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Wednesday, 22 May 2019

Why is Singapore Airlines inflight service so terribly good?

Do you know why SIA inflight service is one of the best in the world? It is because of the following reasons:

  • SIA cabin crew speak English which is the universal language.
  • SIA spend a lot of time and money on training eg: cabin crew initial (basic/foundation/safety) training is about 4 months as compared to about 2 months in most airlines.
  • SIA cabin crew is well paid.
  • The "culture of fear".
As for the first 3 reasons, they are self explanatory. 
I want to dwell a little on the "culture of fear". Cabin crew management instill fear in the crew. It can be punitive and crew who do not want to be punished should toe the line. Punishment comes in many forms. One who does not toe the line may not get promoted. One may even be "grounded" meaning one may be rostered for clerical work in the office for a period of time. In this scenario, the crew will not be paid the various allowances (which make up the bulk of the salary) but only the minimum (basic) salary. In the worst case, the crew may be terminated.
Frankly, the element of fear is the strongest reason that drives the crew to perform. Therefore, in my opinion, the first 3 reasons plus the element of fear is the magic formula that make SIA cabin crew service one of the best in the world.


richard said...

BT you are 100% right in saying that SQ uses FEAR to make the crew work.
I don't blame the top management people but the mid management people
are the ones who resort to threats and punishment to achieve their goals.

Boh Tong said...

Richard thanks for your comment. Instilling fear is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you get the crew to perform.

WhiskyXrayYankee said...

It's not jus SIA. Its Singapore way of doing things! Good or bad? It's for us to decide this coming "GENERALSSSSSS election".