with B.A.
01JUN09

SQ Says Goodbye to Canada

It was a bittersweet ending to Singapore Airlines’ stint in Canada. The invitation card said it was an Appreciation Night for their Travel Agents, partners and top customers at the Granville Island Brewery. But, the invitees knew this was also the farewell party for SQ’s operations from Canada.

Andrew Budiman, V.P. for Canada, reminisced that it was only 10 months ago when he first moved to Vancouver and hosted a similar gathering at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Succumbing to the pressures inflicted by the global economic crisis, the highly regarded and profit-making airline was registering lower passenger loads – a phenomenon almost unheard of in the carrier’s history. The airline’s last flight from YVR departed April 25th and staff stayed on until their final official work day - May 29th.

Magnanimously thanking agents and partners for their support over the past 20 years in Canada, guests were assured that although the airline was shutting down its Canadian operations, it will continue to remain committed to this market. The carrier will still have two Canadian sales managers on board, with Michael Wraight in western Canada and Les Kovacs in the east. Both will report to Hao Yu Dai, Vice President – Northwest USA, based in San Francisco.

As the evening drew to a close, Michael Wraight remained optimistic that the airline will return within the next few years. We hope so too. SQ, we’ll miss you.

Archives