Singapore Airlines cuts more than 200 flights
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is cutting more than 200
flights to Australia, China, Europe and India in
response to falling passenger numbers, according
to the company and travel agents.
.
Faced with the global economic slowdown, the carrier
informed travel agents this week that 214 flights in
all would be cut between now and March. It said
Thursday that December passenger numbers were down
7.5 percent year-on-year.
.
"We don't want to be flying half-empty planes around
the world any longer than we have to, because it
increases our cost burden at a time when we can
least afford that," company spokesman Stephen Forshaw
told AFP.
.
"We want to make sure we match changes in capacity
with the changes in demand that are occurring as a
result of the economic slowdown," he said.
.
Agents said flights would be cut between now and
March to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Mumbai,
New Delhi, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, London and
Zurich.
.
SIA said Thursday it carried 1.61 million passengers
last month, compared with 1.74 million in December 2007.
.
It also filled almost 80 percent of seats, down 4.4
percentage points year-on-year.
.
The city-state's flag carrier said in November that
net profit for the fiscal second quarter ending
September fell 36.2 percent from the previous year,
as the airline felt the pinch from the economic
downturn.
.
Alicia Seah, a senior vice president at CTC Holidays
travel agency, said many Singaporeans were opting
for closer and cheaper holiday destinations such as
Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
.
"What we see is that passengers are slowing down
after Chinese New Year," Seah said. "They are
tightening their belts."
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