SIA carried 20.7% more passengers in March, cargo loads at highest monthly level for FY23/24

NATIONAL carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) : C6L 0% and its low-cost carrier arm Scoot carried a combined 3.3 million passengers in March, up 20.7 per cent from year-ago figures.

The group “continued to see strong passenger traffic and load factors across all route regions”, SIA said in a bourse filing on Monday (Apr 15).

Group passenger traffic rose 13.9 per cent year on year to 12.7 billion revenue passenger-kilometres, which refers to the number of passengers carried multiplied by the distance flown.

This was outpaced by a 15.5 per cent expansion in combined capacity to 14.5 billion available seat-km during the month. Available seat-km refers to the number of available seats multiplied by the distance flown.

As a result, group passenger load factor (PLF) – expressed as a percentage of available seat-km – fell 1.3 percentage points to 87.7 per cent.

SIA posted a PLF of 86.3 per cent, down 1.6 percentage points from a year ago; Scoot had a PLF of 93.1 per cent, up 0.3 percentage point.

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In March, group cargo loads expanded 15.6 per cent year on year to their highest monthly level for FY 2023/24, SIA said, on the back of increased inventory flows by shippers as well as charters for entertainment events.

“This outpaced the capacity expansion of 6 per cent for the same period,” SIA added.

As at end-March, the group’s passenger network covered 118 destinations in 35 countries and territories, with SIA serving 73 destinations, and Scoot, 67.

Its cargo network served 123 destinations in 37 countries and territories in the same period.

Shares of SIA closed 1.9 per cent or S$0.12 lower to S$6.32 on Monday, prior to the announcement.