SINGAPORE (Yosefardi) – In April 2015, Singapore Airlines’ systemwide passenger carriage (measured in revenue passenger kilometres) decreased 5.0% against last year, with a 3.3% reduction in capacity (measured in available seat kilometres).
Consequently, passenger load factor (PLF) dropped 1.4 percentage points to 75.3%. Comparing year-on-year, demand was generally softer this April on account of the Easter traffic shift into the month of March 2015. PLF improved for South West Pacific and West Asia/Africa primarily on the back of capacity consolidation.
On the other hand, PLF on Americas and Europe routes declined due to weaker passenger demand. The competitive landscape continues to be challenging. Singapore Airlines will remain nimble to redeploy capacity to better match market demand and promotional activities will continue in relevant markets.
SilkAir’s systemwide passenger carriage grew 4.5% year-on-year, matching the 4.5% increase in capacity. Consequently, PLF decreased marginally by 0.1 percentage points to 69.2%.
For the East Asia and Pacific Region, passenger carriage grew but lagged behind capacity injection, resulting in a lower PLF. For the West Asia Region, a combination of passenger carriage growth and capacity reduction contributed to a higher PLF.
Scoot’s systemwide passenger carriage grew 11.1% year-on-year as compared to a 5.4% increase in capacity. Consequently, PLF increased by 4.2 percentage points to 81.9%. PLF increased by 4.2 percentage points for East Asia as geopolitical conditions stabilized in the region. For the South West Pacific region, PLF improved as passenger carriage growth outstripped capacity growth.
Tigerair’s systemwide passenger carriage declined by 6.4% year-on-year as compared to a 6.0% decrease in capacity. Consequently, PLF decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 82.5%. Overall cargo load factor (CLF) was 0.3 percentage points lower as cargo traffic (measured in freight-tonne-kilometres) grew 4.3% as compared to a 4.7% increase in capacity.
Load factor improved for South West Pacific and West Asia/Africa regions, but fell for East Asia, Americas and Europe, as demand did not keep pace with capacity changes.