Scoot continues to adjust its China network, launching new flights in January and suspending others in February
[SINGAPORE] National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its low-cost carrier Scoot posted a 0.5 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in February, as travel demand tapers following the end of the Chinese New Year festive season, the company’s operating update showed on Monday (Mar 17).
In particular, the group’s performance was dragged by Scoot, which recorded a 9.3 per cent year-on-year drop in passenger traffic. Traffic is derived by multiplying the number of passengers carried with distance flown in kilometres. Passenger traffic for SIA rose 3.6 per cent.
The group said Scoot continued to adjust its China network, launching services to Shantou in January and suspending services to Nanchang and Jinan in February.
In all, the two airlines flew 3.1 million passengers last month, 1.7 per cent higher than the year-ago period. At the peak of the holiday season in December, the group carried nearly 3.6 million passengers.
During the post-holiday lull, cargo carriage (the weight of cargo and mail carried) was up 2.6 per cent year on year, largely due to increased cargo flow within East Asia, the group noted.
Flows to the Americas and Europe region tumbled in February and were a key drag on overall cargo loads, which fell 4.9 per cent year on year. The figure is derived by multiplying the weight of cargo and mail load by the distance flown.
Cargo load to the Americas was down 11.2 per cent year on year, while that to Europe fell 13.8 per cent. This is the largest drop recorded in nearly two years.
SIA shares rose S$0.06 or 0.9 per cent to close at S$6.75 on Monday.
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