SIA's passenger carriage dips in May

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) passenger carriage (measured in revenue-passenger-kilometres) fell 2.9 per cent in May, even as capacity was scaled back slightly.

Capacity (in available-seat-kilometres) was down 1.6 per cent, which resulted in passenger load factor (PLF) dipping 0.9 percentage points to 72.7 per cent.

"PLF increased for East Asia but declined for all other regions due to softer passenger demand," said SIA. "The competitive landscape continues to be challenging and promotional activities will continue in relevant markets."

However, regional wing SilkAir's passenger carriage expanded 16.7 per cent, outpacing capacity growth of 15.1 per cent. As such, PLF rose 0.9 percentage points to 69.5 per cent.

Scoot's passenger carriage expanded by nearly 57 per cent year on year but capacity was up around 60 per cent as its fleet grew to 11 Boeing 787s. Consequently, PLF dropped by 1.6 percentage points to 78.1 per cent. During the month, Scoot launched flights to three new destinations - Jeddah, Chennai and Amritsar - boosting its network to 21 destinations (including Singapore).

Tigerair's passenger carriage for May was flat while capacity edged up 1.5 per cent. As such, PLF dropped 1.1 percentage points to 81.9 per cent.

On the cargo front, cargo load factor was 0.7 percentage points higher at 62.3 per cent as cargo traffic grew at 4.7 per cent, beating capacity expansion of 3.6 per cent. SIA said: "East Asia, the Americas and Europe showed improvement in load factor, with demand outpacing capacity changes."