Jetstar adopts Singlish as official customer-facing language

Now that Ah Gong has passed on in Singapore, Singlish, the unofficial language of choice for Singaporeans can now become more official. Even brands are embracing it – like Jetstar.

From 31 March 2016, Singapore-based customers who visit www.jetstar.com will be automatically redirected to a Singlish version of the website.

The Singlish homepage is Jetstar’s first step towards its localisation strategy, as the Singapore-based carrier looks to build stronger connections with consumers across Asia.

In line with the new language option, cabin crew are also being trained to speak Singlish on flights departing Singapore.

Over the past six months, cabin crew of different nationalities have taken mandatory Singlish language lessons, enabling them to interact with Singaporean customers on board in a more friendly and approachable manner.

They are also being trained to give in-flight announcements in Singlish, which will be rolled out on selected flights from April this year.

Pilots will also be given more flexibility in making announcements, using Singlish where appropriate.

Jetstar Asia’s Acting Head of Commercial Innovation Mr Stephan Fule believes the new offering demonstrates the airline’s commitment to constantly improving customers’ travel experience.

“We want customers from Singapore to be able to interact with both our site and staff as they would do with the language that they might be most comfortable with. We are always looking to add value where it matters most and are confident that the Singlish offering will help us to connect with our customers on a deeper level.

“This functional adoption of Singapore across our operations is a first in the industry, and I hope it will make our customers feel more at home. Our Singaporean team members are also highly supportive of this move, as it helps them deliver an even friendlier service with the use of very local terms such as ‘ho say’, ‘kiap your seatbelt tight’ and ‘kin kin return to your seat’,” said Mr Fule.

Jetstar is also planning a similar approach across other Asian markets including Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Actually, I highly suspect this is an April’s Fool joke. We will see. 🙂