Summary
- In August, the Singapore Airlines Group carried 90% of the passengers it carried in August 2019, indicating a gradual road to recovery.
- Singapore Airlines increased passenger numbers by 30.5% in comparison with last 12 months, reaching a load factor of 87.0%.
- Scoot had a winning month, surpassing its pre-pandemic passenger numbers and increasing volume by 73.9% year-on-year.
The champagne could also be on ice at Singapore Airlines, but popping the corks might need to attend just a little longer. In August, the Singapore Airlines Group carried 90% of the passengers it carried in August 2019 and well ahead of the two.08 million passengers in August last 12 months.
A gentle road to full recovery
The Singapore Airlines Group, which incorporates Singapore Airlines and low-cost carrier Scoot, carried 2.99 million passengers in August at a passenger load factor (PLF) of 88.2%. In August 2019, the Group carried 3.31 million at 86.4% and in 2022, it carried 2.08 million at 85.4%. The Group managed capability well year-on-year by only increasing available seat kilometers by 26.3% despite carrying 43.5% more passengers than in 2022.
Photo: Media Works I Shutterstock
In August 2019, the Group reported monthly operating results for 3 airlines, Singapore Airlines, Scoot and Silk Air, whereas now it reports only for Singapore Airlines and Scoot. Singapore Airlines increased passenger numbers year-on-year by 30.5%, carrying 1.9 million in August in comparison with 1.46 million last 12 months, at load aspects of 87.0% and 85.2%, respectively.
Despite borders reopening in China, the full-service carrier recorded its lowest load factor of 81.4% in East Asia, in comparison with the best of 90.8% in Europe. Within the Southwest Pacific the PLF reached 89.7%; within the Americas 89.6%; and in West Asia and Africa it was 83.2%.
Based on Planespotters.net, Singapore Airlines has a fleet of 150 aircraft, with 12 listed as parked. The fleet comprises Boeing 737s, 747s, 777s and 787 Dreamliners, together with Airbus A350s and A380s. In August, the airline resumed services to Busan in South Korea and operated 75 destinations from its base at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN).
A winning month for Scoot
August was a triumphant month for Scoot, exceeding its pre-pandemic 2019 passenger numbers while increasing volume by 73.9% year-on-year. In August 2023, Scoot carried 1.085 million passengers at a PLF of 92.1% in comparison with 624,100 at 86.2% in 2022 and 977,000 at 88.6% in 2019. Its regional load aspects are relatively stable, with East Asia at 91.3%, West Asia at 89.1% and the Remainder of the World at 95.7%, which incorporates flights to Australia.
Photo: Phuong D. Nguyen | Shutterstock
Fleet data from Planespotters.net reports that Scoot has a fleet of 56 aircraft, comprising 21 Airbus A320-200s, six A320neos, nine A321neos, ten Boeing 787-8 and ten 787-9 Dreamliners. In its monthly operating report, the airline lists just one network change: the restoration of services to Nanchang in China, meaning that Scoot is now serving 67 destinations.
During COVID, much was written about air freight opportunities and almost overnight passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion lines were booked out years prematurely. The shortage of cargo capability in the course of the pandemic resulted significantly from the dearth of passenger aircraft flying, which generally carry freight of their freight compartment.
Those aircraft were at all times going to return to service or get replaced by new-generation jets, so it isn’t surprising that freight load aspects and payload have dropped throughout this 12 months. To place some numbers to that, Singapore Airlines Cargo carried 102.1 million kilograms of freight in 2019 at a load factor of 57.1% in August 2019, in comparison with 76.4 million kilograms at 51.2% in August this 12 months.
Fleet data: