SilkAir to increase frequency to Maldives by four additional flights

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, announces that it will be operating four additional weekly flights to the Maldives starting March 27. With the additional flights, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir will fly a combined total of 18 weekly flights to the Maldives.

SilkAir launched its inaugural flight to the Maldives in October 2015, starting with a four-times weekly frequency, before increasing to daily flights from October 2016. With the upcoming additional flights in March, SilkAir will be operating 11 times weekly to the Maldives, reinforcing its strong confidence in inbound travel to the Maldives.

With 18 weekly flights, SilkAir passengers will now have more opportunities to connect to over 130 destinations in the combined Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot network. These additional flights will provide more options for a seamless connection to several destinations, including Adelaide, Perth, Wellington, Canberra, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Adil Moosa, Managing Director of Maldives Airport Company Limited, welcomed the additional flights, saying it will offer an excellent increase in connectivity for international visitors to the Maldives and to the many well-known resorts which the Maldives is famous for. “Velana International Airport (VIA) is currently going through an investment of over US$ 1 billion to transform VIA into a world-class airport and we are looking for future growth of airline business in the coming years,” says Adil.

“To hear that this level of frequency is going to become part of their year-round schedule from 27^th March is very good news. The SilkAir service has grown in strength since it commenced in October 2015 with four return flights per week. It attracts Chinese, South East Asians, Japanese and Australian passengers, which account for almost 40 percent of all international visitors to the Maldives,” Adil adds.

SilkAir’s Chief Executive, Mr Foo Chai Woo, said: “The Maldives is a popular travel destination offering great beauty both above and below the water, with its stunning white sand beaches and the equally beautiful underwater world. We are glad to be able to join the Singapore Airlines Group network to bring travellers from around the world to this picturesque island destination. We are confident that passenger traffic to the Maldives will continue to grow steadily with the additional flights.”

As the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, SilkAir operates the Singapore Airlines Group’s narrowbody fleet and extends the Group network by seeding and developing new, exciting destinations in the Asia Pacific. The airline took to the skies in February 1989 as Tradewinds the Airline, before evolving into SilkAir in 1992.

In its early days, the airline catered to passengers holidaying in exotic destinations in the region, including Phuket and Tioman. As the carrier developed, regional business destinations such as Phnom Penh, Yangon and Kuala Lumpur were added.

Today, the full-service airline operates about 400 weekly flights to 52 destinations in 16 countries. Recent additions to the network include Colombo, Sri Lanka (Apr 2017) and Hiroshima, Japan (Oct 2017). The airline currently has a fleet of 33 aircraft, comprising 3 Airbus A319s, 10 Airbus 320s, 17 Boeing 737-800s and 3 Boeing 737 MAX 8. For more information, please visit silkair.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]