played out across platforms. Their multiple campaigns have always garnered tremendous responses, especially their most popular #Reimagined campaign, to announce their new fleets and uniforms for the crew.

Etihad Airways also takes a very light-hearted approach towards their communication.

By adding a little element of fun in their conversations, they prove that they genuinely care about their patrons. Case in point, this video-

They regularly host competitions, have fun quizzes to interact with customers and generally have a good time on all their social media platforms.

Singapore Airlines

While the airline does have a good presence on Facebook and Instagram, they place their best bets on Twitter, which they use as an important tool for branding. Singapore Airlines has a tremendously well-maintained Twitter account with gorgeous photos of destinations, and heavy on branding. They never forget to remind everyone of their reputation for luxury and deliver well on social media posts depicting the same.

When it comes to interactions, they stick to being mostly safe, with general comments and responses to queries. However, by no means do they compromise on the swiftness of response.

Emirates

If there is one airline that has nailed Instagram, it has to be Emirates. With close to 3 million followers on this platform alone, the airline has managed to garner much attention towards the fact that it flies to almost every city in the world. Their pictures have different themes, branding in the form of pilots holding up cards in the destinations they fly to, and most importantly, pretty pictures of destinations.

Their digital campaigns have also managed to create quite a stir, and they fully understand the importance of influencers in selling a brand. In 2016, they roped in Hollywood superstar Jennifer Aniston to showcase the new A380. The humour in the ad resonated with audiences; it was viewed by millions and people praised the unique story that deviated from traditional airline advertising.

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific’s approach to social media is extremely customer-centric. They make a lot of efforts at social listening. They try and avoid passing on cases, and usually deal with a customer query online, right there and then. They constantly tweet and retweet what their customers are saying about them, which goes on to show how much they care about how people perceive them.

While their Instagram followers aren’t as high as their competitors’, they still don’t lag behind on efforts. The account is full of good images, and more about people than the brand itself. Same is the case on Facebook where they usually promote discounts, offers and engage with followers through hashtags that ask them to share their holiday memories and experiences.

Which brand strategy do you like the best?

The post How top airlines in the world use social media appeared first on TravHQ.

Today, 9th August, Wednesday is the National Day of Singapore and if you are enjoying the celebrations here is one video by Singapore Airlines that beautifully portrays the story of the iconic landmarks in the country. While the video essentially talks about in-flight safety instructions, it is a result of bilateral agreement between the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the national carrier.

The refreshing video is a visual walkthrough by the Singapore Girl, an in flight attendant at Singapore Airlines. The video is shot in outdoor locations such as Boat Quay, Haji Lane, Adventure Cove Waterpark, Henderson waves etc. Since it’s release on 7th August 2017, the video has generated a little under 100,000 views so far. While the video is engaging due to its unique story-telling experience and the community feedback has been largely positive, there were some mixed reactions as well. Some of the fans, found the video to be a little too slow in-terms of pace.

According to Mr. Cambell Wilson, the SIA senior vice president sales and marketing, “Our new safety video provides a more captivating way of effectively presenting safety information to our customers as compared to the more conventional approach that we have taken up to now”.

Have you watched the new In-Flight Safety video yet? What do you think about it.

The post There’s something special about Singapore Airlines’ New In-flight Safety Video appeared first on TravHQ.

The airline food is usually nothing worth talking about, and it isn’t something airlines highlight often. In most cases, it is ‘decent’ at best. Singapore Airlines however can make an exception here. The highly awarded airline not only receives appreciation for the excellent in-flight entertainment and on-board amenities but also for employing celebrated chefs to offer quality in-flight dining experience. In their latest video they have tried to draw attention to this dining experience and judging by the numbers so far, they have pulled it off well.

Singapore Airlines offers a ‘Book the Cook’ menu with which it allows travellers to book meals from a menu featuring exclusive options upto 24 hours before departure. Through the recently released video conceptualised by Dentsu Mobius, they have showcased the dishes from this menu. However, instead of taking the obvious approach of featuring the chefs preparing the delicacies, it created miniscule versions of the dishes with a tiny set of utensils.

The video was released on October 19 and since then, it has got close to 2.4M views and 8K shares on Facebook and 600K views on YouTube. It features various elements including miniature stove with candle flame, grills and utensils that are used to create small size dishes thoroughly following the preparation process, only at a smaller scale. The video very well puts light on what they have on offer and sends the message of how attention to small details can enhance the overall experience. The impact is also indicated by the fact that someone actually tried to recreate it (without much success).

This isn’t the only video of its kind though. They have released another video in the past which featured a designer crafting miniature aircraft seats of all the seat categories the airline offers. The latest video was followed by a behind the scenes video as well which features the artist and the massive effort that went behind the not-so-simple video. These videos go very well with their communication of delighting the customer by paying attention to small details. No wonder Singapore Airline is among the very few carriers for which the sentiments on social media platforms aren’t negative. And that is something praiseworthy in an industry dealing with baggage losses and unexpected delays on a daily basis.

The post This video by Singapore Airlines is doing rounds of the internet for all the right reasons appeared first on TravHQ.

Opened in 1981, Changi Airport is the 7^th busiest international airport of the world. It serves around 100 airlines flying to about 320 cities via 80 countries and territories globally. Often termed as the Best Airport in the World, Changi Airport has received multiple awards supporting the statement. The airport offers hassle free experience and wide range of entertainment options for the travellers and keeps innovating to further enhance the travellers’ experience.

We spoke with Mr. Ivan Tan, Senior Vice President, Corporate & Marketing Communications for Changi Airport Group to learn more about the factors driving the airport’s growth and the group’s future plans. Here is an excerpt from the conversation:

You are witnessing a stupendous growth compared to last year. In a year that marks SG50 celebrations, what’s the biggest attributer of this growth?

Changi Airport handled 45.5 million passenger movements in the first ten months of 2015, a 2% increase from the same period last year. During the year, travel demand was affected by market-specific as well as environmental factors like the haze situation in Southeast Asia. In addition, the weakening of regional currencies, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia, against the Singapore Dollar has made travel to Singapore more expensive for a number of our key source markets.

But despite the challenges, we continued to make good progress with our efforts to woo new airlines, increase flights and grow Changi’s connectivity. During the year, a slate of new airlines joined the Changi network, such as Air New Zealand, Batik Air, Thai Lion Air and Myanmar National Airlines. At the same time, many existing airlines have been adding new flights to both current and new destinations. We have seen Singapore-based airlines like Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Tigerair and Scoot adding new flights, including to India. For instance, Tigerair has commenced its new service to Lucknow in December, and Singapore Airlines increased services to Mumbai. Other airlines, including ANA, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Malindo Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Xiamen Airlines, have also added flights to Changi.

After a period of negative growth, the Thailand market has bounced back strongly, continuing to show healthy growth. Meanwhile, markets such as China and Vietnam have also continued to perform well due to their strong travel fundamentals. If economic and market conditions remain stable, we are optimistic that Changi Airport will continue to register positive passenger traffic growth for this year.

You have digital initiatives such as photo-booths to capture a traveller’s experience of airport’s services. How are these assisting in a better airport altogether?

At Changi, we do not just think about how we can meet our passengers’ needs, but our philosophy is to go one step further to delight them, by making the airport experience engaging and memorable. With the advent of social media and mobile connectivity, sharing travel photos has become almost a must-do for every leisure traveller. Our Social Tree at Terminal 1 was introduced as a fun way of letting our passengers capture their moments at Changi, for the dual purpose of sharing on social media, as well as storing this image on the interactive installation. The Social Tree acts as a time capsule from which passengers can retrieve their images taken at Changi, even years later when they revisit. This is just one example of the many facilities we have at Changi to give our passengers an enjoyable time, which include our themed gardens, movie theatres and swimming pool. We also organise activities for passengers and visitors to enjoy, such as this year’s Star Wars themed year-end festive celebrations that are ongoing right now. Together, these serve to make Changi Airport the magical start to one’s holiday, rather than an inconsequential stop in their travel journey.

You also run periodic campaigns such as the ‘#UnlockCelebrations this Diwali with Birds In Flight’ to engage with the Indian diaspora/visitors from India. What’s the purpose behind these campaigns?

With India being one of the key markets for Changi Airport, we see a growing increase in India passenger traffic for both the Singapore market and also positioning Changi Airport as a regional air hub. The campaign – #UnlockCelebrations is targeted at both young and family travellers. The campaign offers an opportunity to travel during the festive Diwali season and uses the occasion to bring friends and families together. Also, in capturing the insight on Indian travellers desiring a fly-cruise vacation, the campaign also offers various fly-cruise packages through partnering with a renowned cruise operator – Royal Caribbean International.

Ivan Tan, Senior Vice President, Corporate & Marketing Communications, Changi Airport Group

On the digital front, Changi Airport has been leading with its mobile applications, state-of-art website including variants to welcome visitors from countries such as India. What’s the overall role they are playing in enhancing passenger experience?

India is a fast adopter in technology and we see a lot of online activities pertaining to travel bookings, reviews and forums. Being proficient on social networks as well, there is strong media consumption among the top-tier India cities and we see Indian travellers taking to the Internet when it comes to travel intent. By deploying our messaging, contests and bookings on our geo-targeted Changi Airport website, we have witnessed a strong take-up in terms of contest participation, social engagement as well as booking conversions.

As we step into 2016, what are your thoughts and ideas on an airport experience of the future?

As travellers get increasingly sophisticated, the bar for the perfect airport experience gets higher. At Changi, we are cognisant of the need to continually refresh and reinvent what we offer, in order to retain our attractiveness as an air hub. To this end, we have a number exciting projects in the pipeline, which will take the airport experience at Changi to the next level when they are completed before the end of this decade.

Jewel Changi Airport, one of our key projects that are currently underway, will significantly enhance Changi’s appeal as a destination. Sited at the heart of the airport in front of Terminal 1, Jewel is a world-class lifestyle complex that will offer a wide range of leisure attractions, attractive retail offerings, as well as travel-related facilities for airport passengers. These include a huge five-storey garden, housing one of Singapore’s largest indoor collections of plants in Singapore and a breathtaking 40-metre high central waterfall, complete with play and dining facilities integrated within the idyllic surroundings. Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, Jewel’s stunning dome-shaped glass façade is envisaged to become an iconic landmark in the airport landscape.

This iconic project will add to Changi an exciting tourist destination, providing our passengers with a myriad of refreshing experiences that they never imagined would be possible in an airport.

There is always something new going on at Changi Airport. You can learn more at changiairport.com. For campaigns and deals specific to Indian travellers, head to in.changiairport.com.

The post In conversation with Mr. Ivan Tan, SVP, Corporate & Marketing Communications for Changi Airport Group appeared first on TravHQ.