Singapore Airlines and Scoot have had another bumper month in July, with SIA resuming a China service suspended since January.
In July, Singapore Airlines Group carried 2.08 million passengers, an increase of 7.6% from June. This was the first month that more than two million passengers had flown with the airlines since before the pandemic began in 2019.
Both Singapore Airlines and Scoot added more passengers, with Scoot going from 531,000 in June to 612,900 in July, a very impressive 15% gain. In July 2021, Scoot carried 22,100 passengers at a load factor of just 8%, while this July, the load factor was a healthy 86%. Load factors across its operating regions were 80% in East Asia, 86.5% in West Asia and 91% for the rest of the world. As a low-cost carrier, Scoot is taking advantage of the almost-universal opening of borders across Asia and the accompanying surge in leisure and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) traffic.
Singapore Airlines (Singapore) has a similar tale to tell, carrying 1.47 million passengers in July, compared to 1.4 million in June. East Asia, particularly China and Hong Kong, is the region holding Singapore back. The July load factor for East Asia was 72.6%, languishing well behind Europe (94%), the Americas (90%), Southwest Pacific (90%) and West Asia and Africa (86%). Overall, Singapore achieved an 87.7% load factor, slightly above the SIA Group's 87.4%. This was the Group's second highest monthly passenger load factor, within touching distance of the record 87.6% recorded in December 2019.
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Group passenger capacity, measured in available seat kilometers in July 2022, was 4.9% higher than in June and 107.8% higher than July last year. Group passenger capacity steadily increases each month and has reached 67% of pre-COVID levels. At the end of July, Scoot was operating to 47 destinations and Singapore to 73 destinations, including the restarted route to Shenzhen, China, suspended in January.
On Monday, flight SQ846 departed Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) at 07:51 and landed at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) at 11:17. It left Shenzhen at 17:21 and arrived in Singapore at 20:30. The Airbus A350-900, registration 9V-SHE, then departed for Melbourne International Airport (MEL) at 22:22, landing in Melbourne, Australia, at 07:04. A busy day in the life of a Singapore Airlines A350, but a good illustration of how Singapore is utilizing its fleet and improving load factors.
Data from ch-aviation.com shows that Singapore Airlines operates 122 of its 155 aircraft, including nine Airbus A380s. It is using 58 of its 60 A350s and 14 of its 15 Boeing B787-10s, showing a clear preference to operate its new generation, fuel-efficient widebodies while leaving ten B777s and eight A380s on the inactive roster. Similarly, Scoot uses 14 Airbus A320/321neos and 17 B787s in its active fleet of 44, with 12 A320-200s and just three B787s inactive.
Much of that widebody capacity is making its way to Australia, where Singapore operates more than 110 flights a week. Since Australia began to reopen its borders in November, Singapore has been adding services around the country and now operates from seven major destinations. In the north of Australia, it uses the Boeing 737 MAX 8 for flights to Darwin and Cairns, which have five weekly services. Using a mix of A350-900s and B777-300ERs, the airline runs 21 weekly services to Brisbane, 21 to Perth, five to Adelaide, and 28 to Melbourne and Sydney.
For those who have flown with Scoot or Singapore recently, how was the experience?
Journalist – A professional aviation journalist writing across the industry spectrum. Michael uses his MBA and corporate business experience to go behind the obvious in search of the real story. A strong network of senior aviation contacts mixed with a boyhood passion for airplanes helps him share engaging content with fellow devotees. Based in Melbourne, Australia.