SIA flies 2.3m passengers in October; group capacity at 71% of pre-Covid levels

FLAG carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) carried 2.3 million passengers on a group level in October, up 6.2 per cent from the previous month, it said in its operating results filed to the bourse on Tuesday (Nov 15).

That was a 4.9 per cent increase in passenger capacity from September for SIA and Scoot, the two airlines in the group. Year on year, group capacity was up 109.7 per cent, reaching 71 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels during October.

SIA group noted that it continued to see “strong travel demand” in October, boosted by the spring school breaks in Australia and New Zealand, as well as the relaxation of travel restrictions in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan.

The group’s passenger load factor came in at 86.4 per cent in October, marginally lower by 0.6 percentage point on a month-on-month basis, and 66.5 percentage points higher on a year-on-year basis.

Cargo operations registered a load factor of 52.6 per cent, down 34.6 percentage points on year, with loads declining 19.8 per cent on year. Meanwhile, capacity expanded by 32.9 per cent as increased passenger services resulted in higher bellyhold capacity.

At the end of October, SIA group’s passenger network covered 109 destinations. SIA has resumed flights to Chengdu and Xiamen, bringing the destinations it serves to 76.

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Meanwhile, Scoot has reintroduced flights to several points in Indonesia (Lombok, Makassar, Pekanbaru and Yogyakarta) and mainland China (Hangzhou, Wuhan and Zhengzhou). It now serves 55 destinations.

Shares of SIA closed at S$5.47 on Tuesday, up S$0.02 or 0.4 per cent, before the announcement.