SIA, SilkAir, Scoot slashing capacity on selected China routes

Singapore

WITH flight demand slashed by the Wuhan virus outbreak, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its subsidiaries SilkAir and Scoot will reduce capacity on selected routes to Greater China in February, subject to regulatory approval.

Low-cost carrier Scoot will suspend all flights between Singapore and mainland China from Feb 8 and reduce flight frequencies for Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Qingdao and Tianjin from Feb 1 to 7.

Scoot had earlier announced in a Facebook post on Friday morning that it will be suspending flights between Singapore and 11 cities in mainland China from early February until end March 2020; and reduce flight frequencies for eight cities.

It has since updated the announcement in a bid to ramp up precautionary measures. This comes as the Singapore government implements a ban on all travellers from China.

Prior to the travel restriction announced by the government, SIA and SilkAir said on Friday that some flights originally scheduled for dates in February and March 1 under the flag carrier and SilkAir will be suspended.

These flights are those between Singapore and parts of mainland China, according to SIA in a Facebook post.

They include SIA flights between Singapore and Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou; as well as SilkAir flights between Singapore and Shenzhen, Xiamen, Chengdu and Chongqing. Affected customers will be notified and re-accommodated onto other flights.

SIA chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong told the media that the move to cut back on flights to China made commercial sense given the fall in demand.

"With the Wuhan virus situation that's ongoing, the demand on those flights will be substantially affected," he said.

The decision to suspend flights came after an assessment of the current and projected demand for those routes based on developments in the outbreak, he added.

Currently, SIA and SilkAir's combined revenue derived from China flights is less than 10 per cent of total revenue, according to Mr Goh.

He highlighted that safety and precautionary measures against the virus have been ramped up on all flights to China.

Service procedures on board have also been reviewed to reduce contact between crew and passengers.

Other measures include the screening of passengers on the ground and the distribution of a health advisory notice by Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH), according to SIA.

As an added measure, inflight announcements regarding the coronavirus are also being made on all flights to and from China.

S&P Global Ratings had said in a report on Thursday that airlines now face risks from the spread of the Wuhan virus similar to those during the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic in 2003. However, the International Air Transport Association also noted in a separate report that the industry has proven resilient to shocks in the past, and thus any impact will not be long-drawn.

SIA closed at S$8.55 on Friday, up S$0.01 or 0.12 per cent from its worst showing since 2009 on Thursday at S$8.54.