More flights handled don’t equate to faster recovery in profitability, says SIA Engineering

WHILE carriers have mounted more flights as travel resumes, the higher flight activity level does not translate into the same level of financial recovery for maintenance, repair and overhaul service provider SIA Engineering : S59 0%.

Ng Lay Pheng, SIA Engineering’s chief financial officer, said at an earnings briefing on Wednesday (Nov 2) that for the mainboard-listed subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA) : C6L 0%, it is “very difficult” to tie its recovery directly to flight levels, because the current types of aircraft and maintenance involved might differ from pre-pandemic days.

She was responding to questions a day after the company’s half-year results release on why base maintenance level was already above pre-pandemic levels yet the number of flights handled was not on a par, as well as the level of flight activities that would allow SIA Engineering to be operationally profitable.