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Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group and budget carrier Jetstar Asia will be flying to more destinations and at a slightly increased frequency as the gradual recovery of the carriers continues. Scoot, the budget arm of SIA Group, said yesterday that it will restart flights to Tokyo, Osaka, Palembang, Pekanbaru and Yogyakarta this month, adding these to the 13 locations it was flying to last month. Meanwhile, SIA said last week that it will begin adding more flights to cities such as Jakarta, London and Sydney in the next three months. It will also restart flights to Surabaya in Indonesia this month. With the gradual increase in flights, SIA Group's passenger capacity will reach about 11% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of November. In comparison, it had been operating at 7 per cent of its pre-Covid-19 capacity last month. Aviation analyst Shukor Yusof from Endau Analytics said that despite the increased flights, the outlook for airlines remained bleak and they would have to endure the situation for a while more. "While it won't help the bottom line, any incremental rise, however small, represents a psychological uplift for staff and passengers," said Mr Shukor.<br/>

EgyptAir and Air Cairo airlines announced on Tuesday activating the first steps of a memorandum of understanding that was signed by the two sides in May on increasing joint cooperation. The agreement was aimed at increasing the presence of the two companies in new markets. Chairman of the Holding Company for EgyptAir, Rushdy Zakaria said in press statements that the agreement comes within the framework of a national strategy to offer new services to travelers. It is also aimed at increasing the tourist movement from and to Egypt, he said, adding that the agreement will help create a wider network of routes to local and international destinations of high demand.<br/>