It was July 19, 2006. That Tuesday, 15 years ago now, a brand new Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 landed in El Prat for the first time. The Barcelona airport then used a single building divided into three: terminals A, B, and C. This distribution was born from the reform by Ricardo Bofill's Architecture Workshop for the increases in activity in the 90s, as well as the subsequent one by the Artigues & Sanabria architecture studio in the early 2000s, which aimed to respond to growing demand before the inauguration of T1 in the summer of 2009.
Singapore Airlines landed in Barcelona 15 years ago after considering a dilemma on the Iberian Peninsula: to operate again in Madrid as it did in the early 90s with its Boeing 747s or to opt this time for Catalonia in its return to Spain. This time El Prat won against the Barajas option, and thus the airline added two more destinations in Europe: Milan and Barcelona, as it was decided that initially, and until the numbers said otherwise, the most convenient thing was that, both on the outbound and inbound journeys, an intermediate stop be made in the capital of Lombardy: 50 minutes without the need to get off the plane.
Thus, the capital of Catalonia gained an important and strategic intercontinental destination: one of Asia's economic capitals, which, in turn, is one of the most important flight exchange centers in the region, Changi, an impeccable airport from which to connect with the entire Singapore Airlines network in Asia and Oceania. Specifically, with seven cities in Australia, as many in Japan, six in China, and many more links to and from New Zealand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, or Malaysia, to name a few examples.
Initially, three weekly flights were scheduled. Given the success in the average occupancy of the planes, which was around 90%, the Boeing 777-200 model was changed to the -300 version, much more capable in terms of passenger numbers and cargo in the hold. Frequencies were then increased, and finally, due to growing demand, direct flights to Barcelona from Singapore were added, cutting two hours off each journey, while also maintaining those with an intermediate stop in Milan.
To Brazil via Barcelona
One of the company's great moments at El Prat was in 2011. When five years had passed since its commitment to Barcelona, this airport became its intermediate stop to reach its first destination in South America: São Paulo, Brazil. To do this, it extended its direct flight, making it continue to Brazil's economic capital from El Prat, a service it operated in code-share with the defunct Spanair (the existence of the Barcelona-based company was essential to start this service) and even the one that survived, as the flights by which one could fly between Barcelona and Brazil with a Singapore plane continued to operate until 2016, the year the route was canceled due to a notable drop in demand, caused by the irruption of other Middle Eastern companies in the Latin American market.
A bit of history
Singapore Airlines is the flag carrier of the Republic of Singapore, which with less than 700 square kilometers is one of the smallest states in the world (Andorra has 468). The brand was created in 1972, although its operational history dates back to 1947, as Malaysian Airways, due to the close relationship between the two territories, to the point that in the 60s the airline was renamed Malaysia-Singapore Airlines. But, with Singapore's independence, everything that was previously linked to Malaysia politically, commercially or socially was left behind, including air transport, hence the birth of the brand.
Singapore Airlines is the flag carrier of the Republic of Singapore, which with less than 700 square kilometers is one of the smallest states in the worldA brand that from its early daysbet on high quality in on-board service, the operation of a very young fleet, and the launch of products such as a Boeing 747 with increased capacity in its business class. More recently, it became the launch customer for the Airbus A380 in 2007, a milestone for this company that has won awards and accolades of all kinds in practically all categories: in-flight service, global airline, maintenance, safety, comfort, or interior design.
All these awards corroborate a legendary and perfect in-flight service. This has allowed this company to always remain at the top of the Skytrax ranking, an audit created in the United Kingdom dedicated to the analysis and comparison of quality among different airlines and airports worldwide.
A Barcelona anecdote in 1979
While it is true that Singapore Airlines began commercial operations in Spain by arriving in Madrid in 1992 and then focusing on Barcelona from 2006, the reality is that it landed for the first time at a Spanish airport in 1979. It did so precisely in Barcelona, where it arrived, almost by chance, thanks to Banca Catalana.
Indeed, at the end of 1978, the Banca Catalana/Banco Industrial de Catalunya group wanted to reward subscribers of the 25th bond issue with an exclusive trip to New York from El Prat, flying, no less, than with the then brand-new Concorde. The financial group chartered one of British Airways' seven supersonic aircraft, which brought a first group of clients from Heathrow to Barcelona on February 24, 1979.
Singapore Airlines landed for the first time in Spain, precisely, in Barcelona, where it arrived, almost by chance, thanks to Banca CatalanaAs it was a Saturday, the airport was filled with curious onlookers eager to see the plane live for the first time. Since it arrived at night, the aircraft spent the night at El Prat and took off the next day, transporting a hundred travelers bound for the United States. Among them traveled the then acting mayor of the city, Manuel Font i Altaba, who upon arrival at JFK airport was received by his counterpart in the Big Apple, the charismatic Edward Irving Koch, who then hosted all the passengers and other local celebrities at a party at the mythical Waldorf Astoria. Never before had Barcelona and New York been so close in such a short time.
As a curiosity, the plane that operated that flight had the left half of the fuselage painted with the colors of Singapore Airlines, since, between 1977 and 1980, this and British Airways experimentally operated the London-Singapore route, always with reluctance from the Malaysian government for overflying its territory, so it was not always assigned to that Asian route. The original project was to connect Sydney and London supersonically with two stopovers: Bahrain and Singapore, something that was finally discarded.
Thus, the novelty of that February day in '79 at Barcelona airport was twofold: it was the first time that the Singapore Airlines logo was seen at El Prat and also the first time that the Concorde landed on its runways.
Flying even during the pandemic
As for the rest of the world's airlines, 2020 was a year to forget for Singapore Airlines. If during the first months of the year it carried an average of 5,300 travelers/month from El Prat to Changi, the figure dropped to zero in April and May, as all flights had to be canceled obligatorily.
As for the rest of the world's airlines, 2020 was a year to forget for Singapore AirlineSubsequently, in June, the connection was restored, although flying only once a week with unthinkable occupancies: the strict restrictions of the Asian country meant that only 35 passengers flew on the ten flights operated throughout that month between both cities, which implied an unprecedented average of 3.5 travelers per flight on planes that have a capacity for 253 travelers. That is: more crew members than travelers on board. The cargo capacity in the holds, as these were full, somehow offset the negative results of each flight.
In the first weeks of 2021, the airline resumed the three frequencies with the brief stopover in Milan and the company's executives are beginning to see, cautiously, that the situation is improving on each flight for a route in which they continue to trust as it celebrates 15 years since its debut and in which it is expected, as soon as possible, to be non-stop between both ends again.