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It has long been known in the aviation industry that Singapore Airlines is one of the best airlines and has some of the best cabin crew in the world. It is known for its customer service excellence, iconic uniform, and Singaporean hospitality. The airline won the SKYTRAX World Airline Awards 'World's Best Cabin Crew' for 2025, but what makes them top of the cabin crew league? Singapore Airlines is the flag carrier of Singapore and has its base at Singapore Changi Airport. It has received the World's Best Airline award five times. The airline just missed out on the 'World's Best Airline' this year, losing only to Qatar Airways. Singapore Airlines is seen as a leader in global aviation, offering reliability, luxury, and innovation, and is synonymous with excellent customer service. Award Winners At SKYTRAX Along with the world's best cabin crew award, the airline also won the 'Best Cabin Crew in Asia' award, following their win in both categories in 2024. Singapore Airlines also won 'Best Airline in Asia' and 'World's Best First Class'. The airline also scored top place with 'World's Best First Class Onboard Catering' and its Airbus A380 suites won the 'World's Best First Class Airline Seat'. The World Airline Awards are based on the results of annual airline passenger satisfaction surveys and are impartial and independent. The award for best cabin crew was based on the highest all-round performance of cabin staff, across hard and soft service. Hard service includes techniques, attention, and efficiency, while soft services include hospitality, enthusiasm, attitude, and friendliness. Singapore Airlines is one of just ten airlines worldwide to receive five-star status from SKYTRAX. The airline has also been awarded 'World's Best Cabin Crew Service' by Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards for the last 23 consecutive years. Furthermore, Condé Nast Traveler (USA) Readers' Choice Awards awarded the airline 'Best Airline in the World' for the 36th time. Training Is Key The cabin crew at Singapore Airlines takes a comprehensive training course, well beyond service delivery and safety. The almost four-month ab-initio course goes above and beyond to ensure that every cabin crew member is to the high standard that the airline expects. Most cabin crew ab-initio courses are between six and eight weeks long and concentrate on safety training; only a very small element is based on service. The Singapore Airlines training is double that of most airlines. There are 20 trainees in each training batch. Cabin crew training includes aircraft-specific training, safety and emergency procedures, aviation first aid, fire-fighting, security, and crew resource management, amongst other subjects, so that they can deal with any emergency that may occur on the aircraft. They practice their drills on mock aircraft simulators and perform the ditching (landing on water) drill while wearing the uniform. They also study deportment, grooming and etiquette, cultural sensitivity, wine appreciation, and communication. The cabin crew also practice scenarios with different passengers, such as dealing with someone who doesn't speak English or problematic passengers. Cabin crew training is intensive and stressful, and trainees are under a lot of pressure to meet the high standards required. Not all trainees make it through the course, and some decide to leave. Familiarization flights follow, and there are regular performance checks and recurrent training to maintain standards. Commenting on the SKYTRAX 'World’s Best Airline Cabin Crew' 2024 award, Mr. Tan Pee Teck, Singapore Airlines Senior Vice President, Cabin Crew, said: “We are immensely proud of our cabin crew for being recognised with the World’s Best Cabin Crew award from Skytrax. This accolade is a true testament to the unwavering dedication and professionalism of our cabin crew team at Singapore Airlines. Their warmth and commitment ensure that every customer’s journey with Singapore Airlines is one that is memorable and enjoyable.” Characteristics Of Singapore Airlines Cabin Crew Singapore Airlines describes its crew as 'Timeless elegance meets contemporary service.' Cabin crew are required to remain calm under pressure, demonstrate empathy, and problem-solving skills as well as be culturally sensitive, and have high emotional intelligence. Where Singapore Airlines cabin crew excel is that they are culturally diverse, anticipate the needs of passengers, and provide an exceptional travel experience. They represent the best of Asian hospitality while being seen as caring, warm, gentle, and elegant. Service excellence is part of the airline's ethos. The basic requirements to become cabin crew for the airline are to be fluent in English (the aviation language worldwide) and have good communication skills. Cabin crew must be five feet two inches or more for females and five feet four inches or more for males to be able to reach the safety equipment onboard. They have to be over 18 years old and have a minimum of five GCE/O Levels. They must have a pleasant personality and be service-orientated. According to Channel News Asia, cabin crew stay at Singapore Airlines for an average of ten years. The position is a popular one, with thousands of people applying every year. It is seen as a privilege to work for the airline and carries a lot of prestige. Only Singaporeans and Malaysians could apply previously, but now the catchment area is much wider, encompassing India, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. This also helps minimize any language barrier. The process for hiring cabin crew is highly selective. A Quick Comparison At this year's SKYTRAX World Airline Awards, Singapore Airlines' Cabin Crew were voted the 'World's Best Cabin Crew'. Air Nippon Airways (ANA) took second place, followed by Cathay Pacific in third place. Interestingly, the top ten featured cabin crew all from Asia, with Japan Airlines, STARLUX Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines all making the grade. Asian hospitality is obviously a key factor in their success. Based on reviews, reputation, awards, and international surveys, there are some noticeable factors in how airline cabin crew are seen in comparison. The Singapore Airlines cabin crew are seen as elegant and gentle with attentive service. Qatar Airways cabin crew are seen as polished and formal and are praised for high standards of service in premium cabins. The cabin crew at Emirates are multinational, young and are a large team. Cathay Pacific cabin crew are described as professional and calm, offering Hong Kong hospitality. Meanwhile, ANA cabin crew are noted to be professional, polite and very respectful. The top ten World's best cabin crew according to SKYTRAX: When comparing these airline cabin crews, Emirates has the most commercial, family-friendly cabin crew, whereas Qatar Airways' crew are less warm than the other crew, with a focus on luxury. ANA cabin crew have strong attention to every detail but lack conversational warmth. Singapore Airlines cabin crew are consistent across all cabins and are proud yet humble. They offer luxury, but without a show. Cabin Crew Uniform Significance The iconic Singapore Airlines female uniform was designed by Parisian Couturier Pierre Balmain in 1968. It has become so embedded in the airline's culture that the signature uniform has remained unchanged. The sarong kebaya features Asian batik design and pays homage to the airline's rich heritage and humanizes the brand as a whole. The uniform represents efficiency, warmth, and the readiness to go the extra mile and inspires employees to be proud of being a top world airline. The uniform is one that is immediately recognizable. The color of the kebaya reflects the crew member's seniority and matches the male crew member's necktie. A blue kebaya/necktie is worn by cabin crew, and a green kebaya/necktie reflects the lead cabin crew member. The chief cabin crew wears a red kebaya/necktie, and the inflight manager wears a purple kebaya/necktie. Male crew members wear navy blue suits. Female crew members are assigned uniform standards during their training, which means specific hairstyles and makeup colors. Males are required to keep fingernails under 2mm and not to have hair shorter than a number three cut, according to Business Insider. The airline says the iconic Singapore Girl is an ambassador of world-class service and warm hospitality for which Singapore Airlines is known. The Singapore Girl image has been used in marketing and advertising campaigns since 1972. Although some may argue that the image is a sexist and outdated stereotype of Asian women, her popularity with passengers remains high, and she is still very much a part of the airline's brand and at the heart and soul of the company. In A Nutshell With its high reputation within the aviation industry, it is not surprising that Singapore Airlines wins so many awards. Its Airbus A380 suites have unmatched privacy and comfort and are complemented by the 'Book the cook' dining service. The highly trained cabin crew are dedicated to offering a personalized passenger experience with elegance and warmth. The gourmet inflight menus are chef-curated, and the inflight entertainment systems are state-of-the-art. The airline is dedicated to high levels of customer service, which extends to the reputation of the cabin crew. Along with its budget carrier Scoot, it operates a fleet of more than 180 aircraft and serves more than 110 destinations. The Singapore Airlines fleet has a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, including the Airbus A380 and Airbus A350-900, the Boeing 737 MAX 8, Boeing 787-10, Boeing 777-300ER, and Boeing 747-400 Freighters. Singapore Airlines is consistently ranked as one of the best airlines in the world and continues to win numerous awards year after year. The airline remains innovative by investing in the latest aircraft and technologies and introducing some of the longest flights in the world. It has always looked for quality in its cabin crew and invested heavily in their training to deliver high levels of service that differentiate it from other airlines.
