In the same year that Cliff Richard and The Young Ones were in the charts, Alex Ferguson took over at Manchester United and Singapore airlines touched down at Manchester Airport for the first time.
30 years ago today, 1st April 1986, the first scheduled Singapore Airlines flight arrived at Manchester Airport, and is now the longest serving long-haul airline flying from the UK’s 3rd largest airport.
Over the last 30 years, a total of five different Singapore Airlines aircraft types have flown the route, spending over 100,000 hours in the air and covering more than 50 million miles, 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.
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.
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.”
With 30 years of history, comes 30 years of stories, 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”.
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, for 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.