<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Govt's "Best Move"</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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by Teo Xuanwei
05:55 AM Jul 02, 2009
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IT IS not often the Singapore Government is willing to write off $800 million, but in forsaking the money it had sunk into Paya Lebar airport to build Changi Airport in 1975, it did just that. The decision was hailed yesterday by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew as "the best move the Government ever made".
But even as Changi Airport has become an internationally-recognised brand, scooping over 300 awards since 1987, "it would be a mistake to believe that past achievements will guarantee our continued success in the years ahead", he said at the launch of the new Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Changi Airport Group (CAG).
And the legal split yesterday of CAAS' regulatory and airport operations, after three months operating as two separate entities, marks Singapore's bid to enhance Changi Airport's competitive advantage in the changing aviation landscape.
Just as Changi Airport has to wrestle with neighbouring new mega-airports for pole position as the region's premium air hub, however, Mr Lee said "full-service carriers, like Singapore Airlines and Silk Air, have to re-examine their business models and form new alliances or models" to counter the threat posed by the proliferation of low-cost carriers.
"Changi Airport and SIA must not be left behind in the different operating environment," he stressed.
The restructured CAAS, chaired by Fraser and Neave chairman Lee Hsien Yang, is now solely focused on aviation industry development and regulation matters, as well as charting the growth of the Republic into an air hub - by increasing air routes, for example.
The newly-corporatised CAG, chaired by CapitaLand president and CEO Liew Mun Leong, is charged with managing the airport as a business for growth and profits. More importantly, the makeover paves the way for it to aggressively market its expertise over­seas and capture new investment opportunities. It will be wholly-owned by Temasek Holdings for a price yet to be set.
Although the aviation industry has been hit hard by record-high fuel prices and the global recession, Mr Lee said Singapore must ready itself to take on the new challenges economic recovery will bring.
And that is by restructuring and strengthening our airport operations and regulatory system, he said.
Noting that emerging economies in Asia and the Middle East will "lead the next wave of demand for air travel", Mr Lee stressed that service excellence is what sets an airport apart.
What of SIA, which already is noted for its service?
Aviation expert Prithpal Singh feels there is "no pressing need" for SIA to merge with other airlines because it has proven over the years to be a very resilient and adaptive operation.
"SIA's position is that of a premium carrier, a leader in the world. There's no need to be reacting in the short-term," he said.
"I'm sure if a merger makes business sense and achieves synergy, SIA's CEO would do it."
Govt's "Best Move":
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by Teo Xuanwei
05:55 AM Jul 02, 2009
<!--replace -->
IT IS not often the Singapore Government is willing to write off $800 million, but in forsaking the money it had sunk into Paya Lebar airport to build Changi Airport in 1975, it did just that. The decision was hailed yesterday by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew as "the best move the Government ever made".
But even as Changi Airport has become an internationally-recognised brand, scooping over 300 awards since 1987, "it would be a mistake to believe that past achievements will guarantee our continued success in the years ahead", he said at the launch of the new Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Changi Airport Group (CAG).
And the legal split yesterday of CAAS' regulatory and airport operations, after three months operating as two separate entities, marks Singapore's bid to enhance Changi Airport's competitive advantage in the changing aviation landscape.
Just as Changi Airport has to wrestle with neighbouring new mega-airports for pole position as the region's premium air hub, however, Mr Lee said "full-service carriers, like Singapore Airlines and Silk Air, have to re-examine their business models and form new alliances or models" to counter the threat posed by the proliferation of low-cost carriers.
"Changi Airport and SIA must not be left behind in the different operating environment," he stressed.
The restructured CAAS, chaired by Fraser and Neave chairman Lee Hsien Yang, is now solely focused on aviation industry development and regulation matters, as well as charting the growth of the Republic into an air hub - by increasing air routes, for example.
The newly-corporatised CAG, chaired by CapitaLand president and CEO Liew Mun Leong, is charged with managing the airport as a business for growth and profits. More importantly, the makeover paves the way for it to aggressively market its expertise over­seas and capture new investment opportunities. It will be wholly-owned by Temasek Holdings for a price yet to be set.
Although the aviation industry has been hit hard by record-high fuel prices and the global recession, Mr Lee said Singapore must ready itself to take on the new challenges economic recovery will bring.
And that is by restructuring and strengthening our airport operations and regulatory system, he said.
Noting that emerging economies in Asia and the Middle East will "lead the next wave of demand for air travel", Mr Lee stressed that service excellence is what sets an airport apart.
What of SIA, which already is noted for its service?
Aviation expert Prithpal Singh feels there is "no pressing need" for SIA to merge with other airlines because it has proven over the years to be a very resilient and adaptive operation.
"SIA's position is that of a premium carrier, a leader in the world. There's no need to be reacting in the short-term," he said.
"I'm sure if a merger makes business sense and achieves synergy, SIA's CEO would do it."
Govt's "Best Move":
1 ?
2 ?
3 ?
4 ?
5 ?
6 ?
7 ?
8 ?
9 ?
10 ?
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