An aircraft must be evacuated within 90 seconds. In order to react correctly and quickly in an emergency, the airlines regularly train their staff. But not only the evacuation via the emergency slide of an Airbus A380 is part of the training plan, the make-up and the service also want to be perfected. I was able to take a look behind the scenes at the Singapore Airlines Training Center.
After completing the necessary formalities and exchanging our passport for a visitor's badge, we were allowed to enter the grounds of the Singapore Airlines Training Center. Display cases with various exhibits were set up in the spacious entrance area. These included older uniforms or memorabilia, such as First Class china. The first surprise for me was in the listed Heritage Gallery. So I didn't know that Singapore Airlines* had once used a Concorde in scheduled service.
Concorde in scheduled service with Singapore Airlines
On October 26, 1977, British Airways and Singapore Airlines issued a joint press release. In this they announced a three times weekly flight between London and Singapore. A month and a half later, on December 9, 1977, the time had come. The first commercial Concorde flight flew from London via Bahrain to Singapore. With a travel time of nine hours, this was a quantum leap on the way to Southeast Asia!
The Concorde with the registration G-BOAD was planned for this route. As a result, it got its Singapore Airlines livery on the left and British Airways on the right. The illustration in the Heritage Gallery does not quite correspond to reality. Let's just tick it off as artistic license. ;) British Airways also provided the technical crew and the pilots. The flight attendants were split 50/50 between the two airlines. By the way, nowadays you can see the G-BOAD in the museum on the USS Intrepid (travel report 2011 & 2016), which is anchored in New York City. However, here she is again in full British Airways livery.
The connection with the Concorde was discontinued after only three flights. This was due to complaints from the Malaysian government about supersonic flights over the Malacca Straits. A compromise was finally found in the routing and the service was resumed on January 24, 1979. However, with falling passenger numbers, the route was finally discontinued on November 1, 1980. (Source and further information: http://www.concordesst.com)
Singapore Airlines Training Center- How to become a Singapore Airlines flight attendant?
Annually go to Singapore Airlines* around 16,000 applications. However, only the top 1,000 are ultimately admitted to training at the Singapore Airlines Training Center. More than 80 percent of all Singapore Girls come from Singapore or Malaysia. The rest come from Asian countries like China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. Overall, around 40% of Singapore Airlines flight attendants are male. Are they called the Singapore Boys? :D
At the beginning of a career as a flight attendant with Singapore Airlines, there is a 16-week training course. In intensive training units, safety measures, evacuation regulations, etiquette, first aid, make-up and, for example, oenology are taught. The cabin crew is therefore familiar with all areas of passenger care and service on board.
After successfully completing the four months of training at the Singapore Airlines Training Center, the graduates can finally put their experience into practice. Initially, the “newcomers” will only be used in economy class and mainly on board the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A330. The Airbus 380 and 350 only follow after a few months of professional experience. Incidentally, a change from economy to business class is only possible after 18 months and a six-day training course including an examination. In order to apply for a position in First Class, you should have worked for the company for three to five years as a flight attendant. Of course, this is also followed by intensive training, which takes at least a month.
The Singapore Girls can achieve four different stages in their career. For passengers, these are symbolized by the four different colored sarong kebayas (the color of the tie for male cabin crew): Blue – Flight Stewardess, Green – Leading Stewardess, Red – Chief Stewardess and Maroon – Inflight Supervisor.
I would like to briefly introduce you to the individual training stations in the Singapore Airlines Training Center in the coming sections.
Singapore Airlines Service Training
Service is the hallmark of an airline. Accordingly, this is also practiced conscientiously in the Singapore Airlines Training Center. The prospective flight attendants have to complete their service training in several different mock-ups (models of aircraft). This starts with serving food and drinks and ends with preparing them in the functional galley (on-board kitchen). As your career progresses and you work in business or first class, special topics such as wine or how to serve food are then taught.
Singapore Airlines safety training
Flight attendants and pilots carry out the safety training together. This is particularly important because, in an emergency, the teamwork must also function smoothly. In the large hall in the Singapore Airlines Training Center, two so-called "Door Trainers" (aircraft doors of an Airbus A350 and A330) and emergency slides of the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 are available.
How do you train for an emergency landing or the evacuation of the aircraft?
“Put on life vest!” a woman shouts hastily and in a high pitched voice. The door of the Airbus A330 mock-up opens with a courageous jerk and a graceful flight attendant asks the imaginary passengers to evacuate the plane. I get goosebumps during this exercise, but I wonder if I would have really heard the young woman's thin voice in a real emergency.
After the doors have been successfully opened, an aircraft must also be completely evacuated in an emergency. When evacuating passengers, speed is always important. For this purpose, a cabin section of the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A380 have been installed at their original height in the huge hall of the Singapore Airlines Training Center. On the side, two thick, gray rubber slides hang down to the ground. Our guide states the obvious: "... this is where sliding is practiced.". Despite repeated questions and requests, I was unfortunately not allowed to slide for insurance reasons. But then we were able to convince our guide to put on an overall and demonstrate how to use the emergency slide. I recorded this for you in slow motion with my iPhone.
In the second room of the safety training center there is a large swimming pool and another small part of an airplane cabin. During our visit, a Tigerair crew was practicing evacuation after a ditching. In their work clothes and life jackets, they jumped out of the aircraft door, which was about two meters above the water surface, into the cool water. The artificially generated waves made it difficult to swim to the yellow life raft. While watching, I asked myself what must be more difficult for the crew: arriving against the waves with the soaked and therefore heavy clothing or getting into the life raft.
Singapore Airlines Training Center – makeup and hair
I am not at all familiar with topics such as make-up and hairstyles. That's why I felt somehow strange in the training room, which strongly reminded me of a visit to the perfumery. On each side of the room, the budding Singapore girls sat in front of a mirror and did their hair. In the center of the room, a lady, a Lancôme stylist, was counting down the time in an almost military tone. It is made quite easy for the ladies by prescribing the colors of the make-up and the hairstyles. If it doesn't fit, the hair will be cut off without further ado. As harsh as this may sound, no one in this room will stand crying like so many girls on Heidi Klum's show.
Tips and information for Singapore
how to get there
Singapore Airlines* fliegt 24 Mal pro Woche von Deutschland (Frankfurt 14x, München 7x & Düsseldorf 3x) nonstop nach Singapur. Die Strecke ab Düsseldorf wird mit der neuen Airbus A350 geflogen. Außerdem bietet auch die Lufthansa* a daily direct connection from Frankfurt.
Where is a good place to stay?
The selection of hotels in Singapore is huge, there are over forty 5-star hotels alone. In the luxurious The Ritz-Carlton Millenia at Marina Bay (hotel rating) for example, a room costs from 340 euros per night. However, if you want to live a little cheaper, you will certainly use booking portals such as Agoda* or Booking.com* find what you are looking for. Transit passengers from Singapore Airlines* can stay as part of the "Singapore Stopover Holiday" program from 28 euros per person in a double room (including airport transfer).
how to get around
Singapore has a very well-developed public transport network. Traveling with the modern subway (MRT) or with a regular bus is cheap and reliable. Furthermore, a large number of taxis in Singapore operate around the clock. It should be noted that in addition to the fare (via taximeter), the road toll (ERP – Electronic Road Pricing) is due. Rental cars are of course also offered. However, we would advise against it, and not just because of left-hand traffic.
What do I need for entry?
As a German citizen, you only need a passport that is still valid for at least six months to enter Singapore. Upon entry, you will receive a residence permit for up to 90 days. Children need their own identification document. Further information, in particular about the strict customs regulations, can also be found on the information page of the Foreign Office.
How about security?
Singapore is considered one of the safest metropolises in Asia. After all, the city-state consistently takes action against crimes of all kinds, even supposed “little things” such as throwing away rubbish. Furthermore, the usual precautionary measures against petty crime must be observed.
Which Singapore travel guide do you recommend?
  | For the perfect city trip to Singapore, we recommend you this guide*. Here you will not only find a detailed city map, but also a lot of information about all the important sights. |
Participation in the trip was supported by Singapore Airlines and the Singapore Tourism Board. At this point we would like to thank you again for your cooperation and support. This article represents our free and independent opinion. Further information about independence can be found under the point Cooperation.
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Singapore Airlines Training Center Assessment
- Singapore Airlines Training Center
Summary
It has always been a dream of mine to look behind the scenes at an airline. It was exciting to see how conscientiously Singapore Airlines trains both the service and safety in air traffic down to the smallest detail.
