United Airlines to launch nonstop flight between Singapore and San Francisco

United Airlines will introduce daily nonstop flights between Singapore’s Changi Airport and its San Francisco International Airport hub, it announced on Friday (Jan 29).

This will be the first nonstop service between Singapore and San Francisco and the only one to the US from Singapore. The Boeing 787-9 aircraft will be used for this nonstop service, it added.

Flying times will be approximately 15 hours, 30 minutes eastbound and 16 hours, 20 minutes westbound, saving customers up to four hours' journey time each way from previously available flights, the airline said.

Eastbound flights, which will start on Jun 3 subject to government approval, will depart Changi Airport at 8.45am daily, arriving at San Francisco International Airport at 9.15am the same day.

The westbound return flight will depart San Francisco at 11.25pm daily, arriving in Singapore at 6.45am two days later.

Vice President of Atlantic and Pacific Sales Marcel Fuchs said the new service will offer "unique benefits to customers travelling from Singapore not only to San Francisco but also to dozens of other cities across the Americas via our San Francisco hub".

The airline has timed the new flights to connect with destinations throughout the US, Canada and Latin America at San Francisco, providing a one-stop service between Singapore and more than 40 US cities. These 40 cities include more than 25 that do not currently have one-stop services from Singapore, it said.

With the launch of the nonstop Singapore-San Francisco service, United will terminate services between Singapore and Tokyo's Narita Airport from Jun 2. However, it will maintain its daily service between Singapore and Hong Kong.

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Qatar Airways Pilot Recruitment Road Show

Qatar Airways recruitment events are coming to Johannesburg and Singapore, and we are searching for talented individuals to join our award-winning team. We take pride in our people a dynamic and culturally diverse workforce is essential to ensuring we are one of the world’s premium and fastest-growing airlines.

Given our current growth, we are looking for Captains, and First Officers across our young Boeing and Airbus fleet.

If you are an experienced pilot, and interested in hearing more about Qatar Airways, or keen to join our 5-star team, please come along to our information session and meet with our pilot recruitment team.



Johannesburg, South Africa 

The Holiday Inn Sandton HOTEL
123 Rivonia Rd, Sandton, 2148, South Africa 

Flight Deck Presentation
2nd -3rd February 2016 

At 10:00 and 13:00 

Singapore, Singapore 
Ramada Singapore At Zhongshan Park
16 At Hood Road, Singapore 329982

Flight Deck Presentation
7th - 8th March 2016

At 10:00 and 13:00

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Tiger Airways continues recovery with higher Q3 net profit

Budget carrier Tiger Airways on Friday (Jan 22) posted a net profit of S$6.8 million for the three months to Dec 31, 2015, in a sign that business is turning around.

The net profit for the fiscal third quarter was a marked improvement over the S$2.2 million earned a year ago. It also marked a reversal of the S$12.8 million net loss reported for the second quarter ended Sep 30.

Tigerair's revenue for the quarter rose 1.5 per cent to S$187.4 million, while its fuel costs fell by a third to S$43.5 million.

Commenting on its prospects, Tigerair said economic conditions remain uncertain. Surplus capacity in the industry will continue to exert downward pressure on yields in the near term, it added.

The budget carrier also said, however, that low fuel prices offered some respite. Tigerair is current the subject of a takeover bid by majority shareholder Singapore Airlines, which wants to take the budget carrier private.

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Boeing cuts 747-8 production as air freight slows

Boeing said on Thursday (Jan 21) it would cut back production of its freight workhorse 747-8 aircraft by half as the air cargo industry slows.

Boeing said it could move from completing one 747-8 per month to one every two months from September.

The company said data in November showed air freight had contracted by 1.2 per cent over a year, even as air passenger volumes grew 5.9 per cent.

"We are closely monitoring the air cargo market as we work to win additional orders to support ongoing future production," said Boeing chief financial officer Greg Smith.

Boeing will take a US$569 million charge against after-tax earnings for the fourth quarter of 2015 for the production cut. Earnings will be reported on Jan 27.

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Singapore Airlines introduces new services to Canberra, Wellington

National carrier Singapore Airlines will operate a new route, called the "Capital Express", to Australia's Canberra and New Zealand's Wellington, it announced in a news release on Wednesday (Jan 20).

Subject to regulatory approvals, flights will operate four times per week from Sep 20 on a Singapore-Canberra-Wellington route, with return flights on a Wellington-Canberra-Singapore route, it said.

Route timings for the new route based on a launch date of Sep 20, 2016. (Table: Singapore Airlines)


Flights along the new route will be operated with the 266-seat retrofitted Boeing 777-200s fitted with 38 Business Class seats and 228 Economy Class seats, it added in the release.

Singapore Airlines said with the launch of Capital Express, it will be the first airline with flights between Canberra and Wellington, as well as the first to operate regularly scheduled international services to and from Canberra.

“This new service linking Singapore, Canberra and Wellington reflects the close ties between the three countries,” said Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong.

Flights will be available for booking through the Singapore Airlines website, call centres and travel agents in the coming weeks, the company said.

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Airlines to enjoy low fuel in 2016, costs under spotlight

Airlines can look forward to continuing low oil prices for at least this year, helping to boost profits and drive demand for travel, but need to be wary of a swift rebound and focus on staff costs, experts said at a conference on Monday.

Low oil brings non-fuel costs at airlines into the spotlight, and highlights the difference between legacy carriers such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM and low-cost airlines like Ryanair, analysts said.

Oil prices hit their lowest since 2003 on Monday, as the market braced for additional Iranian exports after sanctions against the country were lifted over the weekend.

Mike Corley, head of Mercatus Energy Advisors, said at the Airline Economics conference in Dublin he would not be surprised to see oil prices drop by another US$5-US$10 a barrel, but cautioned that prices could bounce back quicker than people expect.

IAG CEO Willie Walsh, lauded for cost-cutting at British Airways and Iberia, said the group would continue to focus on costs in 2016 and labor would probably be the biggest part of its cost base this year as fuel comes down.

"We compete with the likes of Ryanair, the most aggressive low-cost airline in Europe. We've got to have a cost base that enables us to compete in an effective manner," he said, highlighting a decision to move some office jobs to Krakow, Poland.

Jozsef Varadi, CEO of low-cost carrier Wizz Air , said only 8 percent of costs at the eastern European carrier were staff costs but it too had to keep cutting because labor costs would otherwise creep up with inflation.

"Others run campaigns for reducing costs but that's how we do business," he told Reuters, adding the carrier was nearing Ryanair in terms of its cost base.

Low prices are also prompting more airlines to look into their fuel hedging strategies, with some wanting to hedge and others scaling back existing programs, Mercatus' Corley said.

U.S. airlines are typically much less hedged than their European counterparts.

United Airlines used to hedge around 30-40 percent of its annual fuel needs but that is down at around 15 percent for the current year, Ted North, managing director corporate finance, said.

However, low oil prices were not expected to result in airlines cancelling orders for new fuel-efficient planes, developed when the oil price was high, Peter Morris, chief economist at Ascend, said.

"The oil price has gone down, but the added benefit is someone has brought a whole new range of toys to play with," he said.

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