Singapore Airlines cautious about future

With uncertainty about China’s economic conditions, Singapore Airlines (SIA) said that the “outlook for both passenger and cargo traffic is cautious,” following the release of its first-half result for its 2015-16 fiscal year.

The carrier’s cargo network reported a loss of US$12 million for the six-month period, which ended in September. But that is still brighter than the $34 million loss it experienced in the first half of fiscal year 2014-2015. Cargo yield for the first half of 2015-16 declined by 8.5 percent, largely due to lower fuel surcharges, while freight carriage was flat, resulting in a loss of $86 million, which was offset by a $108 million reduction in expenditures, mostly fuel costs.

For just the second quarter, SIA Cargo reported an operating loss of $3 million, which was an improvement over Q2 2014-2015’s loss of $16 million. The cargo division was flat in freight tonne kilometers in the first half, year-over-year, while capacity grew by 2.6 percent. SIA’s load factor fell 1.5 points to 60.7 percent.

The carrier said it plans to increase frequency to destinations in the Americas, Europe, South West Pacific and North Asia in the third quarter to meet higher demand during the year-end peak season.