Singapore Airlines Group reported a 17.4% increase in passenger traffic for its two carriers for May from the previous month. In its operating results for May released on Wednesday, SIA said the strong recovery in air travel continued a month after Singapore relaxed border restriction in April. “Apart from North Asia, travel demand recovered rapidly across all route regions,” it added. Singapore Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary Scoot carried 1,705,200 passengers in May, compared to 1,452,500 in April. The number of passengers presents a more than 14-fold increase from the same month last year. Group passenger capacity reached 61% of pre-pandemic levels in May, four percentage points higher than the previous month. This is in line with SIA’s earlier expectations that passenger capacity would hit around 61% of pre-pandemic levels around May. The group passenger load factor for May was 78.2%, the highest since the pandemic began. This is a 5.5 percentage point improvement from last month and a 63.9 percentage point rise year-on-year.<br/>
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Air India is polling pilots on whether they want to be trained to fly Airbus A350 jets, indicating that it intends to operate the model as it looks to renew its wide-body fleet under new owner Tata Group. The airline may introduce the A350 by the first quarter of 2023, according to a letter sent to senior cockpit crew and seen by Bloomberg News. Pilots must respond to the training offer by June 20, with those who accept ineligible for upgrade to another aircraft type for two years, the letter said. The airline is looking to order around 20 A350s, people familiar with the matter said. One option would be to take on jets initially destined for Russian carrier Aeroflot which Airbus can no longer deliver due to sanctions, as well as Qatar Airways planes that the airline isn’t taking due to a dispute with the manufacturer over paint quality. An Airbus spokesman said the company is always talking to existing and potential customers, while declining to comment further. Tata couldn’t immediately be reached for comment outside of usual office hours. Air India could operate the A350 on flights to the US, which it currently serves with Boeing Co. 777s and 787-8s, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named. The A350 order would be worth more than $6 billion based on list prices, before traditional industry discounts. Boeing jets could also factor into an order. Bloomberg reported in February that Air India was in talks with Airbus and Boeing about a raft of new planes including A350-900s and 787-9s after Tata won control of the former state-owned company and embarked on a fleet-modernization plan.<br/>
Asiana Airlines is deploying the world’s largest passenger plane Airbus A380 to carry passengers from Incheon to Los Angeles and Bangkok, two of Koreans` most popular destinations that recorded near 90% occupancy rate in May amid reopening of global borders across the world. The jumbo jet will fly Asiana Airlines’ flight route to Bangkok 7 times a week from June 25 to Oct. 29, and to Los Angeles 3 times a week from July 23 to Oct. 29.<br/>
Air New Zealand has claimed top spot in a corporate reputation index for the eighth year in a row. The Kantar Corporate Reputation Index measures the responsibility, fairness, success/leadership and trust of 50 of New Zealand’s top corporates by revenue. Air New Zealand’s overall score of 110 was one point up from its score of 109 last year. It scored highest for trust and responsibility and ranked third for leadership. Kantar spokeswoman Sarah Bolger said an overall score of 105 or more represented a world-class rating. Air New Zealand was also the most highly ranked company for valuing diversity and inclusion. People said Air New Zealand was the most desirable employer because of its culture, career opportunities and care for people and the environment, she said. Nearly two thirds of respondents said the airline stood out for creating an environment where people with different backgrounds and perspectives felt valued and welcomed. Bolger said despite issues around things like Air New Zealand’s long customer call centre wait times and concerns around carbon emissions, there were enough people who had positive experiences with the airline that meant it consistently topped the reputation index.<br/>