Relax - SIA to resume daily premium flights to NY

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IN A sign that business is looking up at the top end of the market, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will resume daily direct services to New York on its all-business-class Airbus 345 aircraft next month.

In February, the airline cut frequency to five times a week, due to a plunge in demand brought on by the collapse of the global economy.

Confirming that the non-stop service will be reinstated from Jan 18, SIA spokesman Nicholas Ionides told The Straits Times that this is due to 'increased demand' on the route.

The airline also operates a non-stop service to Los Angeles using the same 100-seat aircraft, but there are no plans as yet to restart daily flights on this route, he said.

SIA will, however, continue to study the market and make changes where necessary, Mr Ionides said.

The decision to add capacity on the all-business-class service to New York is testament to SIA's belief that despite being battered by the economic crisis, demand for premium services will rebound.

When he met reporters last month, chief executive officer Chew Choon Seng said, when asked if SIA should rethink its branding strategy: 'We are of the firm belief that there will be a core level of corporate travel with the right yield for which our business model will work.'

But industry players seem less confident.

Aviation analyst Shukor Yusof of Standard & Poor's Equity Research, referring to the airline's decision to resume daily business-class-only flights to New York, said: 'I am still a bit sceptical about premium travel on this sector. Even though there has been an improvement, the recovery appears fragile.

'I suppose SIA is anticipating demand would rise to a level where it will make money. I doubt it for now.'

Mr Martin Warner, Asia-Pacific chief operating officer of global travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel, said that while firms are starting to relax some of the austerity measures adopted at the height of the economic crisis, 'we believe that the return to pre-economic downturn travel policies will be a gradual one'.

Market indications suggest that while the overall number of travellers has increased in the last few months, 'they do not seem to be flying in the front of the cabin yet'.

Apart from changes to the Singapore- New York sector, SIA is also making adjustments elsewhere in its network.

From next month, the airline - which now flies up to four times a day to Kuala Lumpur using its wide-body aircraft - will hand over one flight a day to sister carrier SilkAir.

Its regional arm already operates up to five services a day to Malaysia's capital city, using the smaller single-aisle Airbus jet.

The move is to optimise resources within the group, Mr Ionides said.

The entry of low-cost carriers Jetstar Asia, Tiger Airways and AirAsia into the Singapore-Malaysia air market last year has taken away some traffic from SIA and Malaysia Airlines, which used to dominate the sector.

karam@sph.com.sg

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SIA to resume daily premium flights to NY

By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent , The Straits Times | Sun, Dec 13 2009

Rise in demand for all-business-class non-stop service.

SIA to resume daily premium flights to NY

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