SIA carried fewer passengers in February

Singapore Airlines (SIA) carried fewer passengers last month, due to the Lunar New Year holidays falling in late January instead of February as well as softer demand for trips to Bangkok.

It carried 1.4 million passengers in February, down from 1.42 million a year ago.

February's passenger number was also lower than January's 1.55 million.

SIA's passenger load factor also fell to 76.8 per cent from 78.2 per cent a year ago.

Meanwhile, SIA said its cargo load factor dropped to 58.1 per cent from 62.7 per cent a year ago.

Looking ahead, SIA said the operating environment remains challenging.

"Efforts to stimulate demand to maintain loads will continue to place downward pressure on yields," it said in a statement on Monday.

SIA's performance and outlook contrast with a generally more bullish outlook for the aviation sector.

Last week, the International Air Transport Association said the global airline industry remains on track to deliver a second consecutive year of improved profitability in 2014, due to improvement in the global economy and stronger demand for air cargo.

Overall, SIA’s February load factor declined 2.7 percentage points to 66.5 per cent from a year ago. The load factor measures demand relative to capacity. 

SOURCE