SIA subsidiaries Scoot, SilkAir boost group operations

Singapore Airlines’ subsidiaries Scoot and SilkAir are helping to increase the group’s overall operational performance as the carriers enjoy surging passenger demand. LCC unit Scoot is growing at a rapid pace, but traffic gains are more than matching its expansion. The subsidiary achieved traffic growth of 20.9% in March, with capacity increasing 10.8%. This caused load factor to rise 7.5 points to 89.2%. SIA said Scoot’s load factor was up in all regions it serves. Narrowbody subsidiary SilkAir is also experiencing strong growth. It saw a traffic increase of 23.7% in March, compared to a 17.5% capacity gain mainly in its north and west Asia markets. The carrier’s load factor climbed 3.6 points to 72.8%. Meanwhile, parent mainline carrier SIA achieved more modest improvements. It reported 4.1% traffic growth compared to a 1.4% capacity rise, resulting in load factor increasing 2.1 points to 82.2%. The carrier said load factor was up in all regions except Europe, which saw a “marginal decline as capacity growth outstripped demand.” SIA noted that its operating environment “remains challenging with efforts balance yields against current market pressures.” For the overall group, March passenger traffic rose 8.4% on capacity growth of 4.2%. Load factor increased 3.2 points to 82.9%.<br/>