SIA is one of the two offshoots of the Malayan Airways, an airline company formed
in 1947 by British interests when both Malaya and Singapore were under British
rule. When Malaysia was formed in 1963 the airline became known as Malaysian
Airways. In 1966, the company’s name was changed to Malaysia-Singapore
Airlines (MSA), only to cease operation in 1972 when both governments aspired
to have their own airlines (Nationmaster, 2005), bearing their country’s name.
1The Malaysian Airlines System (MAS) is the spin-off on the Malaysian side while
SIA goes to Singapore (Chan, 2000a).