By the end of 2021, SilkAir ceased operations, with all flights transferred to its parent company Singapore Airlines or its low-cost affiliate Scoot.

Scheduled services were introduced as Tradewinds Airlines on 21 February 1989, when it leased McDonnell Douglas MD-87 aeroplanes for services to 5 destinations: Pattaya, Phuket, Hat Yai, and Kuantan from Singapore's Changi Airport, and Tioman from Singapore's Seletar Airport.

It was the first Asian carrier to offer handheld portable video-on-demand (VOD) in-flight entertainment in the form of the DigEplayer 5500, available on flights to selected countries.

SilkAir currently serves eleven Indonesian destinations, namely Balikpapan, Bandung, Lombok, Manado, Makassar, Medan, Palembang, Pekanbaru, Semarang, Solo and Surabaya.

[7] SilkAir announced the appointment of Foo Chai Woo as Chief Executive as of 18 May 2016, succeeding Mr Leslie Thng.

[10] On 22 November 2018, SilkAir announced plans to transfer 17 routes to Scoot including Luang Prabang, Chiang Mai, Kota Kinabalu, Yogyakarta and Wuhan over the months of April 2019 to July 2020, ahead of its merger with Singapore Airlines in the late 2020 or early 2021.

[11] By the end of 2021, SilkAir had ceased operations and gradually finished integration into its parent company, Singapore Airlines.

[42] On 21 June 2018, Singapore Airlines announced that it plans to transfer a number of Boeing 737-800 to Scoot between late-2018 to early-2019 to better optimise the overall group's network.

On Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft there were seat-back tablet and phone holders, and personal in-seat USB charging ports.

[48] SilkAir Studio was introduced in 2014 where passengers were able to stream blockbuster hits, short features, and music, to their personal laptops and handheld devices via Wi-Fi.

In May 2017, the service was enhanced and upgraded to offer more than 150 international blockbuster movies and TV sitcom shows available on SilkAir Studio.

[49] For Apple users, the SilkAir Studio app had to be downloaded prior to flight in order to enjoy the in-flight entertainment.

SilkAir launched their All-Time Favourites dishes in July 2016 where they served a selection of Asian, Western and local cuisine such as Nasi Lemak, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Beef Tenderloin, etc.

SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, was once known as Tradewinds Charters at its founding in 1976, before earning its present name in 1991.

The Indonesian NTSC, who were lead investigators, stated that they were unable to determine the cause, while the U.S. NTSB concluded that the crash resulted from an intentional act by a pilot, most likely the captain.