Relax - A boon for Changi Airport, a bane for SIA

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SINGAPORE - In a move which sounds good for Changi Airport but could threaten Singapore Airlines (SIA), Dubai-based Emirates is significantly boosting capacity on its Singapore-Dubai route by launching A380 services.

Emirates, in an announcement just days after it tied up an alliance with Qantas which will see the Australian carrier move its intercontinental hub from Singapore to Dubai, said it will boost capacity on the Dubai-Singapore sector by 46 per cent with the introduction of its giant 517-seat aircraft starting Dec 1.

Flights EK354 and EK355, which will replace Emirates' 354-seat Boeing 777-300ER, will boost Emirates' total capacity across four daily services from Dubai to Singapore to 1,659 seats daily.

While Emirates' move may be welcome news for Changi, where concerns in recent days have centred on the loss of significant business from Qantas, it could introduce more competition to SIA on its European services.

SIA operates direct services to 13 European cities from Changi. Emirates provides connections to more than 30 European cities from Dubai. But industry insiders reckon it could lure travellers from Changi to connect via its Dubai hub with more competitive fares.

Emirates said the launch of the services - making it the only airline to use the A380 on this route - confirms Changi Airport's status as Emirates' South-east Asian hub with over 1,100 seats daily connecting through to Brisbane, Melbourne and Colombo, and the strengthening of its vertically integrated business model via dnata's airport services, ground handling and catering operations.

"Emirates is currently operating a two-week ad-hoc Airbus A380 service between Dubai and Singapore which has received extremely positive responses from our passengers," said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates' senior vice-president, commercial operations, Far East & Australasia. "In light of this we have decided to bring our flagship aircraft to Singapore on a permanent basis. This follows our progressive build-up of services on this route over the last few years. Despite the current global economic uncertainty, we remain committed to the Singapore market adding significant seat capacity - over 2,200 seats a week - which is set to foster tourism and trade between Singapore, Dubai and beyond."

Mr Salem added that the Emirates A380 service - which has 14 private First Class Suites, 76 lie-flat beds in Business Class and 427 seats in Economy Class - is "pivotal" to the airline's overall business strategy.

"Our passengers in Singapore can look forward to enjoying the widely admired and popular aircraft, known for its quietness, spaciousness and award-winning on-board products, all the way from Singapore into much of Europe that includes Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Manchester, Munich, Paris and Rome."

Flight EK 354 departs Dubai daily at 0325 hours (local time) and arrives in Singapore at 1440 hours (local time). The return daily flight, EK 355, departs Singapore at 2135 hours (local time) and arrives in Dubai at 0100 hours (local time).

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A boon for Changi Airport, a bane for SIA

By Ven Sreenivasan, The Business Times | Tue, Sep 25 2012

Emirates launches A380 services on S'pore-Dubai route.

A boon for Changi Airport, a bane for SIA

Keywords

singapore airlines

changi airport

emirates

Flights EK354 and EK355, which will replace Emirates' 354-seat Boeing 777-300ER, will boost Emirates' total capacity across four daily services from Dubai to Singapore to 1,659 seats daily.

Get The Business Times for more stories.