The agreement comes in the wake of efforts by the national carrier to fulfil the conditions of joining the Star Alliance, of which SIA is a founder member. Air India has already been invited to join the global alliance, which was formed in 1997 and has a membership of 26.

The agreement means that members of SIA's KrisFlyer programme would be able to earn KrisFlyer miles when they fly with Air India, or choose to redeem their miles for flights with the Indian carrier, an SIA statement said here.

These esteemed travel awards join a growing list of trophies that Singapore Airlines has been honoured with this year. Most recently the Business Traveller Awards where Singapore Airlines picked up five top awards which also Included Best Long Haul and Business Airlines plus an award for the Airlines famous Cabin Crew and Service.

Singapore Airlines Public Relations Manager for the UK and Ireland, Mr John Cotton, received the awards on behalf of the airline and commented, "We are proud to receive these accolades as they are based on votes of the discerning readership of The Guardian and Observer. They demonstrate the collective efforts of all staff at Singapore Airlines and spur us on to drive innovation and work hard to meet and exceed the expectations our customers."

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By taking over the Singapore Airlines flight, SilkAir will serve Penang three times daily, with a morning frequency in addition to the current afternoon and evening frequencies. The flights are subject to regulatory approvals.

Chin Seng, CEO of SilkAir, said: "SilkAir looks forward to expanding our presence in Penang through the addition of our third daily flight between Penang and Singapore. With three times daily services from December 1, 2009, we hope to count on their continued support."

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Specifically, Sapient will streamline the shopping process so that customers can book tickets and other travel-related products in a single interaction. In addition, a core focus of the new site will be to provide a differentiated online customer experience through a comprehensive suite of self-service features and functionality designed for both new visitors as well as members of KrisFlyer, Singapore Airlines' frequent flyer programme.

Nigel Vaz, vice president and head of Sapient Interactive Europe, said, "We are excited about working with one of the most respected airlines in the world to create an online experience that will both strengthen its customer-centric focus and become a key sales channel for the future. Singapore Airlines is always at the forefront of the industry--and the website we are developing for them will maintain that position. Our appointment by Singapore Airlines is a testament to our ability to combine strategy, design and technology expertise to create immersive, profitable customer experiences for our clients."

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