“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking ah. Weather along the way is quite swee (fine in Hokkien), but just to be safe, please kiap (secure) your seatbeat tight hor.”
Imagine hearing that outburst of Singlish on a flight. Well, Jetstar Asia is ready to make that situation come to life, as they’ll be making their in-flight announcements in Singlish for one day only in conjunction with Singapore’s National Day (Tuesday, 9th August).
In a Facebook posting, Jetstar Asia announced its decision to commemorate Singapore’s 51st birthday with this unique method. They also asked customers to leave their flight number in the comments section if they are flying during National Day and want to experience the fun announcements.
However, the event is only available for flights heading towards Singapore. Also, as a safety precaution, safety demonstrations and pre-flight safety announcements will be in standard English.
At the end of March, Jetstar Asia announced that announcements on their website and on-flight would be in Singlish, which led to mixed feelings from Singaporeans. The airline company explained that the move was part of their localisation strategy, as they look “to build stronger connections with consumers across Asia”.
They also introduced a “Head of Singlistics“, who was in charge of teaching Singlish to their flight attendants and pilots. Fortunately (or unfortunately), it turned out to be an April Fools’ joke.
Watch the humorous introduction video here:
For more info, visit Jetstar’s official website and Facebook page.
