Face-to-Face: Magdalene Ong
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Magdalene Ong, Swiss International Air Lines’ country manager for Singapore, chats to Travel Daily about the carrier’s recently-launched Zurich-Singapore service…
Q) SWISS launched a new non-stop flight between Zurich and Singapore earlier this year. How has the route performed since it commenced?
The result has been satisfying, thanks to the convenient flight schedule in both directions. Our flight departs Singapore at 2335 and arrives in Zurich at 0610 the following day. Passengers with their final destination in Zurich will have a full day at their disposal, while transiting passengers can conveniently connect to more than 50 European destinations as well as to attractive destinations in North and South America.
The eastbound service leaves Zurich at 2245, which mean travellers have an entire day in Europe. Moreover, the flight arrives in Singapore at 1715 the next day so that travellers can have a full night’s rest. All in all, we are very happy to be able to offer night flights in both directions to our passengers.
Q) What in-flight products can passengers expect on the route?
Switzerland is known for its quality and this also applies to travel. In first and business Class, SWISS offers fully-flat beds on all intercontinental flights, which means that passengers can enjoy a full night’s rest on board. They can also look forward to our award-winning culinary concept, ‘Swiss Taste of Switzerland’, where they will get to experience the unparalleled cuisine created by Switzerland’s top class chefs.
In addition, all passengers will be treated to the famous Swiss cheeses and chocolate. Naturally, passengers in all three travel classes are provided with a personal in-flight entertainment system which offers a wide variety of video, music and games. And rounding out the inflight experience is the hospitality Switzerland is renowned for, which is provided by our friendly and attentive cabin crews.
Q) Are the majority of passengers on these flights Swiss or Singaporean, and what are you doing to attract the Singaporean market?
As Singapore is the key hub for Southeast Asia, we have a fair mix of European, Asian and Australian passengers who will connect to the SWISS flight from Singapore to Zurich and beyond. Of course two core financial markets like Singapore and Switzerland have great business travel potential. We maintain close relations to travel agents, but also to individual customers travelling on the route.
Q) Does SWISS have any further plans to expand in Asia Pacific in the near future?
At the moment, there are no plans to expand the services. We think that our current flight schedule between Switzerland and Singapore fully corresponds to demand in the region. Of course we continuously evaluate feasible options.
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