SINGAPORE Airlines
has recently
appointed new gm for
Central and Southern Africa,
Kian Hwa Chua.
Kian, or Ken as he is known,
has worked for the airline for
more than 20 years, and has
spent time as country manager
in China, Canada, Europe
and Singapore, before being
stationed in South Africa
from early July.
“Our plan is to grow the
South African market through
a three-pronged strategic
approach,” says Ken. He
explains that the first pillar of
this strategy is product. The
airline recently deployed its
A350 on the Johannesburg
route, with plans to introduce
it on the Cape Town route
at the start of the Northern
hemisphere winter.
Interestingly, Johannesburg is
only the second destination for
Singapore Airlines’ new aircraft,
with Amsterdam being the first.
The second and third pillars
are service and network.
Ken says the airline places
significant focus on service
delivery to its South African
customers – even when it
comes to destinations beyond
Singapore.
“We have an extensive
network and are a gateway
for South Africa to South East
Asia,” he comments. The
airline offers good connections
to countries such as China,
Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.
Together with its subsidiaries,
SilkAir and Tiger Air, it offers
connections to 130 countries.
Ken is cognisant of the
importance of working
together with the travel trade,
particularly in a country as
trade-centric as South Africa.
“We plan to work closely with
travel agents.”
