SINGAPORE (Oct 3): Singapore Airlines (SIA) has joined hands with private hire car service operator Grab as competition heats up in the transport space.
SIA and Grab in a joint statement on Tuesday say they are integrating their mobile apps to offer enhanced convenience to customers when travelling to the airport in six countries across Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Starting today, SIA customers can book Grab rides through the SingaporeAir mobile app.
Customers using the SIA app will see an option to book a Grab ride to the airport from seven days before their scheduled flight. Selecting this option will direct customers to the Grab app, where they can choose to order a Grab ride to the airport on-demand or in advance.
At the same time, members of their respective loyalty programmes – SIA’s KrisFlyer and Grab’s GrabRewards – will enjoy additional benefits under the partnership. GrabRewards members will have the flexibility to convert their GrabRewards points into KrisFlyer miles.
See: This ride-hailing app now wants to grab a share of the e-payments pie
“We are thrilled to bring more convenience to our customers on the ground and in the air through our new partnership with Grab, while also offering KrisFlyer and GrabRewards members the opportunity to convert points to miles and redeem them for award flights or flight upgrades,” says Campbell Wilson, SIA’s senior vice president of sales and marketing.
“Grab is honoured to serve as Singapore Airlines’ land transport partner in Southeast Asia. We have a shared commitment to innovation and delivering safe and high-quality travel experiences to passengers,” says Jason Thompson, head of GrabPay.
The SIA-Grab partnership comes hot on the heels of an announcement of a possible collaboration between Singapore’s largest taxi operator, ComfortDelGro, and Grab’s ride-hailing rival, Uber Technologies.
ComfortDelGro and Uber in August said they are in exclusive talks to form a potential strategic alliance, which could see CDG’s fleet of more than 15,000 taxis being made available on Uber’s app.
See: ComfortDelGro and Uber in exclusive talks over possible alliance
Meanwhile, SIA will be hoping to hitch a ride on Grab’s strong customer base in Southeast Asia amid a challenging business outlook for the airline industry.
In the 1QFY17/18 ended June, SIA saw its group revenue climb 5.6% to $3.86 billion on the back of improved revenue across all SIA Group airlines.
However, the group warned of continued pressure on yields, amid a 3.1% drop in passenger yields during the quarter.
See: Singapore Airlines 1Q earnings fall 8.4% to $235.1 mil despite improved revenue
The first 5,000 customers to make a booking through the SingaporeAir mobile app for Grab rides in Singapore will receive $10 worth of credits in their Grab account.
In a contest from running from Oct 9 to Nov 9, the customer with the most Grab rides booked with the code ‘GRABSQ’ will also win a pair of Business Class tickets to Hong Kong.
“We are constantly seeking to enhance our SingaporeAir mobile app and KrisFlyer programme to ensure that we provide more benefits to our customers,” says SIA’s Wilson.
As at 3.17pm, shares in SIA are trading 8 cents lower at $10.10.
