SIA filled higher proportion of seats in July

National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) filled a higher proportion of its seats last month as it carried more passengers and capacity declined, the airline said on Friday (Aug 15).

SIA said its passenger load factor rose to 81.7 per cent in July, from 80.8 per cent a year ago. The number of passengers carried increased by 1.6 per cent year-on-year to 1.6 million.

Its capacity, as measured in seats per kilometres, fell 1 per cent in July from a year ago. The Singapore flag carrier's passenger load factor improved across all regions except for the Americas. Regional unit SilkAir also saw a rise in passenger load factor to 70.5 per cent from 70.1 per cent a year ago.

SIA said the higher passenger traffic was part due to the Hari Raya holidays taking place in July this year, unlike in 2013 when the holiday period fell in August.

Looking ahead, SIA said the operating environment remains challenging. "Capacity will be adjusted accordingly to better match market demand and promotional activities shall continue in markets that require additional support," it said.

SIA's overall load factor, which takes into consideration cargo carried relative to capacity, was also higher last month, hitting 69.8 per cent compared with 69 per cent in the same month last year.

SOURCE