SINGAPORE, Oct 27 — Airlines are reinstating flights which they had cut in the past year and adding more capacity as the aviation industry’s turnaround strengthens.
The number of weekly flights at Changi Airport hit a record 4,830 this week — 8 per cent more than a year ago — and is expected to increase even further with carriers planning more services in the last two months of the year, a Changi Airport Group spokesman told The Straits Times.
Airlines driving the growth include Singapore Airlines’ (SIA’s) regional arm SilkAir, as well as low-cost carriers Jetstar Asia, Tiger Airways and AirAsia, which focus on destinations within a five-hour radius.
From 420 flights a week a year ago, SilkAir now operates 464, with new flights to several destinations, including Medan, Kathmandu, Penang and Hyderabad. Meanwhile, Jetstar Asia is planning new flights to Macau, Phuket, Haikou and Manila in December.
More choices for travellers but also higher fares soon
The recovery is being seen globally, although not as strongly as in Changi.
British travel company OAG, which tracks flight bookings and trends, reported recently that the world’s airlines have almost 300 million seats available this month, a small increase of just over 1 per cent on October last year.
Actual flight numbers are down slightly, by 1 per cent to 2.4 million flights, but that is still a big improvement on earlier this year.
The boost in flight numbers and seats comes after a prolonged period of weak demand for air travel, which started in September last year with the meltdown of the global economy.
As businesses slashed travel spending and leisure travellers scaled back on holidays and long trips, airlines had to cut not just flights, but also fares, to match supply and demand.
Now, airlines are filling more seats.
Mario Hardy, vice-president (Asia-Pacific) for a company that provides information and consultancy services for the aviation industry, said: “Over the last four weeks, I have travelled to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, and every flight I was on was completely full. Even the Airbus A380 to Hong Kong on Singapore Airlines was full both ways.”
This is a clear sign that airlines have got their numbers right with the flight cuts made so far. Also, demand for travel is starting to pick up.
He said: “I have a strong feeling that in the coming month, airlines will start adding more capacity, and unless we face another slide in the economy, the trend should continue.”
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, which represents 17 carriers, including SIA, said yesterday that following consecutive monthly declines for over a year, member carriers carried 10.8 million international passengers last month — the same as the number carried in September last year.
Director-general Andrew Herdman said that while profitability remains a challenge, the September traffic figures “offer some encouragement amid signs of a continuing pick-up in consumer confidence and economic activity, led by the Asia-Pacific region”.
For travellers though, the recovery is a double-edged sword. While more flights means more choice and higher chances of booking a seat, industry watchers say it is a matter of time before fares start to go up.
American Express Business Travel said in a recent report that it expects “a pent-up need for travel and meetings to be unleashed in 2010”, which could generate some increases in air fares. In Asia-Pacific, ticket prices could go up by 8 per cent, the company said. — The Straits Times
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