Japan Airlines (JAL) established routes from Tokyo to Singapore 65 years ago on May 8, 1958, using a Douglas DC-6B aircraft.
Since then, the airline has served countless guests traveling between Singapore and Japan with the warmth of Japanese hospitality.
“To all our guests from Singapore and around the world, arigatou gozaimasu, thank you very much for your continued support throughout the years,” says Kentaro Dobashi, Vice President and Regional Manager of Singapore, JAL.
“We will do our utmost best to uphold the high standards of omotenashi and strive to continuously improve and provide our passengers with the best travel experience.”
A Flight through History
JAL is celebrating sixty-five years since its first scheduled Singapore-Tokyo flight in 1958 – back then, there were no passenger planes capable of flying this long distance.
“We used a propeller aircraft called the Douglas DC6B,” says Dobashi. “The passenger plane took off from Haneda Airport, and flew via Hong Kong and Bangkok to Singapore. Direct flights between Tokyo and Singapore began in January 1977, with the Douglas DC8-61 flying the route.”
In 1987, with the route seeing growing demand, an overseas JAL cabin crew base was established in Singapore.
“We started out with just ten cabin attendants at first,” says Dobashi. “This number grew to more than 300 during the periods we had the most crew based in Singapore. Singapore-based cabin attendants are our great assets as they are multilingual and actively play a role not only on flights between Singapore and Tokyo but also on flights from Japan to North America and Europe.”
65 years of connecting Singapore and Japan
“We are proud to be the first air transport service provider to connect the people of Singapore and Japan and of the role we continue to play in establishing the exchange of culture and goods between our two countries,” says Dobashi.
“This would not have been possible without the support of our customers over the years. As an airline, we will continue to strive to provide safe and comfortable air travel, never forgetting our pride and gratitude.”
JAL currently operates three daily flights between Singapore and Tokyo. With two flights to Haneda (JL38 and JL36) departing at night, and one flight to Narita (JL712) departing in the morning, passengers can rest comfortably on award-winning seats and conveniently arrive in Japan refreshed or connect seamlessly to JAL’s vast network of flights to North America.
We are proud to be the first air transport service provider to connect the people of Singapore and Japan and of the role we continue to play in establishing the exchange of culture and goods between our two countries.
Kentaro Dobashi, Vice President and Regional Manager of Singapore, JAL
Future outlook: Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).
The JAL Group is aiming to realize a sustainable society through its business activities. ‘JAL Vision 2030’ incorporates JAL’s vision of creating a ‘safe and secure society’ and a ‘sustainable future’ with ESG at the core of its management strategy.
All about JAL
JAL was founded in 1951 and became the first international airline in Japan. A member of the oneworld® Alliance, the airline now reaches 376 airports in 64 countries and regions together with its codeshare partners with a modern fleet of 224 aircraft.
JAL Mileage Bank (JMB), the airline’s loyalty program, is one of the largest mileage programs in Asia. Awarded as one of the most punctual major international airlines and a certified 5-Star Airline by Skytrax and a “World Class” airline by APEX, JAL is committed to providing customers with the highest levels of flight safety and quality in every aspect of its service, and to becoming one of the most preferred airlines in the world.
Recent Awards
2023
- SKYTRAX Airline Rating Awards – 5-Star
- SKYTRAX World Airline Awards – Worlds’ Best Economy Class, Best Economy Airline Seat
2022
- SKYTRAX Airline Rating Awards – 5-Star
- APEX WORLD CLASS 2023
- APEX Official Airline Rating™ – Five Star Global Airline
- APEX 2023 Passenger Choice Award® – Best Wi-Fi in Eastern Asia
- SKYTRAX World Airline Awards – Best Economy Airline Seat
- KAYAK Travel Awards – Best Airline Crew Asia Pacific
Content of the above may not be reused or be duplicated in whole or in part, whether verbatim or modified, without the prior consent of JAL.
