SIA's passenger load factor falls in September

SINGAPORE Airlines' (SIA) passenger load factor (PLF) for September dipped 2.1 percentage points year on year to 78.7 per cent as the airline saw weaker passenger demand.

Passenger carriage (in revenue-passenger-kilometres) fell 4.2 per cent, while capacity was scaled back by 1.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of passengers carried declined 3.4 per cent to nearly 1.52 million.

"PLF remained flat for East Asia but declined for all other regions due to weaker passenger demand," said SIA in a release to Singapore Exchange.

It said: "During the month, SIA launched its new 'Capital Express' service to Canberra and Wellington, linking Singapore for the first time with the capital cities of both Australia and New Zealand. The competitive landscape remains challenging and promotional activities will continue in relevant markets."