From February 7 to 8, a team of some 150 SilkAir fans took turns through the night to virtually deliver a SilkAir Boeing 737-800 aircraft as part of Asia’s first ever 25-hour flight simulation event. Entitled Bringing Boeing Home with SilkAir, the overnight event celebrated the delivery of the first Boeing 737-800 in SilkAir’s new fleet of 54 Boeing planes, the largest order in the Airline’s history.

Over the course of 25 hours, participants were given the unique opportunity to virtually fly the Boeing 737-800 simulator from the Renton factory in Seattle to Singapore, right from the Captain’s seat. Emulating the aircraft’s actual delivery flight path, the simulation included stop-overs at three destinations including Honolulu, Majuro and Guam, with participants working in pairs to take on the piloting of an assigned portion of the route.

Those who donned the captain’s hat answered the call not just from within Singapore’s shores but beyond, with one participant even flying in from Penang, Malaysia, just to be part of the event at Flight Experience™ at the Singapore Flyer*. Participants were selected via a Facebook contest which saw overwhelming response, with the winning slots more than five times oversubscribed. They comprised aviation enthusiasts and SilkAir fans from Singapore and around the region including Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia, ranging in ages from as young as 11 years to as old as 65.

Commenting on the experience, simulator participant Mr. Stephen Chong, 31, said, “Having flown with SilkAir as a passenger for more than six years, it is a privilege to play a role in this milestone delivery event. This event was a great way to learn more about SilkAir’s new Boeing aircraft. It was very realistic and gave me a perspective of what it’s like to be in the captain’s seat, which is something I have been fascinated with since young. I look forward to boarding the new aircraft when it finally arrives in Singapore.”

To mark the finale, the event culminated with Mr. Leslie Thng, Chief Executive SilkAir and Dr. Dinesh Keskar, Vice President, Asia Pacific & India Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, taking the helm during the final hour. Witnessed by a crowd of close to 200, the Boeing 737-800 descended against the familiar backdrop of the Changi Airport control tower and was smoothly landed on the runways of Changi Airport at 11am.

“The delivery of our first Boeing 737-800 is a key milestone for SilkAir and we are very excited to have brought our fans together to join us in this celebration. With 2014 also being the year we celebrate our Silver anniversary, this was a great opportunity for us to thank our fans for their on-going support and assure them that we will continue to build on the last 25 years, and soar to new heights of air travel excellence. More than just a symbolic event, Bringing Boeing Home with SilkAir highlights our unwavering commitment to putting our customers first and our promise of delivering a higher level of quality and experience with the new Boeing fleet,” says Mr. Thng.

At the event, participants and members of the public were also treated to a series of fun-filled activities and a lucky draw where attractive prizes, including Business Class and Economy Class SilkAir tickets and limited edition SilkAir Boeing 737-800 model aircrafts dressed in the special 25th Anniversary livery, were won.

Winner of the Grand prize and also a ‘co-pilot’ on this journey, Mr. Glenn Rajoo, 27, says “I’m overjoyed that SilkAir has organized an event like this to allow fans like me the opportunity to ‘Bring Boeing Home’ and actually take the same flight path from Seattle to Singapore. It was certainly worth waking up early for the 7am simulator shift, plus, winning the first prize was such a thrill as I’m looking forward to trying out Business Class. It would be really great if I could do this on the new SilkAir Boeing 737-800. I haven’t decided where I’ll go yet but perhaps one of the long haul exotic Asian destinations!”

SilkAir’s first Boeing 737-800 aircraft will be making its appearance in Singapore on 14 February at the Singapore Airshow 2014. As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, it will feature a specially designed livery to commemorate the occasion. SilkAir will also be rewarding its customers with special promotional deals. Later this month, 250,000 tickets will be made available at special rates for customers in Singapore and across the region. More details will be made available soon.

*Note: The Flight Experience simulator is a fixed base device based on the Boeing 737-800, allowing participants the most realistic experience of flying SilkAir’s first Boeing aircraft. Used for actual pilot training, the model includes a fully enclosed, scale cockpit accurately representing the avionics, systems and controls of the plane as well as unique High Definition wrap-around Visual System that includes highly detailed scenery of the routes.